IELEV8

Mark loved Mexico. His first trip there was when we wed on Playa Paraiso on October 29, 2004. We were fortunate to have many beloved friends and family there to celebrate our wedding during an amazing week jam-packed with incredible memories. Mark had so much fun traveling with friends and family that it became a “thing” that he was always encouraging others to do. I have even received several cards and notes from people in recent weeks mentioning that they chose to have a destination wedding simply because Mark described to them what an amazing experience our wedding was. After our wedding day, we vowed to return to Playa Paraiso for our 5 year wedding anniversary. This photo of Mark and Cooper was taken on the bridge to the beach where we said “I do.”
When my sister, Allison, and her husband, Jeff, chose Sayulita, Mexico for their destination wedding, this became Mark’s new spot. He was enamored with Sayulita, for good reason. We were both convinced it’s pretty close to heaven on earth…and we recently decided we would do everything possible to travel back to our new favorite paradise every year. Mark’s token phrase “I’ve got a guy” morphed into “I’ve got a place,” as he tried to convince everyone and anyone not only to visit Sayulita, but to vacation there with us. I am pretty certain it was his dream to go on vacation with literally everyone he knew. Perhaps a bit unrealistic, but I know that if it had actually happened, Mark would have felt as though it truly WAS his heaven on earth.