Parusing Playa del Carmen

Tom's friends Jon and Amanda got engaged last fall and we were very lucky to be included on the guest list. The wedding was to take place in Playa del Carmen, about an hour outside of Cancun. Amanda's family owns an upscale bar/restaurant there, Wicky's. This is where they had the wedding Saturday night.

Tom and I flew out early Thursday morning. We connected in Dallas and met his friends Bob and Mike at the airport to take the next flight into Cancun. Once we arrived we all shared a cab into Playa and checked into our hotels. We stayed in the Playa Palms, which was absolutely beautiful and right on the beachfront. Our room had a balcony with a hammock and an ocean view. I'm also pretty sure that Tom chose this hotel because it came equipped with a bottle of tequila.

View from our balcony

Playa Palms

After dropping off our stuff, it was mid-afternoon in Playa. We stopped by Wicky's to see the beach and say hi to everyone who had been there all day, but quickly went home to change for the night out. We started at the Tequila Barrel for dinner and drinks (and LOTS of tequila).





After Tequila Barrel we attempted to go to Coco Bongo, the big night club in Playa, but the line was horrendous!! We ended up going across the street to a little bar to have more drinks and listen to music while the line died down. Eventually we made it inside Coco Bongo and it was INSANE. Thousands of people in an arena-esque design. They have shows on a stage all night with everything from show tunes to Cirque du Soleil style acts. What a trip!

Friday was a rough day for me, to say the least. Tom finally convinced me to pull it together and join the group at Wicky's for a day at the pool and beach. We had lunch, played sand volleyball, had more cocktails and just relaxed.
That night, we went out to eat with a few of Tom's friends while the wedding party was at the rehearsal dinner. I don't remember the name of the restaurant, but it was outside right on 5th Ave. (the main drag in Playa). After dinner we went to the Blue Parrot to meet the wedding party and see the amazing fire show!! We danced the night away in the sand!




Our last day in Playa (Saturday) started once again with a beach day at Wicky's. The Jayhawks were playing and we were lucky enough to be able to watch the game there!

The wedding took place in a big, beautiful cathedral down the street from the beach. The ceremony was perfect. It was interesting to see all

The groom and I at the Blue Parrot

the locals coming in and out of the periphery of the church during the ceremony to pray. Needless to say, there are LOTS of Catholics in Mexico. Once the ceremony was over, the wedding party rode little rickshaws to Wicky's for the reception. There was a whole line of them, and then the rest of the guests walked behind them like a big parade. People lined the streets video recording us and taking our pictures...it was so funny!! Our five little minutes of fame in Playa :) The reception was amazing, right on the beach. We had dinner and dancing and the weather was perfect.
The happy couple, Jon and Amanda Archerd!




The next morning we had to leave right away to make our flight. Tom and I were in VERY bad shape, we barely made it...and came home to snow and ice in Kansas City...ugh.

What an amazing time we had just relaxing and getting away. I had never considered a destination wedding until I realized how fun it was to have everyone you love in once place, forgetting all your worries and just loving life. It came at the perfect time with all my job stress that I've been having this school year. I can't wait to go back!!!