Si Senor – you can kiss the bride.

Yes – we had a family wedding in Mexico.  After many years of helping others plan destination weddings we finally had one in the family when my daughter decided to tie the knot on the beach.  Now it has been a long time since I have been to Mexico – especially an all inclusive in Mexico – and it was with mixed feelings that I headed down to Cancun.  There was excitement about the wedding and concern that all the guests would be well accommodated and looked after.  We had several infants and toddlers and travelling with little ones is not easy at the best of times.

All went well on the flight and then we got to Cancun airport …. well I have travelled all over the world and never have I experienced such chaos.  So many planes arriving at the same time – a big line up to go through immigration and then a whole mish mash of people with no visible line up trying to get through customs.  It reminded me of the proverbial camel through the eye of a needle.  Except I could not see any “eye” and the Mexican officials just kept saying “Keep moving, keep moving”.

Eventually the human machinery spat us out the other end – only to fall prey to the airport “officials” who stand there shouting “Air Canada Vacations”, “Transat and Nolitours”.  Trust me – they are not the representatives of these companies and are just a nuisance.  By this time I was having a real sense of humour failure.

Not to worry – before long I was down at my resort hotel with a cold Margarita on the rocks clenched in my hand – and everything started to look better.  Wow I have to say the Mexican people are so kind and welcoming and they work so hard.

Every morning the wait staff would have a meeting with the head waiter before they marched out of the beachside restaurant to take up their stations at the various bars.  Believe me – there were people waiting there already for their morning drink – and this was at 10 am.  I guess it’s five o’ clock somewhere….

The main thing was that everyone (especially the kids) were having fun.  Most of the “customers” at the swim up bar were kids, in fact, busy getting a sugar high from all the virgin pina colada’s.  Needless to say the water around the swim up stools seemed a few degrees higher in temperature than the rest of the pool.  Hmmm – I wonder why?

The wedding was a huge success as the weather held out and I can honestly say that I could not have wished for a better backdrop for my daughter and son-in-law to say their vows.

So an all inclusive Mexico vacation is not my usual style but I was very impressed with the value and service that I received on this trip.  The benefit of having all the family together from both sides in a lovely setting was that we got to know each other a little better and have made some lovely memories from this trip.

So well done Mexican people, Transat people and the hotel people.  Try harder Cancun airport people.  To all the brides yet to say I do on the beach…. Relax!  It’s going to be amazing!