Man and Wife in Mexican Paraíso

After the amazing festivities and the joining of our families and friends was over, I was riding on a post-wedding high of overwhelming love and joy. Laurens and I were surrounded by friends and family from all over the world and we definitely felt the love in spades that week. It was such a momentous relief to finally have my husband to myself when it was all said and done though, because as any bride will tell you – planning a wedding is a beautiful, but extremely stressful endeavor. The relief of things going right and having a beautiful time is worth all the mind numbing details and decision making leading up to the big day. I’d been long-distance planning for almost a year in Malaysia, so at one point I was so ready to get married. After making it official in my hometown of San Antonio, we were excited for the getaway and the celebration to begin between us two doing what we love to do most: travel. With our post-wedding bliss and tropical wardrobe packed, we flew to the stunning Riviera Maya in Mexico which was extra goodness added to an already monumental week. When we go on that plane, I could’ve burst I was so content and relaxed.

We chose Mexico keeping in mind our journey back to Malaysia would be a long one (24+ hours), but we also knew Mexico would have everything we like in a destination: great people, great food and amazing beauty. Ultimately, we wanted to strike the perfect balance between relaxing and sight seeing. We ended up spending a balanced amount of time both relaxing like the lazy bones we can be and taking in the history and nature of the region. The all-inclusive resort experience at the end was definitely a highlight of the trip and I’d highly recommend couples going here.

Sure, we’ve seen beautiful places together, but there was something entirely different about this honeymoon trip. Enjoying our new lives together as man and wife was novel in and of itself, and the giddiness of that fact followed me around everywhere. As silly as it may sound – just seeing the shiny ring on his finger was enough to make my heart swell. A year into our marriage, I’m surprised at how much it changed our relationship for the better; it’s something I can’t quite pinpoint or put into words but feel daily. One year later it’s amazing to see how this symbol of commitment and love has changed things and fortified something that was already solid. I’m so happy to be with a such a truly good man who makes it feel like the first day all over again. I’m so lucky ❤ Love you more than you know, Laurens.

Here’s a look at our honeymoon last year: