A Fairytale Wedding in Germany - 09.30.17
And oh what a fairytale it was! After months of planning, we were finally there. In Germany - the Vaterland - about to be wed by Chris' best friend, Gabe, beneath the mountains and the stunning Neuschwanstein castle, surrounded by our loved ones. It was the day every girl dreams of... marrying her Prince Charming. [cheesy, I know.] Take a journey with me to get a glimpse of the days leading up to our wedding, our wedding day, Oktoberfest in Munich, and our honeymoon in beautiful Greece.
We all know I was home in Minnesota for three weeks without Chris, but it was that last weekend before we left when everything started to get real. I had my last day at work [miss you all!], said goodbye to my sister, Katie, and her family, my Grandma, and well, everybody. There were several happy hours and lots of hugs. I had also been training to run the Women Run the Twin Cities 10k with two friends on the Sunday before we left, but ran into some knee problems [and well, also, just being really busy too], so Kelly and I ran the 5k and Dana ran the 10k [she also runs marathons and is a champ]. After the race, I got to say goodbye one more time to my "training class" that I started at Thomson Reuters with - dear friends and friends for life. They all came out to support Dana, Kelly, and me by diving into some delicious brunch food at The Longfellow Grille in St. Paul!
The weekend passed and soon all the stress came back. How the heck do I pack for a week in Germany, a week in Greece, and oh just like the next two years in Ireland? Ok, I'm being a little dramatic since MOST of my stuff was already in Dublin. But still, I had my wedding dress and accessories, clothes for all climates, things Chris had forgotten, odds and ends, important documents, etc. I had definitely underestimated how much stuff I actually needed to bring. I had two pieces of luggage and a backpack and gall darnit I was going to fit everything in there!
I also had to say goodbye to Hugo knowing I wasn't going to see him for 16 days and fearing the journey he had ahead of him. I decided I would take him to daycare the day we were taking off so that he wouldn't see me packing and get stressed out. So I dropped him off early Tuesday morning and "see ya soon, chunk nugget." There were definitely tears, but I knew he was going to be in great hands with my Aunt Chrissy.
After that, I wrestled with my luggage [actually, it zipped up okay, it was just that the one bag weighed 85 lbs, you know... the size of an Olson twin]. My parents had all their packing done and we were ready for the trip of a lifetime! I was particularly excited for my parents because it was their first ever trip to Europe!
To get to Germany, we flew a redeye with Icelandair to Iceland [about 6 hours]. In total, we had my parents, aunts Diane and Kathleen, and bffs Alisa and Ashley on the flight and it was great traveling with such a fun group! The seats were not the coziest I've ever experienced, but the price was right. When we landed, we had 20 minutes to make our next flight, which was nervewracking to say the least. We had to take a bus from our plane to the terminal, find out what gate we were at, go through customs, and then get to our gate. Aye yay yay, but we made it! And soon we were off to Munich! There was a fun surprise on the flight -- our friends Sami & Dylan were on this flight! Our group and excitement were both growing in size. It was a quick 3.5 hour flight and I couldn't WAIT to get there! I would finally get to see Chris after three long weeks!
When we landed in Munich, everyone went their separate ways based on different plans we had made, but I was staying put to receive Chris getting off his flight from Dublin. We had lucked out that his flight was going to land just five minutes after ours. Well, our luck must have been running on empty because Chris' flight got delayed and then it took over an hour to get his luggage. After a few painstaking hours, we were finally reunited and how sweet it was!
Chris and I picked up a few snacks, our Volvo [i know, i know, not a BMW or Mercedes, but the Volvo was nice!], and we were ready to hit the road! The surrounding area outside of Munich reminds me a lot of Minnesota with its landscape, but then there is a point during the drive down to Schwangau where you hit a turn and BAM! there they are ... the most incredible mountains. The Alps! Not so Minnesota-like anymore! The silver lining to Chris' delay was that we got to drive through the mountains and through all these quintessential quaint German towns at sunset and it is a drive I will never forget. Just breathtaking.
