Let the record stand that we still only heard back from one venue in Belize. That was a couple of months ago too! Well Belizean wedding venues- you sure do need some help if you want to attract the wedding crowd. We’ve decided that Belize will be a little too far for people to travel (older relatives), relatively expensive for a destination wedding, and the fact that no one got back to us was disheartening. Instead, we have decided on a destination wedding in Wyoming with the Grand Tetons in the background!

We’re off to Costa Rica for 8 days- I’m interested to see how Costa Rica compares to Belize for a vacation. Will report on that when I return (for all those people debating between Costa Rica and Belize). And no, we did not make a site to document the planning of the trip to Costa Rica. We are going with a timeshare that Courtney’s parents have so graciously given us a week to use (we used it for Grand Cayman and now Costa Rica) so we don’t get to do all the fun research on hotels, cottages, cabanas, etc through TripAdvisor. With a timeshare- it makes everything easier. But it is sort of depressing-becuase Belize was so much fun to plan every detail out!

So don’t get your panties in a bunch yet… We’re considering a few options for our wedding ceremony location. North Conway, NH, Rockport, MA, Ambergris Caye, Belize, etc. There are many perks to having a wedding in Belize for us.

1. It was our first romantic getaway. The planning and building this site was a huge part of the first half year-year Courtney and I were together. We really enjoyed Belize, and granted I have only also now been to the Grand Cayman, I was not nearly as impressed with Grand Cayman as I was Belize. What would be better than incorporating our love for travel into our wedding celebrations?

2. Having a destination wedding would allow for us to spend more time with family and friends. Instead of having a large ceremony/reception here in the New England Area- all of our guests would have probably about 30 seconds to congratulate us and that’s it. Sounds really meaningful to me. (kidding) It sounds like such a better option to have a few days with friends and family- doing activities together, having good conversations, creating more memories, etc. We had such a great time in Belize, that we know we wouldn’t let down our family and friends having a wedding in Belize.

3. Sun, ocean and the jungle. Loads of activities, loads of culture and loads of fun. Not to mention incredibly beautiful!

In the past two days I contacted about 12-15 locations in Belize inquiring on wedding ceremonies/receptions (just feeling it out…) and I only heard back from one so far. ONE! I know they are on island time, but really? Weddings could bring in a lot of money and business. If I were a venue/property manager I would be responding to inquiries about weddings.

Anyways, we’ll see. To be continued….

Presenting the future Mrs. Courtney Dean! Over the weekend, Courtney popped the question and I said, “Yes!” Hopefully in the near future our travels will take us back to Belize and we can update you on more information around Belize!

This video features a great big cowfish and a pair of spotted eagle rays.

Special thanks to Ecologic Divers for a great dive.

Finally, after an extremely long battle with technology, trying to find a converter, and learning how to edit video with Final Cut Express, we’ve finally got a good dive edit. There is a lot more content, which we’ll put up as the edits are finalized.

This video takes place during our first few minutes in the dive site “Tortuga Canyons.” No canyons seen in this footage, just some nurse sharks and a few goliath grouper. Enjoy.

Swimming with Sharks from Courtney Dean on Vimeo.