Gran Melia Golf Resort Puerto Rico

Wedding Day

Wedding

Reception

Our Wedding

We met a little over four years ago. Shortly after fell in love and haven't looked back since. A year ago we made the decision to move to Colorado and start a new life together. While it has been challenging, it has been a great opportunity to grow as a couple. We are so excited to get married and can't wait to see you all in Puerto Rico!

A little about us

Our Story

Jesse and Shauna Itinerary

Saturday 3/12/2016

If you would like to join us for any of the excursions or restaurants please email Shauna so she can get a head count and make reservations accordingly, or get you in touch with the right people. shauna1113@yahoo.com Please have all requests in by 3/01/2016, and remember the sooner you join the more likely we can accommodate adding you to any reservations. We are providing this itinerary in hopes we can spend as much time as possible with each of you. Please feel free to join us anytime, and thank you for participating and supporting us in this exciting time!We arrive in San Juan around 12:30Check into Gran Melia Golf Resort 1:30Lechon (Pork) highway, this is something we missed last time we were here and are very excited to experience it this time around. Pork, pork, and more pork. Enjoy Puerto Rican Food on Guavate the Pork HighwayIf you want to experience the culture and the gastronomy of Puerto Rico, nothing better than making a trip to Guavate. Every year thousands of Puerto Ricans and tourists visit Guavate to enjoy traditional dishes like: roast pork, BBQ ribs, rice and beans, "pasteles" (smash green banana filled with meat), pavochón (pork and turkey), Puerto Rican sweets and "piña colada". At Christmas and on weekends, Guavate becomes extremely festive. Some of the restaurants have live music. The rest of the year, most of the restaurants are open only on weekends. In the area you will find kiosks with crafts, candy and reminders. The trip is very nice because you can breathe the fresh air of the mountains of Puerto Rico.

Sunday 3/13/2016

Fishing in the morning with Bill Wraps Fishing, should be back at the resort around 4:00. Reserving a boat is required, space is limited.Shauna will be meeting with the wedding coordinator in the morning and finishing up some last minute planning. Then laying by the pool and relaxing, with a cocktail in hand.Dinner at the resort at one of the 3 available restaurants.Depending on how fishing goes, there may be an opportunity for dinner at a nearby marina restaurant to cook up the day's catch! talk to Shauna around 4pm for more info!

Monday 3/14/2016

Going to be a busy day! We will travel into San Juan to get our marriage licence in the morning. Then spend the day doing site seeing, touring through the Castillo San Felipe del Morro, Monumental 16th-century Spanish fortification atop cliffside promontory, cannons pointing seaward. , and Castillo de San Cristóbal, Walled &amp; heavily fortified citadel built 1765-1785 &amp; largest of the Spanish built forts in Americas. <a class="i6pSMmzjKW20-6WH35iSZ2V0 rllt__link rllt__content"></a>Also shopping, grabbing lunch in one of the many restaurants, walking through the cobble stone streets, heading back to the resort around 4:00 pm. Dinner at one of the three resort restaurants.*** meet in front of hotel @6:45pm,**** we will meet in front of the hotel to take a bus to Fajardo bay for kayaking through Bioluminescent Bay, with ( www.PureAdventurePr.com ). The cost is $61/pp that includes transportation. This is something we encourage everyone to join us for! It was our favorite thing when we came last year and are very excited to see it again! Please plan on a late night, we got back to our hotel around 11:00pm last time, but promise it's worth it. Reservations have been made for this, please Shauna know if you would like to join. We reserved a whole tour group of 30, but if that fills up, there are other tour companies leaving at the same time. If you plan on this, make this reservation your first priority!By day, Fajardo's famous "Bio Bay" looks like a regular Puerto Rican coastline. By night, however, the bay becomes an eerie lagoon that literally shines a fluorescent hue with every movement or splash. Due to the presence of microscopic plankton that thrive in the shallow waters, every stroke of a kayak paddle creates a trailing ribbon of light. Officially known as "bioluminescence," there are only a handful of places worldwide where the phenomenon is consistently found. One of those is here at Laguna Grande just off the shores of Fajardo, where kayak tours literally allow visitors the chance to set the water aglow. For as eerie and almost unnatural as that sounds, watching the water glow on your fingertips isn't the spookiest part. Rather, that would be kayaking through dense mangroves under a total canopy of darkness, where every creak, groan, and jungle sound reminds you're not indoors. Once you're out of the mangrove tunnel, look up in the sky at the sea of stars that pierce through the inky black darkness.<a class="i6pSMmzjKW20-6WH35iSZ2V0 rllt__link rllt__content"> </a><a class="i6pSMmzjKW20-6WH35iSZ2V0 rllt__link rllt__content"> </a><a class="i6pSMmzjKW20-6WH35iSZ2V0 rllt__link rllt__content"> </a><a class="i6pSMmzjKW20-6WH35iSZ2V0 rllt__link rllt__content"> </a><a class="i6pSMmzjKW20-6WH35iSZ2V0 rllt__link rllt__content"> </a>

