Memoirs of a Bride, Chapter 3: the newly minted Mrs. Taylor

After our amazingly awesome wedding, we were on our way to our honeymoon! We left the wedding party by around 9, and Rob had arranged to have a limo pick us up and take us to Waikiki, where we'd spend two nights before hopping a plane to get to our honeymoon destination: Beautiful Kauai (cue music)!

The limo ride was definitely interesting to say the least (and to keep it diplomatic). The limo driver kept pulling over to the side of the road (no exaggeration, at least 5 times before even getting in to Waikiki). He said it was because he didn't want the limo to overheat. Mind you, this wasn't a ghetto limo service either (I don't remember the name), so we were surprised that we were having any issues at all! The first time, ok - weird, but we'll let it slide. By the 5th time, AND he pulled into a service station (?!?!?!) to add oil, my husband was OVER IT. Rob nicely told him that we were celebrating our wedding, and having the limo break down when we were so tired after a long day is exactly the opposite of how our wedding day should be going. The man apologized, but when we got in to Waikiki, he started to pull over YET AGAIN, and Rob told him "Nah, man, you need to keep driving. No more pulling over. We're already in Waikiki, you can drop us off first." What should've been a half hour ride probably took us near an hour and a half. Suffice it to say, Rob demanded a generous discount :) Luckily, we were so excited to be married the bootleg limo ride couldn't kill our happiness. 

We ate at Mac 24/7 in our wedding attire, which was fun, and we got some food comped by the bartender (we sat at the bar since tables had wait times and we were too starving to wait!) as a "congratulations." Jodie also graciously thought to pack us a few slices of wedding cake, which was nice because we were actually able to try all of the flavors of our cake! (lilikoi, red velvet, and vanilla wedding cake tiers).

This was my new husband holding my dress for me so I could pee. LOL
Ah, so quickly the reality kicks in and the glamour strips away!

We woke up the next morning and had an amazing brunch at Hula Grill in Waikiki the following day. On Monday, we boarded our flight and got to Kauai! Rob a really good sport about wearing the personalized spousal gear I had purchased from Etsy. 

His shirt says "Groom 2014" and mine said "Bride 2014" in pink. What is he eating? Chicken? IDK. But we stopped at poke stop outside of the airport and it was AMAZING. Also, I still catch myself smiling at Rob wearing a wedding ring :) That stands out the most in this picture for me.

Our rental was a convertible (TOTAL TOURIST style) that Rob practically begged me to allow, being the insurance-minded, cautious person that I am. It was SO much fun, though! I'm glad he talked me into it. 

We were staying at the St.Regis resort (NOT hotel lol) in Princeville. I honestly don't even know how I stumbled upon the St. Regis - it must've been destiny one day surfing the web. Anywho, the St. Regis is a very ritzy resort (for example, a few months after our honeymoon, popular actress Sofia Vergara and her fiancé stayed at the St. Regis during their Kauai vacation) and definitely the swankiest place we have ever stayed at. Generally, we don't do it up that big, but we wanted to do something extra special to commemorate our once in a lifetime event. We also had set up a honeymoon registry via the St. Regis that would allow for people to contribute (via the website) to our honeymoon stay! We figured that since we were both grown adults who had been independent for a number of years and thus had most of our household items, a contribution to our honeymoon would be a great way for us to enjoy a splurge that we likely wouldn't have been able to without the assistance of our wedding guests! We stayed at the resort for 5 wonderful days.

When we first got to the hotel, we checked in but they had somehow mixed up our reservation. We had booked for a "junior suite," and when we got there, the attendant told us that they had upgraded us to an ocean view room to congratulate us on our wedding. I didn't realize the mistake, but Rob caught on immediately. The attendant told us that it looked like they were booked out of their suite rooms,  but after Rob showed her the email from them confirming our junior suite, magically, a suite room opened up (they probably reserve those for emergency mistakes, such as this one). The suite was AMAZING!!! It had large picture windows that opened up to screens, and then just open windows overlooking Hanalei Bay. There was a living room area, with couch, coffee table, and the King sized bed was facing the large windows overlooking the ocean. There was a hidden TV that popped up from the dresser when prompted, as well as a TV in front of the couch. The BATHROOM was also AMAZING!! It had dual sinks, and my favorite part - a huge jacuzzi tub, again, with large windows overlooking Hanalei Bay. For those that didn't want to provide a show to the surfers below, the shower windows "fogged" when a switch was hit, so you could either have clear windows or fogged windows for privacy. EVERY SINGLE NIGHT, I took a bath in the jacuzzi tub during sunset :) Other patrons went to the lobby to see the sunset, but we were blessed to have the view from our very own jacuzzi tub!

Just kicking up my heels, enjoying this view!

View from our living room/bed

Pop-up hidden TV

Now you see me...

..Now you don't!

look at all the  bubbles! Fuuuuuuuuun!