When we got to Schwangau and saw the castle for the first time, our jaws dropped. THIS was the backdrop for our wedding?! [insert scream face emoji here] We stayed at the Hotel Villa Ludwig Schwangau, which was also where we were having the ceremony. We were welcomed to the hotel by Annette, the hotel owner, who was instrumental in helping with our festivities. My parents and aunties also made it to the hotel and best friends David and Hanna had made it! David, who lives in NYC, and Hanna who lives in Amsterdam, both flew into Basel, Switzerland and drove to Germany from there. It was so good to see my family and friends after a long day of travel! We all went to dinner at the restaurant in the hotel Alpenstuben and ended the night with shots of Schnapps!
The hotel was GORGEOUS. The first night, Chris and I slept in one of the suites, which was stunning, but then for the rest of the nights, we joined my family and David and Hanna in the newly renovated Chalet. The Chalet was built in 1920 and owned by the royal family until Annette was able to purchase it. It is a 3-level, 6-bedroom house with full dining, kitchen, and living room. It was so fun staying in a big house! Here are photos of the views from the suite, the Chalet, and the grounds. The leaves got brighter with each day.
Thursday, September 28th:
On Thursday morning, we woke up refreshed and ready to enjoy our first full day in Bavaria. We were all standing out on the lawn going over some logistics for the ceremony when we looked up and saw people paragliding off of the mountain. Chris pointed up and said, "I wanna do that!" David and Hanna were quick to second and third the motion. I, on the other hand, wasn't too pumped about jumping off of a mountain two days before our wedding. But before we knew it, we had our reservations booked for later that day.
With time to kill, we headed into the quaint town of Füssen to go lederhosen and dirndl shopping. Hanna, who is half German, was gifted her first dirndl and wanted to pass along that experience to me as her wedding gift and I am SO appreciative of that! She found a great shop that had quality pieces. David, Chris, and I had so much fun trying on different looks and our outfits got better and better with each piece added. We could not wait to wear our new garb at Oktoberfest!
After shopping, we refueled at a little cafe in Füssen and found best friends Gabe and Katie! It was so fun "running into" people we knew halfway across the world.
Then, it was time to put our [my] fear to the side and lean into a YOLO moment. [don't hate me for using yolo, okay?] We drove over to the paragliding base and had to wait to take the gondola up the mountain -- Tegelberg. We had to wait longer than usual because a helicopter was up there making a rescue OR SOMETHING and we had to wait for it to leave the top of the mountain. CAUSE THAT MADE ME FEEL BETTER. We made it up and the views were breathtaking. And there were lots of people up there to paraglide. We were jumping tandem -- with instructors --, but there were a lot of [adult] students up there practicing.
We got outfitted in super cool flying suits and were given the instructions on how to take off -- PULL, PULL, PULL, STOP, RUN, RUN, RUN! We all got to practice with our individual instructors and then one-by-one, we jumped off the top of the mountain!! Chris, David, Hanna, then me. Of course I had to go last -- the most nervous one and man my heart was beating out of my chest. We also had to change which side we were going to jump off because the wind direction changed. My instructor really built up the suspense!
I have to admit -- flying in the Alps above the valley and above the castles was unreal. It was so quiet and the colors of the leaves were beautiful. What an experience!!!
For an extra €35, you could have your instructor take pictures with a GoPro and capture your flight. Chris splurged and got the GoPro, which was totally worth it! Here is a montage of Chris' flight and bonus video of my landing. See if you can spot Neuschwanstein in some of the shots!
We were the last jumpers for the day and we had a lot of fun with our group of instructors, so we enjoyed a beer with them down at the base of the mountain ... next to a pasture of Bavarian cows. They all wore bells and were the cutest!
We invited all the instructors to our reception on Saturday ... they didn't come. They told us they would drop rose petals over the ceremony during their jumps on Saturday ... they didn't. But they were still great and we really enjoyed our experience!
