Once Upon A Royal Life: The Real Royal Wedding: Guanacaste, Costa Rica

On July 2, 2016 I married my best friend in the beautiful country of Costa Rica. It was by far the best day of my life and I wouldn't have changed anything about it. Today I am sharing everything I can remember about our special day! As any bride knows, the day of the wedding is emotional, crazy, and the best day of your life.

Josh and I originally decided to get married in another country for a few reasons:

1. The cost of having a wedding in Florida is astronomical. The average cost of a wedding in southern Florida is $51,000. I don't know about you, but I can think of a lot of other important things I can spend that kind of money on! That is an awesome down payment on a house! So because we didn't want to start our marriage out in severe debt, Josh and I decided a destination wedding would be more cost effective.

2. We have a LOT of family and friends. Like a lot. When we originally started writing down names for guest list, we came up with 250 before even taking a breath. Because Josh and I don't typically like a lot of attention on us, we quickly decided there was no way we were going to invite that many people and save our sanity at the same time. We opted for a destination wedding because that would cut our guest list down by half.

3. We wanted more than just a day! A wedding is something that every girl looks forward to her entire life...but it's one day. Really. Just one day. Josh and I wanted all our friends and family to get together and spend time together. At a traditional wedding close to home, a lot of times it is impossible for the bride and groom to greet and talk to all of their guests because they are limited on time and are pulled in a million different directions during the ceremony and reception. Having our guests go to Costa Rica for a few days gave us time to see and speak to everyone and we got to spend quality time with them as well because we had nothing else to do but have fun!

Planning was fairly easy; the entire wedding was planned within about 4 months! I sent a few emails telling the wedding planner what we wanted and she did it. It was by far the easiest wedding planning experience of anyone I know. The only stress was not knowing what everything would look like until we arrived.

The week leading up to the wedding was the best week of my life. We had all of our closest family and friends around us and we did what we wanted, when we wanted. We laid by the pool, went to a small town to shop at the local market, and went on a catamaran that took us to a private beach where we were able to feed monkeys! It was exactly what I wanted for my guests and Josh and I were able to spend time with everyone.

The morning of the wedding I woke up and was so emotional from all the nerves I cried for like a half hour! I'm sure Josh thought I was crazy! (Side note: The anxiousness was about the wedding coming together smoothly because our rehearsal was anything but smooth!) We were super untraditional and saw each other before the wedding, but I wouldn't have had it any other way! He was the only one who was able to calm my nerves. After I calmed down I was ready to get married! I went down to the spa with all my girls and we spent the next few hours getting all prettied up! My Matron of Honor, Lauren (who is the best makeup artist ever), did my makeup and the spa staff did my hair. It was so relaxing to get ready in the spa and I was getting more excited to see Josh by the minute.

Finally it was time! We decided to do a first look with our photographers and it was perfect! Josh's reaction was something I will remember as long as I live and I am so glad we were able to experience that intimate moment together instead of in front of a crowd. From there, we took all of the bridal party photos and then we all went to the "Sport Bar" at the resort (Yes, in our wedding attire, and yes, it was called Sport Bar!), and hung out and cooled off (it was hot!) until it was time for the ceremony.

The ceremony was short and sweet and perfect. We exchanged beautiful vows and had our first kiss as husband and wife. We couldn't have asked for anything more perfect.

Our reception was just as perfect. Lauren, my Matron of Honor, and Alex, Josh's best man, gave the best speeches and we are both so grateful for them. The food was good, the DJ was good, and we danced, and we ate, and we had the time of our lives. I wouldn't have had it any other way!