While dating in the 21st century comes with things including, but not limited to… DMs, Netflix and chilling, and lots (we mean LOTS) of dating apps, it can sometimes feel like a treasure hunt to find love in the age of information. It’s almost too easy to log in and endlessly swipe through revolving images of singles within a 3-mile radius. But what is it about “the one” that will shine through among the masses?
For John and Corky, what started as a mere curiosity while scrolling on social media quickly evolved into digital love and, eventually, an IRL relationship and a beautiful destination wedding on the beaches of Los Cabos. From a Facebook friend request, a gem of romance was uncovered, and the presence of love became an ever-present force. Here’s how Honeymoon Wishes and Hyatt Ziva Los Cabos were able to bring their dream destination wedding and honeymoon to life.
So I had a chance to look at your wedding website and registry and saw that you both stayed at the Hyatt Ziva in Los Cabos. Tell us how your stay was and what made you choose this location for your honeymoon.
Corky: Hyatt Ziva was one of three locations suggested by our wedding coordinator. We looked online to see what we liked the most and which offered what we were wanting to experience while we were there.
Hyatt Ziva had the date available, because we weren’t flexible on that, so they won. And we got to go before [our wedding] as a site visit just to kind of see the resort, get a tour, and do a tasting. And that just solidified that we wanted to choose [Hyatt Ziva] for a destination wedding.
I saw on Hyatt’s website that they offer a Big Day Preview for couples and then credit is put towards the wedding ceremony, is that what you two did?
Corky: Yeah. For the site visit, we put $500 towards that, and then once we got there for the stay they put that towards the bill.
Very cool. I also read on your wedding website a little bit of your love story, but could you tell us how you both met and share your personal experiences?
John: Well, actually how we met was on Facebook. Not the Facebook Dating app, but something came up like “People You May Know”, so I clicked on his picture and was like, “Oh my God, this picture is just speaking to me.” I was about to get off of Facebook, to be honest with you. Just one last trial run, I saw his picture, went through his profile, fell in love with the profile, and wanted to get to know him.
I believe I messaged him, and sent a friend request, and he accepted it. I thought I wanted to just be friends but was like, “No this has to be more than just a friendship, this has to be something a lot deeper.” I wanted to really get to know him. At the time, he was in Vegas with his family, and I was here in Chicago.
Our first meeting was at his house; we talked, met up, and set up another date, of course. And next time it was at Red Lobster, and from there we just started clicking on all levels. It was everything I could’ve dreamt of, to be honest with you. And as they say, the rest is history.
Photo Credit: John and Corky Henderson
That’s beautiful… So you slid in his DMs first! What a great story, and Corky if you care to share or add anything.
Corky: Sure, so yeah he sent me a friend request. I did my own research, went through his profile, and was like, “Oh! Nice looking guy, okay.” I read through some of the posts and said, “Okay, we can be friends on Facebook.” But before I accepted, I sent him a message to say I like to get to know people that are on my friend list.
I knew I found him attractive but didn’t want to jump the gun or make assumptions so I asked, “Is this a platonic thing or a romantic thing?” And he was like, “Platonic,” so I was like, “Okay, I’ll stay in that friend lane.”
We talked for a couple more days, and the conversation started to shift. I said, “You realize this is not a platonic conversation,” and he said “Yes.” I said, “Okay, just want to make sure we were clear.” And from that point on it just kind of took a completely different turn. We decided to meet when I got back [to Chicago] from Vegas and we’ve been together ever since.
Wow, sometimes things just happen. You click and then end up married. So congratulations, it’s really cool to hear. So, how long have you been married?
Corky: It will be two years on February 19th. We had a ceremony here in Chicago at the house in 2021. A lot of people couldn’t make it because of Covid, so we wanted to do another larger ceremony where more people could attend and we made it a destination wedding.
“From the time we got there to the time we left, the entire time we were there for the wedding, reception, and honeymoon, was just an amazing experience.”
Love that. Why did you decide on that destination? Does Cabo hold any significance for either of you?
Corky: Well, when we first talked about a wedding and destinations, Cabo was mentioned because neither of us had ever been there. Jamaica was another option we were looking at, but not viable, so Cabo was kind of it.
