Something you may or may not know is that during the entire 18 months that we planned our wedding, (we planned for a hella* long time) Mr. GB was unemployed. I have mentioned that he did as much planning as I did, he was at every meeting, did every craft with me, and was actually the point of contact for all our vendors. Well, he had no freakin' excuse not to be there because he didn't have anywhere else to be! But seeing as our wedding was no longer able to rely on Mr. GB having any regular income, we blew our budget on buying our home (and decorating, because I can't stop myself) and our wedding.
That meant no honeymoon. Instead, we went on our mini-moon to Tokyo to visit friends, get a post-nuptial puppy**, and eat. Mainly eat. Eat things to make me gain the pounds that I'm supposed to gain over the next 40 years of marriage in about a week. No point in hiding what Mr. GB would have to lie next to for the rest of his life, I'll all about ruing the mystique early. Like peeing with the door open, I generally do that within a week of dating someone... usually when they're brushing their teeth and can't escape. I know, I'm so romantic.
People seemed to pity us and kept telling us they felt bad we weren't going on a honeymoon. They felt terrible asking where we were going, only to find out we weren't going anywhere. We got a lot of those "oh.... but... you'll have PLENTY of time later!" comments trying to throw out a ladder of sunshine from the deep ditch they felt they had fallen into.
Honestly, I can't imagine having done it any other way. Yes, I admit, the idea of being whisked off to some far off destination immediately after the wedding is enchanting, but... I was also very very tired and lazy. After over 1.5 years of marriage, a vacation was just what we needed. We've had a rough year of bad luck and terrible life events, and the excitement of wedding planning gone and the day to day work life set in, it was a really welcome vacation to just get away from it all. It was perfect timing.
the view from the winemaker's at ikies
We spent half the the time in London and Paris, where I shopped and went crazy seeing friends, and the other half was Mr. GB's trip, where we went to Santorini and did absolutely nothing. Except eat. Mr. GB has always dreamed of going to Greece, and his dreams mostly consisted of floating pieces of lamb, feta, and olives swirling around him.
pre-breakfast cat visit
I honestly believe the highlight of our trip was the friendly group of Oia animals that lived on the island. In the evenings, friendly dogs would just follow us around the street, and we had more than one breakfast with kitties begging for turkey. I happily obliged, as I missed my pets and.. well, I didn't need that much turkey. Our FAVORITE animal was dubbed "pooter cat". As the name suggests, pooter cat had some serious gas. He'd coming in and immediately fart. He also had a nerve disorder, so half his face drooped into a perma-scowl. It only enhanced his awesomeness. Maybe other couples would have thrown out stank cat, but his friendliness and relaxed nature (by which I mean relaxed in passing gas a LOT) made him a welcome addition to our vacation.
Well, we're back and ready to face both of us being in "crunch" at work, being mid-escrow on the purchase of our new home... and trying to either rent or sell our current place (still working on that). The stress we returned to seems a little more tolerable.
The moral of the story is, you don't need to take an immediate honeymoon. In fact, I feel like it really meant more to us now than it would have if we had gone right away. And also to have a truly amazing marriage and honeymoon, you should pee with the door open with a farting cat walking around your suite.
*just in case you forgot I was a NorCal bee.
**yes, we already own three puppies, but how can this not make up for a lack of honeymoon??
