The Couple
Joann and Charlie met on their first day of grad school in 2015, and both were pursuing doctorates in physical therapy. That year they coincidentally found out they lived less than a mile from each other and had both started working for the same clinic. As classmates and coworkers, they spent a lot of time together, becoming study buddies and then getting into a relationship together. Charlie said, “I like to think that the universe was screaming for us to be together”.
For the proposal, Charlie reenacted their first date, which was a bonfire on the beach. He had planned to propose on the beach with his ukulele, but there were surprisingly too many people on the beach, and he waited until they got back to their apartment. It felt right doing it in the comfort of their own home, and he popped the question while singing Jason Derulo’s ‘Will you marry me?’
The Planning
Together with their Destify agent Briana, they chose the Hyatt Ziva Los Cabos resort, on Mexico’s Pacific coast. They loved that you’re paying for an experience and not just a day. Destify was great throughout the process and helped to cut out the stress, and the couple was finishing their degrees as well as planning their destination wedding. It was a popular wedding weekend at the resort, with multiple guests booking rooms, Destify made sure no one in their wedding party went without accommodations.
The Wedding
Since many of their guests were arriving on different days they mainly let their guests enjoy their vacation. Before the wedding, the bachelor party and bachelorette party hosted their own separate festivities and met up at night at the Piano bar, which was a blast. Their wedding was at the wedding gazebo on Sunday, November 10th.
Afterward, the couple took photos and hosted a private reception along the beach. The couple said, “The setting was beautiful with stringed lights”. They planned for a few surprises throughout the reception, including a serenade to Joann with Charlie’s brothers singing harmony, a little hip-hop dance number which opened the dance floor up for guests, and all capped off by a firework show ending the reception.
Looking Back
The couple both agreed destination weddings are the way to go! There is just much less stress involved than with a local wedding, and you get so much more for your money.