After a quick beer, we had to get back to the Chalet to welcome Chris' brothers, Shawn and Nate! They had just arrived from the States and we were so excited to see them! Best friend Jeremy also made it into town and was waiting for us at the Chalet! Our group kept growing, which made it all the more fun. We got our whole group together -- a total of 15 at this point -- and headed to dinner at the Hotel Müller restaurant. We had my family, Chris' brothers, his best friends Gabe & Katie, my best friends David, Jer, Hanna, Alisa, and Ashley -- it felt incredible having all of these people here with us in Germany, and that feeling would exponentially grow with every person we saw.
After dinner, we headed back to the Chalet for what turned into an unforgettable night of shenanigans. There were drinks -- lots of drinks -- including a wine that I had found called Hugo Rosé!
The night started off with battling rounds of Heads Up turned insane Dance Party turned Fashion Show [featuring your every day 1920s German chalet household decor as accessories] turned Fitness Competition [wall sits are no joke] turned shutting the place down with a reprise of a Dance Party. We laughed so hard and had the best night!
Here's just a taste of the fun - David S L A Y I N G.
Friday, September 29th:
We woke up on Friday feeling ... well, let's just say, not bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. But, it was a beautiful day and we had a fun day ahead!
We refueled with a delicious breakfast provided by Villa Ludwig and made our morning plans. Best friends Natassja and Jon stopped by to say hi and saw the paragliders and said they wanted to do that, which was perfect because my Aunt Kathleen wanted to go too! Chris wanted to show his brothers the mountains, and my parents and Aunt Diane wanted to go up and support the paragliders jumping. So the nine of them headed to Tegelberg for fun and adventure, meanwhile, Hanna, David, and I rented out the hotel spa to relax and rejuvenate.
Here are some snapshots from their expedition up [and off] the mountain!
Friday afternoon, Chris and I, with the help of our coordinator, Julia, orchestrated a group tour of the fairytale castle, Schloss Neuschwanstein, for everyone. At this point, almost all of our friends and family were now in town for the wedding and we were so excited to see them all! We all met in front of Hotel Müller to await our horse-drawn carriages to be taken up to the castle. The horses got us about 3/4 of the way up the hill and then it was up to us to walk the rest of the way. The castle was spectacularly devine and awe inspiring with unbeatable views. Our tour was short and sweet due to the fact that King Ludwig II was murdered before he could ever finish his castle. If you fancy, you can read more about Kind Ludwig II and Neuschwanstein here.
After the castle tour, while a few us headed back to the Chalet for our wedding rehearsal, we had Julia organize a tour and tasting at Schlossbrauhaus, the brewery where we were having our rehearsal dinner. Everyone said they enjoyed the tour and had to laugh because the brewmasters were confident that beer had all your daily vitamins and therefore everyone needs to drink it every day. Classic Germans! I love it!
After we were done rehearsing, Chris and I changed into our lederhosen and dirndl and were so ready to go meet up with everyone and celebrate! It was an indescribeable feeling walking into our rehearsal dinner and seeing everyone we loved. The love we felt was overwhelming. The food was fantastic, the beer was flowing [and nutritious], and everyone had a great time!
We ended up with another night to remember at the Chalet, but this time with plenty of more friends and family. This time, it was mostly just one big dancy party. A beautiful foreshadow for all the fun to be had the next day for our wedding.
Saturday, September 30th: Our Wedding Day!
Aghhh! Wedding day!! I woke up feeling excited, nervous, and excited again! This was the day we had worked so hard to get to. The first thing I needed to do was look out the window at the weather. The forecast had shown Saturday as being the worst day for weather. Like rain. All day. When I peeled back the blinds, it was nothing but sun! The forecast, however, said the rain would start around 4:00 p.m. Perfect. Our ceremony time. We would just have to see about that.
