Liz + Erik // Sandals Royal Bahamian Elopement

What do you think the hardest part of love is? 

Trick question! There is nothing hard about love. Love can only be love when it comes from a place of love. Love, itself, is in its truest form when it’s the easiest thing you’ve ever done. Love is the easy part. It’s a gift. It requires nothing. It simply is. It’s starting to sound like the way people talk about God. It is. I am. This is where you want to go all in. This is the easy part. But you know nothing in life is easy. So what’s the catch? What is the hard part? Why is it hard to find? Why don’t I always feel it? Great question. We have the answer for you.

Love is only hard after you attach yourself to needing something from it. To give love and accept love is as easy as taking a moment, breathing in and with that exhale your love comes out. 1 second = Love orgasms are coming from your breath. I’ve seen it happen. It took control of an entire dance floor one night the moment I exhaled. You’re doing for others the same as you’d want for yourself. You don’t need anything as your gift of love is so great that nothing else is required. Think how easy that would be for someone in your life right now. You simply offer them whatever it is. You can choose how you express it. The catch is simply that you can’t require or even request anything in return. Truly, love is a gift. It requires nothing from the recipient. It’s a key ingredient to the growth of heaven on earth. This is always our ultimate goal.

There is currently data that suggests potential ways to maximize that gift of love and with that predict its frequency and acceleration at a reoccurring rate. This will happen in the flow. Your love becomes contagious. It feels like freedom because that’s exactly what it is. And as this energy builds a natural order of rules (not required) form into existence. The love itself creates a community that now fosters even more love. Society loves the snowball effect. Alone, we are often meek and lacking courage but as others join in, community forms and the bandwagon is easier to jump on. That ball is rolling and it’s getting bigger and I want on! This is your love rolling down the hill, you’ll either break a part and become a little piece of dust waiting for the next storm to stir you up and put you back together... or your ball of love will keep growing, finding more things to attach to it, each roll exposing it to darkness that needed light, to pain that needed comfort, to rejection that needed acceptance, to sadness that needed joy, to my back muscles that needed someone just to punch it. Your love will never be homeless at this rate. This is good for you. You just found security and fortune on a level that money itself has never guaranteed. You did this for free. You did it all simply by sharing your love. I can’t help but think with such a powerful thing right at our fingertips how do we not spend more time making sure this magic inside of us shines?

- Rick

If there is one thing you’ll come to learn about Rick and I, it’s that we love to travel. Part of it we attribute to our families, the other part we truly believe is an inherent attribute of our souls. Either way, we wouldn’t change a thing. This past year alone has taken us to over 15 states, as well as Canada (it counts, especially when you’re fully embracing that #vanlife life), Mexico, Hong Kong, and the Bahamas.

For us, travel is a way to find inspiration, touchbase with humanity through appreciating different cultures, and simply see the world. We love when our couples plan destination weddings because they’re giving their friends and family the opportunity to do just that! Go somewhere they may have not gone otherwise. Take a vacation that is well deserved. Extend the celebration for as long as they want! I mean, does it get much better?

top tips for destination weddings

Not all destination brides are as chill as Liz. Seriously, after hair and makeup were done, she just chilled for a bit in the bridal suite with her sister snacking and sipping on champagne until she truly wanted to put on her dress. So for those brides who have all of the questions, and maybe a bit more stress, I thought I would divulge some of our top tips for planning your destination wedding.

Remember who your wedding is for

First and foremost, your wedding is about you! Anybody you ask will always have an opinion, so please for the love of all that is good in the world, put yourself first. Erik and Liz wanted a wedding that was an all out celebration. Yes, they had the beautiful welcome reception under the tea lights and a beach ceremony on a private island, (who wouldn’t want that) but they also had a DJ play music until as late as they possibly could and tequila poured straight into people’s mouths in the middle of the dance floor. Why? Because they wanted to! Not only was each element epic, but it was also very “them.” So when planning your wedding, take a step back and think about how you actually want to do it.

The most loved and hated idea - relinquish control

By the time you’ve made the decision to do a destination wedding, selected your venue, and invited your guests, you’ve already done 85% of your wedding planning. From there, just have fun with it! You’re not going to meet every vendor, and it’s ok. Chances are they’ve all done this a time or two (or a dozen and a half) and know what to do. Don’t get me wrong, we’ve still dealt with timelines running amuck due to hair and makeup or even the loss of a bridesmaid’s dress, but that just means learning to roll with the punches. Improvise. Drink another glass of champagne. Take it as an opportunity to practice all of those great yoga breathing exercises you’ve learned over the years. As long as we still get you and the love of your life down the aisle, everything will always be ok.

treat yourself

Can anybody actually say that without adding a little Parks and Rec flare? Just try it with me.

Treat Yo Self.

Also, this isn’t just a wedding tip (destination or not). This really should be incorporated more into your every day life. Rick and I have come to the understanding where we just get it when the other needs to do it. I don’t get my nails done often, but I like it as a holiday treat. I kept going back and forth whether I was going to do it and Rick just looked at me and said, “Treat yo self.” I know part of that was to get my indecisive self to make a decision, but he also genuinely meant it. It’s a great mantra (within reason, of course.)

Anyways. Think about nail appointments, facials, hair appointments - everything you need to be feeling your best on your wedding day. Some of these are great to tackle before you leave, while others can be a great activity to do with your favorites after arriving to your destination.

enjoy yourself

You’ve heard it before, you’ll hear it again. Need we say more?