Monday, July 11, 2011

The Beginning of Our Wedding Adventure!

Hello Friends and Family!

Craig and I decided to write a blog in order to keep in touch this month! As we are visiting 17 places, we will be able to keep in touch with you all and tell you about our amazing adventures!

The past week, we have been in Santorini, Greece. It was absolutely AMAZING!! But I will start with the journey there, which was pretty brutal. Trying to get abroad on a limited budget always means you will be frustrated and inconvenienced.  And that was definitely the case on the way to Greece.

We left Saint Louis on August 1st, at 10:00 in the morning.  In the week before, I took my wedding dress to the shop where I bought it so they could help me fit it into a carry on suitcase.  After spending hours on the phone with the 5 different airlines we are taking this trip, we decided a carry on rolly suitcase would be easily carried and transferred—and it would be more protected than in a garment bag.

However, when we got to the gate in St. Louis, we have to measure the carry ons in one of those boxes.  Low and behold, mine and Craig’s were packed a little too much and they didn’t quite fit.  She told us that we would have to check them.  Now brides, and other ladies, I hope some of you can understand my horror.  I spent a great deal of money on my DREAM wedding dress.  It is not the type of dress you would expect someone to wear in an island wedding.  It is big and beautiful!  Then, some woman at a desk tells you that we must give it to them, to go down into the world where people working for the airlines really don’t care whether people get their bags or not. Craig and I have lost bags before and they have never been recovered. It was  devastating to replace so many things. But my 13 pairs of shoes were replaceable. My dream wedding dress is not.

I literally starting tearing up.  Not sobbing, of course, but I started tearing up.  I think part of this was pure exhaustion and stress, but part of it was the dress.  We pleaded with them to keep it in the captain’s closet or something that would allow us to have it where we felt more comfortable. Well, the tears and pleading of a bride worked and they let it on board.  The woman at the counter suggested I get a garment bag, and so when we arrived in New York, that is exactly what I did.

In New York, we staying in Long Island with my brother’s (David) girlfriend’s (Keira) parents (Patricia and Louis).  They were so kind to us and of course took us out to Huntington.  What a fun town! Expensive, yes. Lots of fake (boobs), yes. But so fun. We attempted to get to bed at a decent time, as we had a lot more traveling to do.

Amazingly, 20 people attending the wedding were all leaving from Newark airport at 5:30pm on August 2nd, and we left at the exact same time from JFK.  We booked different flights because we had plans to fly with friends, who sadly could not make it in the end. It was sad to fly just the two of us when we knew my family was all together, but eventually we ended up in Athens together.  A quick 30 minute flight to Santorini, and we had finally arrived—at 7:00pm on August 3rd.

 But the fun didn’t end there. When we arrived at our “5 star hotel,” they had given away our rooms. Most of the people in our party had reserved suites.  My Uncle B’s family had reserved an apartment so that him, his wife, and their 4 kids could all stay in a room.  The apartment was not available when we arrived because “a lady broke both of her feet and needed to stay there”.  Ok…. But what about the other 2 suites that we reserved and aren’t available.  Uncle B: “Did someone else break both of their arms?” Hahahahahahaha.  It quickly became apparent that they never had any intention in putting us in the rooms we requested and that this was a regular custom for them.   And if I am honest, bridezilla Meagan came out a little here and eventually, it was semi resolved/we semi accepted that we are in Greece and sh*t happens.

From here on out, the trip was mostly a breeze! And the wedding was absolutely fantastic! But more about that tomorrow! Hope you all are doing so well! We love and miss you!

Xo

The Moodies




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