Chris, his brothers, and Gabe all got ready in Shawn and Nate's suite and us girls had the Chalet. Julia was there mid-morning to start getting the beautiful arch prepared. Natassja was ready to help with hair and makeup. Our photographers, Julia and Gil, got there around 11:00 a.m. to start taking pictures [we were SO excited to meet them because they are amazingly talented and seemed so cool!]. Seriously though, click on the link of their names and check out their Instagram, which is full of their work.
Jeremy was also there with mimosas! Cause duh!
Gil joined the guys in the suite and Julia hung out with us in the Chalet. From the guys' account, they were a little nervous over there. There was a bit of a bow-tie situation, but with the help of some YouTube videos and Gil, they got it figured out. Here are some of the shots of the guys getting ready and the handsome groom.
Over in the Chalet, we were jamming to music, sipping on mimosas, and glamming. I am so thankful to Natassja for doing my mom's, Aunt Diane's, Hanna's, and my hair. She is so talented and I wouldn't have trusted anyone else. I had fun doing my own makeup, but I think I was so nervous to do a good job that it took way longer than normal. Oops! Here are some of the pictures of us getting ready before I put on my dress.
As I was getting ready to get my dress on, Chris and the guys were ready and guests were arriving. Jake and Emily, lifelong friends from home, were the last guests to arrive and they made it! Here are a few photos of Chris doing some last minute prepping and guests arriving.
In true Sara fashion, I was running a bit behind, so it was time to get my dress on. This was one of the moments I was most looking forward to since we started planning our wedding. I was in love with my dress and could not wait to see the whole look come together and show Chris. There was good energy in the room, with my Aunts, Mom, David, Hanna, and Natassja.
I got my dress from BHLDN in Chicago. Check out their site because their dresses are GORGEOUS. My dress was actually not a dress either, it was a lace bodysuit with a tulle skirt finished with a belt and I felt like a princess in it. There were a few alterations that needed to be done, including adding a hoop [true life saver from not overheating]. Calling all brides in Minnesota -- if you need alterations, go see Brenda at Amazing Alterations. THEY DO INCREDIBLE WORK and will make sure your dress is perfect up until the last minute.
Before we left for Germany, my Mom had asked if I wanted to do the old tradition of "something borrowed, something blue, something old, and something new" and I said nah. However, she and the others had something else up their sleeves, which they presented to me right before it was go-time. Cue the tears!
Something Borrowed - My Dad lent me the pin of the German flag from his Bavarian hat.
Something Blue - This one blew me away [pun intended]. David had asked if I had any piece of my dress that he could sew into his suit jacket lapel and I had just so happened to have a lace piece that Amazing Alterations gave to me. Well, turns out he duped me. He and Hanna went around town in Schwangau and found a piece of blue fabric [that actually matched the pattern of Chris' suit] and my Aunt Diane stitched the piece of my dress into the blue fabric and everyone stitched their initials into the fabric as well. It was so touching.
Something Old - I had my Grandma Sis' white beaded clutch that she received as a high school graduation gift in 1936 that was in pristine condition.
Something New - My Mom got us a Christmas tree ornament of the Neuschwanstein castle.
To say they knocked it out of the park is an understatement. It was so meaningful and heartfelt. It meant a lot. Love you guys.
Here are some of the photos capturing this special moment.
Remember how it was supposed to start raining right at the start time of our ceremony? Well there was no rain in sight! It was all sun and it was beautiful outside! My dress was on, all our guests had arrived, it was GO TIME!
My heart was beating out of my chest at this point. As brides, I think most of us dream of this moment, right? Chris was down the aisle waiting for me and one-by-one, Nate, Hanna, Shawn, and David made their way down the aisle. Everyone's walk down the aisle was breathtaking -- the sun shining through the mountains, leaves falling from the trees, the castle above. It was pure magic. What really got me choked up was the beautiful music David picked out for us to walk down the aisle to -- an instrumental mashup of Love Story by Taylor Swift and Viva La Vida by Coldplay performed by the Piano Guys. Take a listen while reading more about our ceremony and enjoying the pictures to follow.
