Costa Rican Honeymoon!

After the wedding Renee and I headed to Costa Rica! After some travel challenges (which involved flight delays and driving 2 hours from the airport to resort at 3am!) we finally made it! The next morning this was the view from our room :)



Here is Renee (considerably happier than during out travels)



There were three huge pool areas - this was the main one with fake islands/beaches and wading pools in it.



The highly for Renee was the fact that wild iguanas like to hang out on our porch!



The resort was right on the ocean - this is a pretty old (very long) dock. IT was beautiful to walk out at night and watch the sunset...or a storm come in.



While we were having a snack in the pool, this iguana rushed out of the bushes at us when we set our food on the side of the pool! We thought he was going to dive right in with us at first!



Renee kept getting bolder and bolder with the iguanas. She wanted to take a really close-up shot at this one sunbathing....



I wish you could have heard the scream when this one charged at her!



We took a day trip up into the rainforest to do some zip-lining!



The views from the rain forest were amazing!



Renee opted for the horse-ride up to the start of the zip-line. Brian (who had food poisoning the day before) opted for the truck-ride. Upon arrival, it was a toss up whose rear was more sore as the truck to the same road the horses did - including driving through rivers!



He we are! suited up and ready to go!



Here's Renee - ready to go!



The first one was the most nerve-racking...



Here's Brian repelling down a cliff!



Wow!





Here's a video to show you how fast we traveled!
This was one of the longer sections :)



A few days later we went to Manuel Antonio which is a national park right on the water! We hired a guide to take us through and show us the wildlife (well worth it!)



We saw Monkeys...



...Gators...



...Spiders (this one's called Zig-Zag because of his weird web!)...



...Sloths...



...HUGE dragonflies...



...can you see the stick-bug?...


after hiking through the hills we ended at the beautiful/ secluded white sand beach! It was amazing!






Here's another video of a "sleeper" plant we saw there. Cool!

Wedding!!!

On the morning of the wedding there were still a lot of small odds and ends to do...like making sure the table runners were perfectly straight.



While this was happening Renee and Carla scuttled off to get ready. Carla was nice enough to help Renee curl her hair.



Renee may not have been thrilled 100% of the time.



Renee (with the help of mom and grandma) trying to figure out how to tie her sash.



Mike and Brian are pretending to cinch their ties in the mirror.



Here, Brian pretends to be brave while his mother pins on his flowers.



Everything was set-up outside, the weather was absolutely perfect - we're ready to start!



Here come Mike and Carla down our make-shift aisle. Behind them you will see the tent we made for Renee to wait in - All props go to Ingrid who sewed the walls the day before out of scavenged bedsheets!



Here comes the bride and her father (Helmut)



Brian's aunt Carol agreed to perform the wedding - she did an amazing job!



We were definitely at capacity on the deck :)



The kiss!



It was such a perfect day that we couldn't help but escape afterward to the beach to snap some pictures. Renee was worried about getting a tick in the grass - so we sprinted through it to the beach! (below)







The beach was no place for Brain's fancy shoes.







Brian couldn't resist pretending to toss Renee in the water at the end.



But he made it up to her by giving her a lift through the grass back to the stairs.



Once we got back, everyone was ready for dinner!





We obviously had our cake-toppers hand cast from molds we took of our faces! Perfect likeness!



It's not always easy being the middle child between two sisters. Maggie (left), Anna (right)



You can also never have too much grandmotherly advice!





Renee's mother Ingrid and her two boys - Tony (left), Paul (right)



Cut that cake!





Renee brought tiny original oil paintings for all the guests!





The Hartig Clan!



Apparently everyone wanted to joke around EXCEPT Brian! Yikes!



The Cook Clan!



An unconventional photo of the wedding party.



Oh man. No words for this one...so bad it's good? Maybe not.



Thanks to everyone who came out for the wedding, we had such a wonderful time! We really appreciate everyone's help and we love and miss you all!

All photos are taken by the marvelous Lisa Nowacki! Visit her website - she's amazing!