Once we did the site visit, it sealed the deal. It was just amazing. From the time we got there to the time we left, the entire time we were there for the wedding, reception, and honeymoon, was just an amazing experience.
Photo Credit: John and Corky Henderson
Was everything coordinated by the team in Mexico? You did one visit and then had the actual ceremony?
Corky: Yes, so between them and our wedding coordinator, Freddie Johnson, most of the planning was all done and we just signed off on whatever decisions needed to be made.
That’s awesome. So how long was your stay when you were out there for the ceremony?
A week.
Given that you were traveling once things started settling down a bit, did you feel safe while traveling at your destination? Were there any extra precautions that you took, or that Hyatt took, to help alleviate feelings that people might have around Covid travel?
Corky: Oh definitely. I really appreciated the fact that they had sanitary mats at every door that sanitized your shoes and hand sanitizer throughout the property. They made sure that everyone was tested and had negative results prior to going back home to the states. The Hyatt took a lot of precautions to make sure that everyone was safe and to avoid any infections.
What are some favorite activities, aside from getting married, that you took part in during your trip?
Corky: Well, we did an ATV excursion. On a yacht excursion, we went out and took some family members with us and had drinks on the ship. Beautiful beautiful pictures that we got from that excursion. It was a really, really nice experience going out on the water with a beautiful sunset.
Photo Credit: John and Corky Henderson
Oh yeah! We had cheese and chocolates in the room too. And we did a spa treatment. It put me to sleep! I was so asleep that they could’ve not massaged me and I wouldn’t know. But it was an awesome experience.
How did the registry improve your wedding gifting experience?
“…it made it easier for people to be a blessing to us.”
Corky: I think it made it easier for people to be a blessing to us. Someone paid for the spa treatment. People put money towards credits we could use to do other things throughout the hotel, and it really streamlined the whole registry process.
I have gone to a lot of weddings where I purchased things for people and I think this just made it really easy. People didn’t have to travel with a huge gift or anything like that. They could just donate money, and it went to our account. So it made things a lot easier.
That’s good, and that’s part of why we have this service. To make things easier for couples and for people attending the wedding too. How did you find out about Celebration Wishes?
Corky: We knew that we wanted to have a website, so when we reached out to the coordinator at Hyatt Ziva Los Cabos about setting up the website, [the registry] was one of the things that they mentioned. So we set up the website and thought, “This is cool, we can just set our registry up right here and don’t have to worry about it.”
“I would say to go with a wedding coordinator that you trust. Because that relationship is so important in the planning. We relied on our coordinator so much.”
Any advice you would give newly engaged couples who are in the process of planning their honeymoon?
Corky: I would say to go with a wedding coordinator that you trust. Because that relationship is so important in the planning. We relied on our coordinator so much.
It would not have been nearly as nice had it been somebody else. It’d be ideal to have someone that kind of knows you so they can make some objective decisions when they can’t reach you.
The guy we worked with has known me for almost 20 years, so he was able to use that knowledge about me to help plan things. Everything was amazing from beginning to end. If it’s not someone you know, definitely make sure that you do your research. Because you want to make sure it’s someone you can trust and who has your best interest at heart.
What are some things that the coordinator did for both of you that alleviated some of what most people will call “stress” around planning an event like this? How did they support that process?
Corky: Well, we didn’t have to do anything once we got to the resort outside of the rehearsal dinner. Everything from making sure the decorations were set up on time, to making sure that we had a videographer and a photographer. He took care of all of that. And I would recommend him to anyone.
Do either of you have any advice you would share with couples visiting the same destination?
Corky: Yes, go to the adult pool and have tacos! Those tacos are the best tacos we’ve ever had in our entire life. Everybody in my family and my friends that came and ate there was like, “Yes, these are hands-down the best tacos in the world!”
What kind of tacos were they? We have some pretty good tacos in San Diego too!
John: Steak tacos, they were awesome!
Corky: Yes, I don’t know if it was like wagyu beef or what but it was amazing! And we haven’t been able to duplicate it.
I love that, and will definitely remember to have the tacos.
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