Good
I was so thankful we got the upgrade for our flight for the trip there. This was my first flight and I was literally freaking out. Matt actually talked to the woman who was doing the check in's and explained I'd never flown before and we had my wedding dress. We got to board first on both parts of the trip down and the stewardesses tucked my dress away in the closet for me. From Chicago to Houston, the woman was really really nice and came around to tell me what would happen during take off, landing, etc. She was a sweetheart and checked on us a couple times to make sure everything was okay. They were kind to me from Houston to Liberia too but I wasn't quite as anxious after the first take off & landing.
I loved arriving a couple days before our guests. We got to meet our WC and her assistant and go over all the locations and details and get that all out of the way. Our WC was amazing. She went above and beyond to make our day everything we dreamed of. It was also so much fun to set up the OOT bags without being rushed. The hotel actually set them up in the rooms for us since there wasn't many. Everyone really loved the bags. All the ladies used them as beach bags during the trip. Sweet little Sophia carried her hello kitty bag around the entire time. She was so excited she got something too.
Not scheduling a whole lot was a blessing in disguise. I felt like I needed to force together time but am glad I didn't . We ended up still doing a lot of meals together and seeing each other a ton but everyone kind of got to do their own things. We all took turns watching Sophia so our friends could have a little couple time. It ended up being great and the perfect mix of being together but also not feeling bad because you wanted to do something away from everyone else.
Day before photos were wonderful. We never took engagement photos because Matt hates photos. Literally if you look at my FB photos...there's no Matt. He's the "hey let me take the picture for you so you can be in it" guy lol It gave us a nice chance to get comfortable with our photographer and get some beautiful, fun photos. We spent some time playing in the shallow water, which I didn't want to do in my wedding dress. It gave us the feel of engagement pics with the fun beach photos. I'm saving my dress to trash it in Chicago...but hopefully not actually ruin it :-)
I was also excited because my gf took me out the night before the wedding. We went to one of the bars and then hit the disco for a little while. It wasn't wild and crazy but we had fun. She has a DW too and never had all the parties so she was trying to make it a good time. I was glad to have her because she has become such a great friend. We made lots of friends at the disco lol
The day of was amazing. We stayed together the night before and got up and had breakfast alone. It was a great last minute breather. The guys then went golfing and the photographer went with them. He got some shots of them goofing around. I think they'll be sweet photos of Matt and his dad and his two best friends. The ladies came to the spa and we did massages and had some sparkling wine and just chatted. After lunch, everyone just hung out for a little while.
We started getting ready later in the afternoon. It was a lot of fun. My mom helped me with my makeup. She does killer eye makeup. My gf helped me curl my hair. It was nice to have help and a sounding board since I didn't have a pro to do it. I decided to hold off on putting my dress on since no one but my MIL had seen it. I sent everyone off to get to the beach and the WC helped me get zipped in.
Matt and I did a first look by the pool. It was so great. I really recommend a first look! It was so calming to my nerves. I hope we have some special photos. He was so surprised by my dress. He knew it wasn't white and traditional but he said he wasn't expecting what I picked. I had shown him several dresses to see how he felt about them and he had expected to see one of them. He said he loved it though!
Once everyone else was at the beach, we went down together. It was great to walk to the ceremony together. I felt like it made it more special because we were entering into everything together. The WC helped my mom create a chuppah for us. It was really lovely with bamboo poles and a prayer shawl at the roof. They had added some mesh-y stuff too to make it flowy and pretty. I didn't realize it till after but my mom brought my great grandfather's prayer shawl for this.
The ceremony itself was so lovely. Ryan, who introduced us, did most of the ceremony. My mom read all the Hebrew. The JOP did the vows and ring exchange and signed off on all our paper work. Maybe about a dozen people from the resort actually came down to the beach too. They sat towards the back of the beach so they weren't in any photos but it was sweet they were interested in seeing our ceremony.
We did our first dance alone, well with the photographer, on the beach. We shared the earbuds to the ipod and had a nice little moment while everyone headed back to the resort. The reception was very nice. They actually let us pick one of the outdoor bar areas. It's a pretty patio area with some water features. We had a great meal and cake and drinks. The WC actually brought speakers out to us so we could play music. It was just a really nice, intimate time. I had a fabulous time and Matt told me as we were headed back to our room that this was way more fun then our Trump wedding would have been. It really was the perfect wedding for us.
Bad
This isn't really that bad but it was a let down. On Tuesday as we were chatting with our photog, I asked when the teaser pics would be ready. Well I guess I just assumed we'd get teasers but he doesn't normally do them. He's very artsy and not your traditional wedding photog. I had hoped we'd have some teasers for the dinner this week. We talked about the timeline a lot and came to an understanding. He booked us really close to the wedding and in the middle of 2 other weddings. He shot one Saturday, came to CR Mon-Thurs and then had another wedding yesterday. Plus he did 2 days of photos for us for less then what one day in Chicago would have cost since we paid his airfare and hotel. We made a deal to move our Chicago TTD up by a couple weeks and he will get all 3 sets of photos to us within a week of that. He'll have time to edit the CR photos before the TTD and then he'll do the TTD and send everything along. It felt fair to us because he gave us such a great deal but was just kind of a bummer.
No one brought a camera down to the ceremony because we had a photographer so we don't have any till we get those. As Matt's dad said “You paid him to do a job, why would I do it too?” lol
Ugly
I half expected this to happen but I didn't think it would be so hurtful. Matt's grandparents couldn't come on the trip so we video'ed the ceremony and were going to upload it for them to watch. His parents were so excited that they actually called them as we were starting the reception to see if they wanted to see it right away. I don't think his grandparents realized we were all sitting there and they explained that they didn't care about the wedding because they still don't approve of their grandson marrying some Jew. It was that blunt. I don't know what else went on because Matt's dad immediately switched over to Italian and I left the table. Matt and both our moms came and told me everything would be okay and to enjoy our night.
I've known for a long time they weren't thrilled that I'm not Catholic but I guess I hoped they'd still support us. They loved me when they first met me but they didn't realize I'm Jewish. I'm from German Jewish lineage so I don't stand out the same way an Israeli Jew would. After the first major holidays hit and they found out, a lot changed.
Matt and I embrace both families. We celebrate Jewish high holidays with my mom. This year his parents even had seder dinner with us and Matt leads all the prayers for lighting the menorah. We exchange Hanukkah and Christmas gifts. I attend Easter and Christmas masses with his family. I thought everything would be ok. Now I'm going to have to feel really awkward at the holidays because I know his entire family doesn't accept me.
But we are married now and really happy. I guess I need to let go of worrying about everyone else. Now we just have to settle into living together!