But a wedding also comes with another constant: questions.

So many questions.

Who to invite, for example. Who to hire to take photos, for
another. Floral arrangements. Cake designs. Bridesmaid dress-
es. Donut wall or no donut wall?
It’s a virtual minefi eld of decision-making. And topping the
list, towering high above all others, is the ultimate question:
where to have the wedding?
In Philadelphia, choices abound. Country clubs and major
hotels host weddings. So does the National Museum of Amer-
ican Jewish History, the Fairmount Park Horticulture Center
and the Franklin Institute.

Local wedding planners can give you glamorous art deco
weddings, country barn weddings or traditional weddings like
your grandparents enjoyed.

But there’s another choice. It’s not for everyone. But for
those who want a unique wedding outside of Philadelphia, it’s
a really great option:
Th e Central American country of Belize.

Some people might be aware Belize rates high as a stun-
ningly beautiful wedding location. What they may not know is
its other advantage, a woman named Lara Goldman.

The Philadelphia native lives in Belize and runs a com-
pany that specializes in coordinating destination weddings.

She knows Philadelphia. She also knows everyone and every-
thing about Belize. She’s the person to talk with if you want
to, say, swim with sharks or zip line your way to a ceremony
in a hut in the jungle.

Or, as Goldman puts it, “The answer is yes, what’s
the question?”
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM PHILLY-ZEAN AT YOUR SERVICE
Before everyone starts Googling “Where is Belize?”: Th e
country runs for about 200 miles along the eastern Central
American coast. Belize sits east of Guatemala, north of Hon-
duras and just south of Yucatan and Quintana Roo (which you
likely did not know existed until you read this sentence).

Th rillist named Belize one of the best countries to visit where
locals love Americans, calling it an “even chiller extension of
southern California.” Travel and Leisure magazine readers
ranked Belize as one of the best destinations for travelers.

Goldman, who grew up and lived in the Philadelphia area
until 2006, runs a business — Romantic Travel Belize — through
which she coordinates destination weddings for couples. Th at
includes everything from fi nding a venue, arranging hotels for
guests and the wedding party, setting up transportation, and
hiring all the people needed to get things just right.

“Planning a destination wedding is not the same as plan-
ning one locally, and it’s certainly not the same as planning a
vacation,” said Goldman, who lives in Ambergris Caye, Belize.

“Th ere is a lot more to consider, especially when you have guests
traveling all this way.”
Goldman handles all that. Articulate and blessed with a great
sense of humor, Goldman summed up her job this way:
“I tell brides, ‘My job is to protect your wedding from every-
one — including you.'”
Goldman said in her 11 years as a Belizean — or a “Philly-
zean,” as she calls it — she has come to know everyone in the
area that has anything to do with planning and producing a
SIMCHAS See DESTINATION, page 28
OCTOBER 26, 2017
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