Puerto Rico weddings: So impossibly romantic

Most people know I'm not mushy. I hork at traditional romance. I can't watch period films about Jane Austin because I want to punch everyone in the Regency era.

But Mareah and Richie's wedding was my idea of romance and fun.

The entire reason why Jeff and I winged it down to Puerto Rico (along with his parents and his cousins and their friends) was M. and R.'s beachfront wedding in Rincon.

After getting our rental car, we drove to the Rincon Beach Resort -- a beautiful hotel located on the west coast of the island. Rincon apparently is known for its surfing in the winter and is a little treasure.

The hotel was lovely -- wide open lobby and a gorgeous view of the beach and pool. We admittedly didn't do much at the hotel, since we were there for only two days. Basically we raided the breakfast buffet each morning and drank copious amounts of Puerto Rican coffee, loaded with lots of warm milk, which is some of the best coffee I've ever had. Well, I also did drink a lot of the iced tea, which was sweetened and served with lime, which made it very, very refreshing in the summer heat.

Friday night was the rehearsal dinner, which was a casual pig roast. There, Jeff and I learned about "Puerto Rico time" -- in other words, things start a little late. Even though the party officially started at 7 p.m., people didn't arrive until 8:30-9ish.

Even though I think all of us were tired from traveling from far flung reaches of the world, we all enjoyed catching up with each other. That's one reason why I like weddings -- they're a good reason for family to get together when it's hard to see each other often.

The wedding was on the beach at Villa Ensenada on Saturday. Like most weddings, Mareah was gorgeous, Ritchie grinned from ear to ear and Mareah's sisters looked great. The setting was impossibly romantic as the couple exchanged their vows during sunset. The only difference -- I was barefoot from the moment the ceremony started to the very end of the reception.

It's official -- I love beach weddings because I don't have to wear shoes.

The reception was held immediately afterwards and it was also very romantic. With the sound of the ocean in the background, a live band and the ability to stroll around the pool lit with tiki torches, it was hard not to feel a tad lovey-dovey.

In fact, Jeff and I actually got a little slow dance in by the pool all by ourselves. Who says romance is dead?