When my Dad and I stepped out, it was incredible to see all the smiling faces of our friends and family, but best of all, see Chris waiting down the aisle for me. I think we actually walked too fast down the aisle because I was so excited!
Gabe, our officiant and Chris' best friend, did a phenomenal job officiating our ceremony. He gave the personal touch we had hoped for, gave us sound advice, and even threw in a little German too. It meant so much to Chris and me that he did that for us. We also had our wedding party do some readings, which included a German toast, a poem by Goethe, and an Irish blessing. The readings were all meaningful and Shawn, Nate, David, and Hanna presented them beautifully.
I was so nervous to read my vows because I started crying like a baby at our civil ceremony, so what kind of waterworks were going to come flooding with my own written vows? Somehow, no idea how, I kept it together, but then definitely cried during Chris' vows.
Vows are a hard thing to write. How can you possibly find the most perfect words to say to the most perfect person about the most perfect love you feel for them? What was serendipitous was that mine and Chris' vows, though different in style, aligned. He's my best friend.
Sara's Vows:
Chris, never in a million years did I think that I would find somebody like you. Who would have thought that I would be standing here marrying that cute [loud mouth] hockey player from 9th grade?
Fate brought us back together on that frigid Christmas Eve four years ago. Thank goodness my boss made me open up the warming house that day because in walked you.
From that day on, my life changed. It felt like you and I had been best friends our entire lives. By the way you treated me and made me laugh, within two weeks of dating, I knew we were going to be together forever.
You have become a man that loves with his whole heart, supports me unconditionally, tries so hard to understand me in my most stubborn ways, and most importantly enjoys being my best friend day in and day out.
You have made me a better person and will continue to do so. From the moment we started dating, you said the minute we stop growing together, is the day we are no longer meant to be. Lucky for us, we push the limit towards exponential growth every day. Especially recently. :) You are my perfect and complete compliment, my better half.
Not only for the rest of our days, but for all of eternity, I promise you these things:
I promise to always put our relationship first, even before Hugo... maybe :), and before any other distractions that may come.
I promise to always appreciate you and spend quality time with you to keep your love bucket full.
I promise to challenge you, learn with you, and forever grow with you.
I promise to take care of you and put my best foot forward so that we can live a fulfilling, happy, and successful life.
I promise to be loyal.
I promise to laugh at all your jokes, not only when you first say them, but when you double down... and triple down.
I promise to always be the balloon to your string.
I love you, Chris Murray, not forever, not to the moon and back, I love you cosmos.
Chris' Vows:
I, Chris Murray, choose you, Sara Engelhardt, to be my wife and my anytime-anywhere adventure partner.
I will trust you, respect you, and love you faithfully.
I vow to be the string to your balloon and the counter-weight to your life that always balances our union. [You have to compromise sometime too. :)]
I will nourish our mutual and independent growth so that each day our love strengthens enough to continue expanding through the cosmos.
I choose enthusiastically to give you my hand, my heart, and all of my love.
I promise all of this to you, now and forever.
Our ceremony was unforgettable and everything we wanted. After the ceremony, we arranged for a champagne toast and hor d'ouerves for everyone. It was a perfect to celebrate with everyone and relish in the moment. We were also able to get some group shots that we are so thankful for. Our wedding would not have been nearly as special without everyone who made the journey halfway across the world to be there with us. Thank you to all!!!
What a fantastic group of people! After our group photo, we sent our guests down to the lake - Alpensee - to enjoy a watermelon and berry punch and go row boating. Our photographers Julia and Gil had found a pasture that was perfect for pictures, so we headed there next. The colors were vibrant and the moutains were outstanding.
After our photoshoot, we headed down to the lake to meet up with our guests at the boathouse. I have to give a shoutout to our coordinator, Julia, and the owner of Alpenrose am See [the restaurant where we had our dinner and reception], Herr Feldmann, for organizing the row boats for us specially because the boathouse had been closed for the season. I'm so happy they were able to arrange it because our guests had a great time and the view was pretty spectacular down by the water and on the water.