Tuesday 03/15/20016

Planning on taking it easy after our busy day on Monday. Golfing, possibly do a hike through the El Yunque National Forest, hang by the pool and relaxing before the big day on 3/16/2016!Dinner at our one of our favorite spots with a great view, Richies Cafe at 6:00 pm. They provide a shuttle to and from and we would love to see all of you there! Reservations will be made for dinner, please let Shauna know if you would like to join. ***the shuttle will leave the parking lot at 5:45pm***

Wednesday 3/16/2016

Wedding Day!!!!!We will be with the wedding coordinator most of the day. Getting things set up for the festivities!Wedding party please be ready for pictures by 2:00 PM, and meet on the beach outside our room. (We will make sure when we get there every one knows where that is)Ceremony will start promptly at 4:00 under the palm tree arch. Followed by cocktail and hors d'oeuvres hour from 4:30-5:30, dinner served at 5:30, and then dancing until we can't dance anymore!If anyone is still awake and interested, the lobby bar is open until 2 AM

Thursday 3/17/2016

Another relaxation day, after all, this is a vacation!

Friday 3/18/2016

Leaving this day open so far, it will be a travel home day for some. Possibly fishing in the morning ( if so will post the company for you to join if you want) golfing, hiking the El Yunque National Forest, Bacardi Rum Factory tour, relaxing by the pool etc.Dinner 7:00 PM at another favorite spot Iguana's Pub. Reservations will be made for dinner. Please let Shauna know if you would like to join.

Saturday 3/19/2016

Details

Photos

Michael Behling

Amie Clark

Darcy Phillipps

Pope (Brian) Hieb

Rich Baraki

Randi Hieb

Bree Aboulhosn

Fernando  Diego

Wedding Party

Q + A

Registry

When you call or email to book your stay, please include that you are with the wedding party of Shauna Stringham and Jesse Behling. If you book outside of the resort , PLEASE rsvp on this site. This will make it easy for us to have a final head count.

For transportation there are a number of traditional options like taxis or shuttles through the various excursion companies. The resort does NOT offer a shuttle from or to the airport. .****UPDATE*** for taxi services, rates have adjusted. Try one of the following sites. They are all "reserve ahead" services. www.sanjuantaxis.com (75.00/car)www.anytimetaxipr.com ($65/car)www.Puertoricoshuttle.com ($64/car) If you do plan on renting a car, be aware that the resort charges a daily parking fee of $19.00. If you plan to rent a car the whole time, be aware of the added costs. Another option would be to rent a car on just the days you need one. There is a car rental desk at the resort for day to day needs. Downtown San Juan is about 45 minutes away, the rain forest is about 15, most restaurants are within 15 as well. Bio bay is about 30 minutes and they will have transportation at an additional charge availible.

Gran Meliá Puerto Rico Golf Resort

Travel

Please see Jesse and Shauna Itinerary for detail of the company we booked with, date and time.

Bioluminescent Bay

El Yunque National Forest

We don't have this on our itinerary, but it's a fun tour!

Bacardi Distillery Entry

Fun city to experience the culture and food of Puerto Rico. Also, this is where the military forts are located. Really fun to see and tour.

Jesse & Shauna

Jesse & Shauna

Things to Do

Bioluminescent Bay

El Yunque National Forest

Bacardi Distillery Entry

Old San Juan, San Juan, Puerto Rico