My younger sister Nancy has had the same boyfriend for the past ten years, Richard, and they’ve been together since high school. Without wavering or faltering, they’ve not only managed to stay together, but they also managed to mature together – hence, it was no surprise to any of us when he finally proposed to her on that cold, rainy night at our corner pub, The Lucky Stag. Our father had passed several years back, so Stacy asked me to walk her down the aisle; of course, honored, I accepted. Before long, the wedding planning began and the next most important question concerning the wedding was put forth – where would they get married? After much deliberation and consideration, Stacy and Richard decided to have the wedding ceremony in Jaco Beach, Costa Rica!

 

Months passed by in the blink of an eye, and January finally came – hectic, chaotic and frantic do not begin to describe the last-minute wedding planning. Everything more or less sorted out on our end, on a cold, snowy January morning, the three of us, the groomsmen and the bridesmaids, all took our red-eye flight out to Costa Rica – our mother, aunts and cousins would be flying in the next day. Just five hours away by plane, it’s incredible how different we found things in Costa Rica – sunny, hot, humid – a true Tropical Paradise! We were greeted at the airport by our Personal Concierge in an Air-Conditioned Mercedes Benz Sprinter van, part of the Wedding package we had booked with an agency, Jaco VIP, who would be taking care of our every need during our stay. We arrived in Jaco in about an hour and half, and went straight to the Beach House we had rented for all of us to stay in – it was amazing; 20 bedrooms and bathrooms, a game room with a pool table, a ping pong table and a foosball table, a spacious kitchen fully-equipped, an outdoor pool facing the beach and the ocean – just beautiful. The boys and I quickly dropped off our stuff, changed and got back in the van. Prior to our arrival, I had arranged a surprise Fishing Trip for the boys, sort of like a Bachelor Party, on an awesome Fishing Charter in Jaco Beach, at Los Suenos Marina. Excited, we sailed off into the blue waters of the Pacific in the bright morning sun. A light breeze in our hair, cold beers in hand, good music on, laughs going all around – ah, that was the life! Within the hour, we started catching fish, and before long, I had a nice 4-foot yellow-fin tuna I would be taking back to the house. After a successful morning out fishing, we returned to the house and gave our Private Chefs the fish we had caught to cook for us that evening for dinner. We got the girls out of the pool, and all went out for lunch to a sushi place called Arigato, where I had a delicious Spicy Tuna Roll. After lunch, we went to a beach bar called El Point, had some cocktails, played some pool, and then watched the sunset – beautiful! We headed back to the house, and found that the DJ was already there, as well as the Bartenders, and we soon got the pool party started. We partied in and out the pool for a couple of hours, only put to and end by the amazing smell of fish grilling – the Chefs had prepared us a meal worthy of kings: Grilled Tuna Steaks, Mahi Mahi Ceviche and Shrimp Cocktails. Dinner was spectacular, and we all turned in early that evening.

 

The next morning, we woke up early and received the rest of the wedding party. One by one, van by van, family and friends started showing up, and we showed them to their respective rooms. Before long, the wedding preparations were well on their way, from Stacy’s make-up, hair and dress people, to the altar, seats, tables, and flowers on the beach. The best man, the maid of honor and I made sure everything was in order for the last time, and then went to have drink together in the afternoon sun to take a breather. Sunset half an hour away, the seats on the beach all filled up – it was time. I walked my sister down the aisle, gave her away to Richard, and took a step to the side. They said their vows, the minister spoke, and just as the sun was about to sink into the ocean on the horizon, perfectly positioned in the middle of the alter behind the couple, he declared them married, they kissed – and boom, it was done! Mission accomplished, we all congratulated them on their marriage, and they in turn congratulated us on doing such a great job organizing all this, the wedding ceremony, here in Jaco Beach, the Tropical Paradise that would forever more be the most special place on the planet for these two young love-birds.

 

The wedding reception was a blast, the food was great, everyone had a great time. Stacy and I took a walk away from the party, the people and all the noise, and sat on the beach listening to the waves. “I wish Dad could’ve seen you tonight, Stace,” I whispered, “He’d be so proud.” She smiled at me, put her head on my shoulder and said “Thank you, brother. You doing this – it meant everything to me.” We sat quietly on the beach on that beautiful night, and all I could think of was whether Dad was watching. He was.