It was pretty tricky getting into the row boat in my dress and shoes and I may or may not have biffed it in the boat, but we were all good! One of mine and Chris' favorite moments of the whole day was when we were out on the lake. It was so quiet and still. It was a great moment to enjoy each other's company and try and pinch ourselves to make sure we weren't dreaming.
I'd like to give a big shoutout to our photographers, Julia and Gil, for also braving it out on the lake and to Gabe for rowing their boat so they could take some amazing pictures.
Once we wrapped up boating, we all headed to the restaurant, the beautiful Alpenrose am See. Waiting for us outside at the main entrance was a log for Chris and I to saw through. The Germans believe that marriage comes with challenges and that the couple must work together to get through those challenges to have a successful marriage. So as part of their wedding traditions, the married couple gets faced with their first challenge before they can celebrate with loved ones -- they must saw through an entire log together. When we read about this tradition, we loved the symbolism and wanted to honor German tradition. Julia organized the whole thing and even made the cutest saw for us to use! Chris and I did pretty okay too! There was a little bit at the end that was tough, but we worked together and made it through our first challenge as husband and wife.
Now it was time to celebrate! We headed inside to the beautiful banquet hall of Alpenrose am See. It is not your typical American banquet hall, which I liked. It was simple, German, and intimate. Julia made beautiful floral arrangements that completed the table setting. Dinner was also REALLY good. I had honestly forgotten what we had picked out for dinner, so each course was a surprise. A delicious surprise.
Throughout dinner, Nate, Hanna, Shawn, and David gave the most heartfelt speeches with the perfect touches of comedy that had everyone rolling with laughter. They all gave sound advice, talked of the importance of family, and shared fun stories from our past. [For those of you who attended our NYE party ringing in 2007, Hanna divulged all of our trade secrets from that night to my parents, who had no idea just how big the party was, and all of our guests.] Their speeches were probably one of the highlights of the entire day and we watch the taped versions often. :)
Because everyone who came to our wedding was so fun, we got some great shots of everyone and here are some of the highlights!
After dinner, everyone headed out to the balcony to light up some sparklers that David smuggled in from Switzerland thanks to his friend Teresa [I'm kidding about the smuggled - it was totes fine]. It was really funny seeing everyone with their sparklers and we got some cool pictures out of it too. Thanks David!
After sparklers, it was time to dance our faces off. We had the cutest German DJ, who took everyone's request, so we WERKED IT OUT. It was so nice to not have to listen to the same old crappy wedding music. We owned the night and that dance floor. Keep On Rollin'!
This is so cliché, but our wedding day was the best day of our lives. I had this insane dream of getting married in Germany and because I have the best husband in the world, he was all about it. With a lot of help from our coordinator, Julia, Annette with Villa Ludwig, friends, and family, our whole experience was better than I could have ever imagined. I jumped in with blind faith that everything was going to turn out okay and it exceeded every expectation I had. The scenery alone was enough to make it picture perfect, but those who traveled far and wide are the ones who made it special. We cannot thank you all enough for making our fairytale come true.
Also, I told you our photographers were amazing!
Sunday morning, we woke up SO. TIRED. We organized a "goodbye breakfast" for all of guests since some were going to be heading home and others were continuing on their European adventure. We went back to Alpenrose am See for a beautiful spread from Herr Feldmann and got to reminisce the night before with everyone. It was the perfect way to recap and say our goodbyes, which was especially important since we weren't headed back to the States, but Ireland to start our new lives.
Then it was time to pack up, say goodbye to the mountains, and head north to Munich for Oktoberfest festivities!
