Jordan & Justin

A personal, private and one-of-a-kind destination wedding.

Jordan Reed and Justin Brown are the only two people in the world that heard their wedding vows. They made their perfectly private declarations of love to each other while perched atop the Mask Temple in the Lamanai ruins in Belize, 10 of their closest friends and family—and their son—standing below, in the middle of the jungle, dressed in all white. In a leap of faith, their small party of wedding guests joined the couple on a journey based on an illustrated save the date—hand-drawn by Justin, featuring a cartoon of he and Jordan—
that only revealed where they where going and what they needed to wear.

“It was the best day of my life. We didn’t tell anybody what our plans were for the wedding. We sent invites to maybe 25 people,” says Jordan. “We woke up that morning, had breakfast and said, ‘OK everyone go change and we’ll tell you what you’re doing.’”

The day unfolded with a boat ride through the tributaries of the jungle waters, a picnic and some drinks under the trees and a hike to where she and Justin would celebrate their union. They went back to their accommodations at the Maruba Jungle Spa, feasted on vegetarian food, shared their first dance on a hand-hummed table (to “Harvest Moon”) and skinny-dipped under the stars.

The next day, the newlyweds took off to the tiny island of Caye Caulker with their guests for a few days of sun and ocean, and then departed for their own adventure—a month of backpacking in Guatemala and Mexico.

“It was really important for me to not feel stressed and that we could really be in the moment,” says Jordan. “It was well-deserved after 10 years of working on a relationship.” 

“It was the best day of my life.” —Jordan Reed

Wedding Details:

Date: April 24, 2016
Location: Belize
Accommodations: Maruba Jungle Spa
Dress: Forever 21 (for just $5!)
Invites: DIY
Photographer: Cassia Lawrence Photography