Costa Rica - Nayara Springs, Arenal Volcano (Part 1)

We've officially been married one month today! We got back from our trip to Costa Rica two weeks ago and I'm so excited to finally share about it. It was an absolutely incredible trip. We stayed in two different locations when we were there. We have sooo many pictures, so I'm going to have to break this up into a couple posts. The first location we went to was inland near the Arenal Volcano in La Fortuna.

We left at about 3 AM from home, landed in Liberia at about 2 PM, and had another 3-4 hour drive to La Fortuna. The drive was absolutely beautiful, and we learned so much along the way just chatting with the local driver. We stopped about halfway to get something to eat at a beautiful spot that overlooks Lake Arenal.



Our first taste of the local food - SO good!



After another couple hours in the car, we finally made it to our destination, Nayara Springs. You guys, this place was unreal. I don't even know how we found it or ended up here. We went through a local travel agent and somehow they were able to cut corners to get us in here. I have never, nor do I think I ever will get the chance to stay in a place this nice again. Pictures don't do it justice, but I'll try.

By the time we arrived, it was already dark out, getting late, and we were pretty beat. We were shown to our new home for the next four days and then we were more than ready to rest and call it an early night. The next morning we went out to explore the place in the daylight.



The front of our little casita.



The deck - comfy lounge chairs, a hammock, a hot tub/jacuzzi, a little view of the volcano, and nothing else but rainforest. No better combination.



The first thing we noticed was how private everything was. You could literally go your whole stay without seeing anyone if you wanted. Everyone had their own little space. But there were also plenty of opportunities to see people and socialize if you wanted.



There were so many pathways that lead to different pools, hot tubs, coy ponds, gardens, places to eat, etc. It took us three days to explore the whole place.



Breakfast was probably our favorite meal of the day when we were there.





After breakfast it was still a little overcast and cool so we decided to try out one of the hidden hot tubs we found that morning. They had these all over the place hidden in the trees.



They also had more places than you could ever need to relax and just lounge around.



Then the sun started to make an appearance!



Time to move on and keep exploring.





They had various wildlife, especially different types of large birds, all over.





So lush and green everywhere you looked.



One of the many coy ponds.



Where will this take us?



Jackpot.



I got my virgin pina colada and I was in heaven.



We had to cut the pool visit short because we had scheduled a Volcano hike that afternoon, but we knew we would be back!



We started off hiking to an overlook to get a better view of the volcano. It didn't matter what kind of terrain you were on, it was absolutely gorgeous everywhere you looked.





This one was a good workout - lots of climbing/stairs ;)



We started seeing the very dark volcanic rock.



We made it - with breathtaking views.





We had a great tour guide who taught us a lot on the hike. I'll spare you from all the details. But one of the common myths is that the city of La Fortuna ("The Fortune") got its name from being spared by the volcano. When the sun is out, you can really see all the volcanic rock on this side of the volcano where it erupted and was covered in magma. Somehow, the other side (La Fortuna) was left completely untouched.



It's not often that the clouds part long enough to actually see the top of the volcano - we were lucky!



After the volcano overlook, we hiked down into the rainforest to try and spot some wildlife.





We saw lots of different types of plants and animals but the coolest was the toucan. They were absolutely beautiful. Unfortunately we didn't get pictures - they were hard enough to spot with binoculars.



Rainforest sunset? Check that off the bucket list.



The day wasn't over yet! After that, we went to Tabacon's hot springs. The water is completely heated by the Arenal Volcano's magma. We actually realized when we were in there, the water is naturally so hot, they actually pump in cold water in some places so that it stays around 98.6 degrees.



This experience was totally new for both of us and absolutely worth it. Once again, it was like everywhere you went there were secret little areas and cut-outs to explore. We were only there at night and pictures definitely don't do it justice. This place was incredible.



We ate a much-needed dinner after changing into some dry clothes and then headed back home. And that was only our first full day in Costa Rica ;)



The rest of our stay at Nayara coming up next!

We're married!

All of my pictures of the rehearsal and wedding day are from all of you! I'm certain you've already seen the ones I have, so I apologize for the repeats - but thank you for the pictures ;)

The morning of the rehearsal, my Aunt Holly and mom were so kind to host a breakfast for the women in our family. It was one of the first opportunities I had to spend some time with a lot of our family that came from out of town. It was so thoughtful and a lot of fun!