Even though the room was amazing, I was a little disappointed that they didn't do anything "special" for our honeymoon. To me, our honeymoon is a once in a lifetime event, and you always hear stories of how hotels will treat their guests who are celebrating anniversaries or special occasions with upgrades or perks. I had mentioned this to Rob, and he talked to someone downstairs. They mentioned they had decorated the other room for us, but since there was a mix-up, they didn't have time to decorate the new room. They ended up sending us a handwritten note of apology and congratulations, several fancy chocolate covered strawberries, a $100 value for a portrait photographer on site, and a voucher for complimentary breakfast buffet for us both every day of our stay (that alone was $38 a person per day!) They more than made up for it! After that initial hiccup, the rest of our honeymoon was a dream!

The customer service at the hotel was impeccable. Everyone from the valet guys to the breakfast hostess remembered our names and personally asked us every day what we were up to, where we were going today, etc. The valet also offered us bottled water and towels (I guess for those heading to the beach) every time we were heading out! One over the board perk that was included in our stay was our very own butler. The butler came to our room to introduce himself as well as provide a list of things that they could assist with (anything from grabbing ice, fresh french pressed coffees, ironing services, and packing and unpacking!!)  At first we thought there was no way that we would use the butler, but we ended up using the butler a few times! First time being when we forgot some items in the trunk of our car. We called the butler line and told them we had forgotten some items, and before we could even ask, they volunteered, "and you would like us to fetch the items for you?" Um, YES. Lazy people definitely say YES!!!! So we were spared the hassle of having to go down to valet to retrieve our items and had them literally delivered to our front door. We also used them when we were looking for somewhere to get decent fish tacos. The butler came prepared with a map and detailed instructions and suggestions! it was GREAT!! 

Activity wise, we took things day by day. We did some driving, checked out a waterfall, ate a lot of yummy food, and VEGGED! Rob also convinced me to do a helicopter ride (again me the rule-abiding, cautious scaredy cat!) which was SO AMAZING. The helicopter ride was over na pali coast, and had we not done the helicopter ride, there is no way we would've been able to enjoy the beauty and majesty of the na pali coast first hand. 

Waterfall that took forever to find and was small. lol.

close up of waterfall

Helicopterin'!

 

No filter!!

WOW!!!

 I did NOT want to leave when we reached our last day. We have discussed coming back for milestone anniversaries (5, or 10 year intervals maybe), so hopefully we can make that happen. This was definitely the once in a lifetime experience we were hoping for.

Memoirs of a Bride, Chapter 2: Giddy Bride-to-Be

It's safe to assume that any time I am writing a blog, Uriah is sleeping. This time is no different. Snooze on, little man! I got a legacy to document! All right, maybe it's not THAT serious, but I'm sure some posterity, at some point, will want to know the details about their ultra cool great-grandma Taylor's life, to include and not limited to, her wedding day! So youngins', feast your eyes on this genealogical gem!

Chapter 2

When Rob and I got engaged, we had originally planned for a September 2014 wedding. Remember how in Chapter 1, Giddy Engaged Girl, I had mentioned how I never brought up marriage lest I scare off my great catch? That girl was SO gone, and the jig was up! Now that I knew my great catch was all about this, that prior discretion was out the door! Being the excited and eager bride that I was, I suggested the idea of getting married earlier, like say...June! Rob said he would be good with it as long as we would be able to plan it in time. Planning it would be no issue, because I had a plan for the planning: Enter Jodie Burgess. 

Jodie was my coworker at GEICO at the time, and I knew that she had helped one of my coworkers throw a fabulous wedding at an affordable price. I didn't know too much about the details of Jodie's wedding planning prowess, but what I did know was that she was a marketing/advertising guru for GEICO, had prior sales experience, and was a working Mom who juggled all of this while maintaining organization and sanity. Jodie graciously agreed to help me plan my wedding for a VERY affordable price (think: less than what a day-of-ceremony-only wedding planner would charge), and got right on top of contacting various venues to check dates for us. 

We were originally thinking to have our wedding at a military instillation just because most were very budget friendly, and also were very beautiful. The Halekoa, which was our initial idea, only had lunch ceremonies available during June.  I believe the ceremony would've had to of been at 10, and we would've had to start the reception by 11am. I instantly thought about how long it would take a bride to get ready, and assumed I would have to be up at 5? 6? Um, GROSS. That venue got immediately nixed. Jodie suggested we try the marine corps base in Kaneohe. What a great idea! I grew up in Kahaluu, so having the backdrop of my Ko'olau mountains AND the ocean was a perfect merging of a gorgeous view with a personal flair. They had an opening for June 14, with the wedding to start at 4:30 and reception to go through 10pm.

