Let's show some snapshots from the wedding, shall we? The ceremony and reception took place at Dreams Cancun. The ceremony was outside at this incredibly picturesque gazebo that overlooked the Caribbean Sea. I think it looked even more beautiful with the rain clouds hanging high above the sky. 

We were worried that it was going to rain during the ceremony, but it only started to drizzle once it was finished. It was pretty awesome luck. 

It was hard to get good pictures of the bridal party (including the bride with her father) walking down the aisle, but I got a great shot of the groom walking with my aunt while she wiped away a tear. 

My cousin Leia's (Timon's sister) daughter Molly was the flower girl. The kids were so incredibly cute. Molly's dad, Ronnie, caught was waiting for her at the end of the aisle. She loved getting so much attention!

What a gorgeous wedding!

We headed up to the terrace overlooking the ocean after the ceremony for a fun cocktail hour. It rained a little bit, but we had enough coverage to stay dry. It didn't rain for long. 

The guests were a big fan of the mariachi band. It was a great surprise. 

Many people were on their feet dancing. Molly was one of them. 

My grandma was also dancing up a storm. She is an incredible dancer and can move her feet to anything. She was doing the same thing at my wedding, and everybody wanted to dance with her. 

We made sure to get a photo with the whole family (I stole this from my cousin Kailee). It included my grandparents, my mom with our immediate family and significant others, and my uncle Rob with his immediate family and significant others (and granddaughter!). We have a great family. 

We got one with Cooke siblings and significant others, too. 

As the cocktail party came to a close, we lit sparklers to light the way for the newly married couple as they went off to their wedding reception. 

It was a fun activity and probably made for some outstanding professional photos. 

Stay tuned for the wedding reception and the rest of the Mexico trip!

Rain or shine, Mexico was a heck of a lot of fun. I flew in from Chicago with my brother Jon and his girlfriend Sheena. I didn't see Al until I got to our hotel room (we stayed at Dreams Cancun), because he flew in from San Francisco. 

The rain started soon after our plane landed, and it didn't stop until the next day. Some of the people in our group, including the bride and groom, had flooded rooms. I had to walk to the rehearsal dinner in my windbreaker even though the walkways in between the buildings were partially covered, because the wind blew the rain every which way. Everybody was getting drenched. We later found out that we were experiencing the tail end of a hurricane. Crazy!

The rain added some extra character to our first dinner, which was the rehearsal dinner. We caught up with family, took advantage of the unlimited open bar at our all-inclusive hotel, and listened and watched the storm outside. There were a few times where I thought the roof might collapse from the impressive force of the wind throwing itself against the building, but I thought wrong.

There is Al, me, and Sheena! Al wasn't posing for the photo. 

Al and Jen

The wedding was the next day. We didn't have to be ready until 4:15, and we fortunately had some pockets of sunshine. Al and I grabbed breakfast and ventured out to the beach for a few hours. We then  wandered around town for about 45 minutes since our resort was located right in the heart of Cancun's hotel zone, got lunch with some of the family back on the resort, and then we went back to our rooms to rest and get ready. 

While we were sitting around the room, I took pictures of the guest bags from Timon and Yana (groom and bride). They were so creative. 

The bag was a beach bag. It was fun later on in the week to go to the beach and pool and see these bags all over the place. 

Tied onto the bag was an envelope with a welcome note on the outside of it. Our itinerary for the week was inside of it. 

Inside the bag was a kit labeled "In Sickness and In Health". It had chapstick, aloe vera lotion, hand wipes, a nail file, and breath mints. 

There was a "Do Not Disturb" sign.

We also got a Hangover Kit....

...with lots of goodies to make the day after the wedding (or any other booze-filled night throughout the week) more bearable. 

They also gave us sun screen, sweet and salty snacks, playing cards, and a bottle opener. 

We basically used the entirety of our guest bag. It was so smart and practical!

We were also lucky enough to get a room that faced the ocean. We had a balcony, but we were too scared to go on it while we were there. Ya know, with that crazy wind and all. 

We liked our room, but we liked our room at our second hotel even more!

More Mexico recaps to come!