My Aunt Holly and Colby made little gift bags for anything you may need on the day of the wedding (tissues, sunscreen, granola bar, etc). My sister had the sweetest idea to pass around notecards for everyone to write either a piece of advice, thought, prayer, or recipe on for me. I loved this idea and honestly can't wait to read them all.





The actual rehearsal went by quickly - we had a lot of people to wrangle. The flower girls were the stars of the show and did SUCH a great job. I was so proud and impressed (Chris was the silent superhero that weekend with the girls). It was the first time our nieces met each other and it was so sweet to see them laughing and playing together all day.









On my drive home from the rehearsal, I had a little mishap getting rear-ended. But as many people pointed out, if that was the worst that happened that weekend - we were in good shape! I honestly have no pictures from the rehearsal dinner other than the one below, but it was such a good time. Eric's parents did such a great job putting it together and it was so nice to visit with everyone before the big day.



Then it was time to get to bed and rest up for the wedding day! Again, the only pictures I have are the ones from all of you. I won't bore you with too many of the same pictures you've probably already seen, but here are a few I've found circling around. I plan to post more pictures once I get the professional ones back from the photographer :)

I started and stopped this post a couple times. I think if I tried to capture it all in words, the post would never end. I have so many feelings/emotions about it all. About becoming husband and wife, about our incredible family and friends, about how everything came together the way it did, about how blessed and thankful we are. To save you guys from my endless rambling about it all, I will keep it short and let a few of the pictures speak for themselves.

It was honestly a more beautiful day than I ever could have imagined. Eric and I had the most amazing time with everyone. It went by so fast! We are still in awe of how so many people came together and were willing to go to such great lengths to make our day so special.

























It's such a strange feeling having so many people we love travel from all over to support us, but then to be so busy that we don't get a lot of time with each of them. Luckily, everyone was very understanding and warned us it was to be expected. Needless to say, we are very grateful and humbled by everyone's love and support. It was a day we now have amazing memories from that we will never, ever forget.

https://vimeo.com/207146795/0a5f4c2091

We have been home from our honeymoon for a week and are thoroughly enjoying getting back into a "normal" routine. I'll post more on our trip soon. I also can't wait to share more pictures from the wedding when we get them back!

Wedding Week - I was spoiled!

Hello!! It's been a while but I'm back! I had all intentions of blogging up until the wedding but February was a blur and sped by so fast. Eric and I are MARRIED! We just got back from our trip to Costa Rica on Friday and have so much to catch up on.

February was full of final meetings with our vendors, DIY projects, and putting all the last-minute pieces together for the wedding. Midway through the month, Eric headed down to Florida for a trip with some of his friends. It gave me a chance to get a lot done. When he got back, I headed to Leesburg the week before the wedding to begin celebrating with family!

My mom and Aunt Janet took me out to get my nails done on Thursday. It was so relaxing and a lot of fun.



We got comfy robes and took our time picking out colors.



We sat back with drinks in hand while getting pampered.





Can't complain about the view either.



Thank you so much mom and Janet!! My nails were all ready for the wedding :)



Then I got to spend some quality time with my mom, sister and her girls, my aunt Janet and uncle Terry before more family started arriving on Friday.



The weather was absolutely beautiful and in the high 60s leading up to the big day.



Everyone was so ready to roll up their sleeves and help out in any way they could. It was truly amazing and humbling to see so many people willing to go out of their way for us. The linens proved to be a more difficult task than we thought!

On Friday my sister had a whole day of activities planned for me and some friends. I honestly can't express enough how incredible she is and how amazing the day was. She went out of her way organizing and setting everything up with me in mind. It was literally the perfect day for me and SO needed! We started off the morning doing hot yoga. Let me tell you - it's one of the best ways to start your day. We felt completely refreshed and energized afterwards. Something I will definitely look into doing again. After lunch we went to Escape Room. This was SO much fun. I could have spent the whole night there solving all of their rooms.



Everyone worked so well together - definitely want to do this again too!



After Escape Room we went to The Art Station. I love anything art-related, whether it's painting, drawing, crafting, etc. There was an instructor that walked us through our paintings while you could sip on wine and have snacks if you'd like. I've heard of these before and have alwaysss wanted to try it! It was so fun to see everyone's paintings. I could definitely use some more lessons ;)





I think they turned out pretty great :) We finished out the night going to dinner and talking/laughing together until the restaurant closed.



The whole day was so much fun and got my mind completely away from the wedding. It still blows my mind Katie was able to plan it all while working, taking care of her family, and trying to coordinate girls from all over the country. Needless to say, I had the best maid of honor a girl could ask for ;) Thank you Katie!