Tis’ the Season… Wedding Season

This weekend there was an article on CNN.com about wedding travel titled,  “Obligation Eating  Up Your Vacation?” Boy did that hit home. Earlier this year I did some math that made me pause. By the end of 2012 Danimal and I will have been to 47 weddings together. A whopping two of them will have been in Atlanta. (We even traveled for our own wedding.) The truth of it is though, we wouldn’t have missed any of them.

Vineyard Nuptials

These friends and family members have filled our lives with so much love. It isn’t always a good time or convenient location, and it can be expensive. But what better way to spend our money than to be with the people we care about most and to see and experience new places. Or in some cases rediscover the places we have been to countless times before. At this point we have mastered the art of turning a wedding into a vacation. Here are some of our favorites and ones we are most looking forward to.

Pike Place Market

Seattle

We turned a wedding weekend in Seattle into a week-long tour of the Pacific Northwest. We spent half our time in the City and half in the San Juan Islands. And naturally we stopped at several of the wineries in between. Adams Bench being my favorite winery find. I should also mention that  Casey + Kristen’s wedding was one of the most personal, unique and beautiful we have ever been to… complete with dueling pianos at the reception!

Palest Wedding Party Ever atop the Magnolia Hotel

Houston

Even weddings in my hometown have allowed me to see the City in a new way. Growing up we didn’t spend a lot of time downtown, but our wedding and Clare + Joe’s allowed us to see it with fresh eyes. Stay at the Magnolia Hotel, eat at Treebeards, ride the light rail and catch an Astros‘ game. (Biggio forever!!)

The Green Building

Brooklyn

For all of the times that Danimal and I have been to NYC, we have never been together. That will be remedied in August for Aaron + Sarah’s nuptials. The best part… the festivities will be in Brooklyn, a part of town itching to know better. And won’t it be easier for me to ask Danimal if we can move there, if he is right next to me? [Insert Danimal sigh.]

We’re going international!!!

Tulum

We are wrapping 2012 with our first international wedding. Tulum is the perfect Mexican adventure because it already embraces what we love about travel… it is authentic and off-the-grid. Thank you David + Kristen for what we know will be a tough wedding to top.

I can only imagine where 2013 will take us!

Beyond King Street

You all know that Danimal and I love us some Charleston. However, in all the times we have been, I had never ventured beyond the charming downtown until the first weekend of May. Along with my fellow sister wives  sis-in-laws) and other bridesmaids, we headed to Isle of Palms to celebrate the at-that-time pending nuptials of Annie + Dave.

Isle of Palms

It turns out this offered us the best of both worlds. You are a cab ride away from all the food, shops and entertainment of downtown. But during the day you can fully escape. The beach is quaint. It isn’t crowded with resorts; it feels like you are just living in a neighborhood that happens to have beach access.

I could get used to this!

Isle of Palms isn’t the only option for a beach town near Charleston. There is Kiawah Island, Foley Beach and Sullivan’s Island to name a few. The density of the development along these beaches combined with proximity to Charleston make it the ideal beach trip for this city loving gal.

Sister Wives!

This trip has been fully endorsed by the Sister Wives!

We Were ALMOST in Bavaria

It’s kind of like how new coke was never going to be the original… Helen, Georgia is never going to quite be a Bavarian town. Helen is located in the North Georgia mountains about an hour-and-a-half north of Atlanta. Unless you are there for Oktoberfest, there isn’t really much to do in the city itself.

If you squint, it IS Germany!

That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t stop in, grab an ice cream, and people watch to your heart’s content. Some things really only happen in Helen.

People.Watching.

Helen is also the perfect little pit stop during a long weekend to North Georgia. Where I suggest spending more of your time is at the wineries. (Surprise!) This past weekend Danimal and I made a visit to BlackStock Vineyards. We had a wonderfully inexpensive Sangiovese and perfectly smooth Merlot. (And the view was just breathtaking.)

Danimal @ Blackstock

After BlackStock head up the road to Frogtown Cellars. We had the pleasure of drinking copious amounts of tasting their wine this past Saturday at Matt + Mandy’s wedding. Told you it was wedding season… The wine was great but the setting was even better. It made me want a do-over wedding. (Between that and all my wedding ideas from Pinterest I need a do-over.)

Prettiest little Frogtown

There is more than wineries and people watching… you float the Hooch, hike some trails – you escape. Go ahead and book a cabin and Black Bear Lodge + Cabins and spend a weekend in the mountains.