Munich, Germany: Sunday, October 1 - Tuesday, October 3
A group of us traveled up to Munich to take part in the German tradition that is Oktoberfest. I was happy to be back in one of my favorite cities in the world, Munich, but this time with my husband, friends, and family. We were excited to extend the party and cross an item off the ole bucket list. Not to mention that David, Chris, and I were chomping at the bit to wear our new lederhosen and dirndl! We have to give the biggest thank you to Julia, who was able to reserve us a table in the Hofbräuzelt, which is the Hofbräu tent at the Oktoberfest grounds. With our table reservation, we got tickets for 20 biers and 10 half-chickens [not 10 and a half chickens like I had read it at first].
When we got onto the grounds, it was kind of like the Minnesota State Fair with big tents, street vendors, rides, and lots of flashing lights, except everyone was wearing lederhosen and dirndls. It was fantastic. The Hofbräuzelt is absolutely INSANE. First of all, it's massive and so crowded; there's a band playing traditional German drinking songs; and there is so much bier. It was a sight to be seen and so much fun!! David and I played liason with our German waitress making sure the bier was flowing, pretzels bountiful, and the chickens coming.
The favorite of drinking songs is "Ein Prosit":
Ein Prosit, ein Prosit
Der Gemütlichkeit
Ein Prosit, ein Prosit
Der Gemütlichkeit.
EINS, ZWEI, DREI, G'SUFFA!
That night ended in a lot of tearful goodbyes to a lot of great people. #theworst Oktoberfest was incredible though and I would not hesitate to go again next year [hint hint friends].
We spent part of the next day nursing a week's worth of partying, but then worked up the energy to meet my parents and aunties for a walking tour of Munich. Here are some of the highlights from the tour!
After the tour and dinner with my parents and aunties, it was time to say goodbye, which led to more tears on the streets of Munich. This was round like 3 or 4 for me. It was not a cute look, but I gave zero effs. It was so hard to say goodbye to my parents. They have been so supportive and helpful to Chris and me, especially this last year. None of this would have been possible without them. I know I will never be able to repay them, but part of my idea of getting married in Germany had to do with getting my parents to Europe. They had probably the best tour through Europe anyone could wish for and that's something I like to think I helped kick off. This was the final goodbye as we were headed to Greece for our honeymoon the next day. And let me tell you, we were ready for some R + R...
Honeymoon in Greece!
We hopped a quick flight from Munich to Thessaloniki Wednesday morning and were so excited to get some sun and ocean breeze. Neither of us had been to Greece before and there are plenty of other places in Greece we want to explore, but we wanted to worry about nothing and so we went with an all-inclusive resort on the coast by Mount Olympus.
We stayed at Ikos Oceania, which is the most gorgeous, luxury hotel. With our room, we had complimentary airport pick up and drop off, which was a huge bonus. I'm not going to lie though, when we were on our way from the airport, it felt like we were in the middle of nowhere and there were dilapidated buildings where construction had been haulted for quite some time, so it was a little sketchy.. like where is this guy taking us? But Chris was watching the maps on his phone and we were just fine. Obviously.
Our resort had beautiful views of the ocean and Mount Olympus. The restaurants had Michelin star chefs, so the food was really good. They also had a lot of different restaurants, so we ate somewhere new every night. During the day, we did nothing but lay by the ocean, jam jams, sip on cocktails, and swim out in the clear blue sea. It only rained one day, which was no problem because we pampered ourselves in the spa. It was just what we needed.
Two things we learned on our trip: 1) Ouza, the traditional Greek liquor, is not our cup of tea; and 2) the sunsets are unbeatable. Yamas! [cheers in Greek!]
For those of you who made it this far in the blog and stuck with me as I recounted a very special 2+ weeks, I really appreciate it. This blog took me for-e-ver. It wasn't easy pairing down 1150 wedding photos :) I am so very grateful for the moments leading up to the wedding, the wedding itself, and our honeymoon afterwards. We live an incredible life and have some even more incredible people in it.
Next up: Vienna for palaces, glühwein, and Christmas markets! Until then...
Prost, xo
