Okay it's finally time to post about the wedding and honeymoon. It's been crazy trying to move and unpack and get settled in and what not (still not even close-but I'm takin a break to update ya!).
The wedding:
I was so prepared for a major melt down, and to my surprise, there wasn't any! The day really was completely perfect. I guess if I could change one thing, I would have made the day longer. There were so many people there that I would have loved the opportunity to visit with longer. There were some people there that I didn't get to talk to at all, and that broke my heart! I am very excited that one of our bridesmaids had a video shot of the wedding as her gift to us and I can't wait to see it! I'm also VERY anxious about getting the pictures. But these things take time.
The Honeymoon:
Matt had the job of putting together the honeymoon. I have to say he did a really good job. We had to get up soooooo early to get to the airport. It's kind of funny because the Hard Rock upgraded our room to this crazy nice room (with 2 bathrooms!) and we stayed in it for all of 3 hours. We had to run through the airport in Atlanta (Home Alone style!) and then we were smooth sailing (or flying) to St. Lucia. I honestly knew next to nothing about St. Lucia. Between the wedding and my thesis, and moving, I just didn't have time to think about it. I knew that Matt had it handled. Oh my. What a delight. If you ever get the chance, you MUST go to St. Lucia. It's a small island. The water is completely clear and calm. The people are SO nice. I tried to negotiate a deal in the market. She said $13 and I said $7 and she said "Oh no darling" So cute.
We stayed at a Sandals whicth, to me, is the epitome of "touristy". I really hate touristy. I am the kind of traveler that likes to stay in hostels and meet the locals. Well that's not really ideal for your honeymoon, and Matt was in charge and that's not how the man rolls. Turns out, Sandals knows what they're doing. You could literally never leave the resort and have a good time. The food is excellent. The service is even better.
For some reason I can't post pictures so you'll have to check out Facebook. We stayed busy pretty much the entire time (we really have no concept of relaxation, we just trade events). We went to a small community called Soufriere where we went to a drive in volcano, saw a waterfall, and ate lunch at a local restaurant which overlooked the town. After lunch we went snorkeling where we of course brought our cheesy water camera. It takes like a week to have 35mm film developed though. It's like we're in the stone ages!
We did many of the events at the Sandals resort. We took a water bike (amazingly fun! Until your partner decides to take a break and all the sudden it gets a lot harder). We took out a Hobie Cat which is like a little sail boat. It was one of the most fun things that we did. I almost took Matt out with the sail though. We'll be telling that story for a while. We kayaked around the cove. Oh, and I gained 6 lbs. I don't know how either with all that activity. Oh... now I remember, it was all that good food I told you about. And maybe the drinks. They have their own beer called "Piton." I'll have to say it was pretty good.
We went down to the local market and bought Banana Ketchup which is supposed to be a local favorite. We haven't actually tried it. Maybe tonight. We also bargained for t-shirts and a painting. We learned about the currency which is the Eastern Carribean Dollar which is supposed to be 2.67 to $1.00.
We met a few people, but as we investigated it turned out that about 98% of people had the same story. They were newlyweds who got married on the 21st, so that started to get old. I was THRILLED that I wasn't one of the masses in the airport wearing the "Just Married" tank top. Like I said, I hate cliches.
All in all it was a completely wonderful experience. Our wedding and honeymoon were perfect. Does being married feel different? Not really. It's really nice to be in Midland and know that I don't have to go the the airport in a couple of days. I'm not going to miss the airports. I find myself approaching our relationship a little differently. We'll start to argue about something small and Matt will say "Do we really want this to be our first fight as a wedded couple?" And then I'll say "no..." I cared about our relationship a lot before, of course. Now I feel a sense of duty that it's at least 50% my responsibility to make sure that we're kind to each other, that he gets what he needs, that doing chores is an action of love, not sacrifice. Homeboy had a LOT of laundry when we got back. I did it with love. Especially because we agreed he would be laundry man in our marriage. When we got engaged, my friend Amanda who has been married for a couple of years gave me a great piece of marriage advice which I believe she got from her parents. She said that marriage is never 50/50. Sometimes you'll give 70 to his 30. But other times he'll be at 80 when you're at 20. That makes sense. This is a partnership, not a business transaction. We're a team. I'll give my 70, 80, ideally 110%.
I really like being married. I would totally have another wedding. Maybe in 5 years we'll renew our vows so it gives me something to plan, ha ha. I miss every one back home. We will probably head back to OK for the 4th. That will be a breathe of fresh air. Literally. It smells like oil here, it's dry, and I'm pretty sure I have a sinus infection.
Looking forward to posting soon! There's already so much happening!
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