When we went to look at the grounds, we loved the reception ballroom/stage, but did not like the options for wedding venues. One was right outside the ballroom, on the pool deck. The base contact confirmed that they couldn't "force" the pool to be closed, so there was a potential for kids splashing around or someone doing laps in the background of our ceremony and photos. NEGATIVE. NEXT! The next venue was on the grass with a pretty view between two large trees, however, it was literally like 20 feet from where the cars would be parked. Not much of an aisle to walk down, cars in the background/doors closing, etc and there were also bushes there so hello mosquitos and gnats. We told the contact we pretty much hated both spots but really loved the location and the ballroom. She said there was one other place but she would need to get permission to use it - it was a large lawn between two military higher ups homes (admirals? captains? something high up). IT WAS BEAUTIFUL - the lawn had an unobstructed view of the ocean, framed by the Koolau mountains. We were so lucky that the homeowners were so nice and allowed us to have the ceremony there.

Shot of my Practice walking down the aisle.
PC: Angela Petersons

Behold, our exquisite wedding backdrop in all its grandeur.
PC: Irianny Ibarra

 SO BLESSED!!
 PC: Glexi Garcia

The best thing about the Marine Corps Base is that we didn't have to pay ANYTHING for the venue; we merely put down a $200 deposit to secure the location. That $200 deposit went toward the price of food for our guests, and then we were just responsible for paying for the dinner (and of course lighting, DJ, etc but those were all separate vendors). We were so blessed that we had such an amazing venue at such a steal. 

Jodie was great in helping us stick to our budget, and relayed the information to our vendors. I also wasn't a bridezilla,  of course, so that helped. An example would be our centerpiece arrangements: while I had an idea of the type of flowers I wanted, I was also open to other options that were in season and again, within our budget. In the end, I would not have changed any aspect of our wedding - I was that happy with how it turned out. We were able to pay for our entire wedding and honeymoon upfront, and even ended in the black! Granted, Rob had been able to sock away a considerable amount of money while he was on deployment, but we also really worked hard at saving towards our wedding, and "living within our means."

The day before the wedding, we had a rehearsal dinner that ended at Kin Wah, one of our favorite Chinese restaurants in Kaneohe. That night, Rob and I stayed on the hotel on base (separate rooms of course!) which was another convenience because I got to sleep in as late as possible and didn't need to be rushed anywhere - people would be coming to me! The day was so crazy busy with photographers and makeup artists bustling in the room and around me, but it was so much fun. 

It was funny to me how everyone kept commenting on how chill I was, saying things like, "you are so ready!" and "I can't believe how calm you are." While I can understand the bustle and buzz excitement of getting married, I WAS calm because I had no doubt I was making the right decision, and that I was absolutely happy. There was nothing to be worried about! I was in good hands, and at the end of the day, even if there were kinks to be worked out, I was getting married, and that was the most important thing. 

At 4:15, they brought Rob over to take a few pictures before the ceremony. Of course, we kept with the tradition of not seeing one another until I was actually walking down the aisle (so I could stun Rob with my beauty and give him no choice but to weep tears of joy and gratitude, obviously...:P)  This was one of my favorite memories of the entire day:

It was such a special moment for us to be able to provide support to one another even though we weren't technically seeing each other. It was a comfort to reach around the door and feel Rob's hand, knowing that in just 15 minutes, we would be embarking on a great new adventure together. 

The ceremony was a blur - I remember walking down the aisle and feeling so happy and giddy that my wedding day had actually come! I'm actually grateful that I wasn't wearing my glasses (and I don't wear contacts) because it I saw people crying (especially Rob) I would've started crying and ruined my makeup! We were so blessed that our good friend Lukas Petersons was able to officiate over our wedding. He got his Hawaii marriage license so he could perform our wedding ceremony. At the end, the rain sprinkled down right when we were pronounced man and wife, which people SAY is good luck (although I suspect the "people" here are ones that say this to make themselves feel better because it rained on their wedding days!) In any event, we were SO HAPPY!!! Witness our happiness below:

BASK IN OUR HAPPINESS!
PC: Hoku Tefan

VICTORY!!!
PC: Roxy Kimokeo

The ceremony, again, went by so fast! All I know is I was starving, and it was so busy that we barely got to eat (though I tried to shovel some food down in between taking photos and participating in the program). I danced a hula (it was a surprise for Rob), which is a tradition for Hawaiian brides at weddings. The song I danced to was "E Maliu Mai," which I chose because the words were so beautiful and appropriate for a wedding. My friend Nathan Okinaka created and taught me the dance a week before the wedding! I had a fever that night and was really under the weather, but I practiced it enough to have Nathan record me dancing it, then went home, rested, and practiced the rest of the week. 

We had SO much fun during the reception! We had a dance and really awesome music that Rob and I had hand-selected for the most part! (and yes, it was heavy on the early 2000s music, as dictated by our clubbing days!) At about 8pm, my face hurt from smiling. At about 9, I told Rob we needed to get out of there before I started to look as tired (and grouchy!) as I was beginning to feel! It was a long day, but SO WORTH it. At the end of it all, we have amazing memories (and photos and video footage) to remind us of how happy we were to be married, and to remind us of the excitement and preciousness of that day. (It becomes especially useful to remember this special, wonderful day when we are annoyed with one another!)  I still find myself looking through our marriage photos frequently, and watching our wedding video periodically. This day, and the birth of Uriah, were the best days of my life.