Jonny and Colleen´s Wedding MONDAY

WRITTEN ON THURS...my apologies if¨I´m repeating myself. It´s about 90 degrees and 98% humidity so I can´t even think straight... CATHLEEN

Okay... breakfast at this French Cafe in Nosara, then the beach where the tide was high (and I´m holdin´on... ha ha) so there was really no beach. Just water and then jungle. The water on what was otherwise the beach was shallow however, and lapped gently at our toes. The waves just a bit further out were outrageous and dangerous, so we didn´t go in too far. On the beach, we also saw some of the most beautiful crabs -- red, blue and purple. We tried to coax them out with a stick and they sure got angry. Here are these little crabs, holding up their claws and snapping wildly... bring it ON!

After this trip to the beach, we had lunch and then went to take showers and get gussied up for the wedding. We had to meet everyone at the lobby bar in the Harmony Hotel at 4 p.m. So, we went over there and had one of the special wedding cocktails, which was basically rum with pineapple and watermellon juices, and something else that was either mango or orange juice. The drinks were served with bamboo straws, which I thought were so cool that I kept them. Neither one of us felt like drinking enough drinks to have enough for a party, but we do have two to show people.

After a few moments, someone shrieked excitedly and said there was a monkey outside. We all ran out and found that it was actually an entire family of Howler monkeys, and one even had a little baby dangling from her belly. SO adorable! Most people hadn´t seen a monkey until then so no one minded these wedding crashers.


After a bit, we were all ushered to the beach, where the wedding was to take place. The tide had receded and everything was perfect. The sun was just starting it´s descent into the water, the breeze was gentle and the waves were providing the wedding march music. Jon looked fabulous in his yellow ruffled shirt and white linen suit. The best man wore seersucker and the maids of honor wore lovely dresses in various colors. Then the bride strode out -- she was gorgeous in her gown and this fantastic necklace and bracelet ensemble. I was astounded that such a beautiful dress made it all the way from New York to a beach in Costa Rica and still looked amazing.

The ceremony was touching and lovely, Sean Ferguson played a Beach Boys song and sang, along with Anthony doing harmony and dell playing sticks for rhythm. It was perfect... it made everyone laugh and helped the bride and groom relax into their vows. I tried not to cry when they read their vows because the love on both of their faces was so apparent. These are two people who have found each other and have realized how lucky they are for it.

When the wedding was over, it was nearly completely dark, so we picked our way back up the jungle path to the hotel and had dinner. After, we moved to an outdoor area for cake and dancing. Alas, we had to leave a bit early since we had to get some rest so we could get up at 5 a.m. to head out to Monteverde.

I am so lucky to have such wonderful friends, who have equally wonderful friends, with whom I could have such an amazing time. Jonny and Colleen -- thank you and best wishes always. You are both such beautiful people and I love you!