Married & Off to Europe!

Hello friends! I’m back again, but this time as a MARRIED WOMAN!! Our wedding weekend was absolutely beautiful. It took place at the Wave Resort in Long Branch, NJ and Stelios & I were surrounded by our close family and friends. After stressing about the forecast which showed rain all week – it took a turn for the better and the weather could not have been more perfect. We spent the whole weekend by the beach, enjoying the fresh ocean breeze, sunshine, and blue skies. The night/morning of, we both couldn’t sleep so we started our day by waking up at 6am and watching the sunrise together over the ocean. We walked to Turning Point for coffee and then our day begun. I got ready with the girls for glam, and Stelios hung out with Leo and his groomsmen on the balcony. Plenty of photos, first looks, and joyous energy followed. The ceremony was both beautiful and emotional. Stelios and I both wrote our own vows that had everyone full of happy tears. I even surprised him by saying the last few lines of my vows in Greek, which lit up his face with an even bigger smile. After the ceremony we celebrated, partied, and danced our hearts out until 2am. Stelios & I are so grateful to everyone who came to celebrate this special moment in our lives, and I know we will look back at this wonderful weekend forever.

While I don’t have any of the professional photos yet, here are some pics that our friends and family snapped throughout the day.

Now that the official nuptials & festivities are over, it’s time to set off on our European honeymoon. We will be traveling across Spain & Sicily stopping in Mallorca, Ibiza, Valencia, Barcelona, Palermo, Cefalu, Taormina, Ortigia, and then ending in Madrid.

A lot of people have asked us how we were able to take so much time off of work…I got extremely lucky that my job offers a one time month long sabbatical after working there for 3 years. It just so happens that I hit my 3 years in July so the stars aligned, and I was able to take my sabbatical for the week leading up to the wedding & our honeymoon. I am so thankful that I have this time to FULLY unplug (l literally deleted Slack and my work email from my phone) so that I can travel, soak it all in, and not have to think about work for even a second. As for Stelios, he is the owner and boss of his own business, so lucky for him (and me) he can take off whenever he pleases.

Now, how did I pack for almost a month long vacation…While I would have LOVED to just bring a rolling carry on and a backpack, that just wasn’t realistic for me (trust me, I tried) especially for my honeymoon, but also because the weather will start to cool down going into October which requires more layers. We also wanted to make sure there was room in our bags for any purchases we might make while abroad. After lots of packing and repacking to try and fall under the 50lb weight limit, we each decided to check our Samsonite Freeform Medium Spinner suitcase and share 1 rolling carry on. For personal items I’m using my new Flare 27L Osprey travel backpack and Stelios has his Northface Borealis backpack. While we are traveling heavier than I would have liked, I think we will both appreciate having the rolling carry on after we do some shopping.

Below is what I have packed for our European adventure:

10 Dresses (4 mini, 3 midi, 3 maxi)
9 tops (crop tops/casual tanks/blouses)
4 Bodysuits – 2 casual, 2 dressy
3 long sleeve tops
2 sweaters
3 Jackets – 1 denim (wearing on plane) , 1 white cropped blazer, 1 leather jacket
2 Cardigans
4 shorts – 1 blue denim, 1 white denim, 2 cotton
3 jeans – 2 blue denim, 1 white denim
3 linen pants (wearing 1 on plane)
Workout/hiking outfits – 4 shorts, 3 leggings, 5 tanks
5 shoes – To me shoes are probably the most important choice since we average 20k steps a day in Europe.
-ASICS Cumulus running sneakers for hikes and working out
-Reef Neptune sneakers: casual white sneakers, that are cute, comfy, and breathable. I’ll be wearing these on the plane.
-Reef Water Vista Sandal: probably my favorite travel shoe because they are so comfortable, versatile, and waterproof! I wear these walking around town in the day, to the pool, and even to the beach.
–Brown Tommy Hilfiger Sandals
–White Guess Sandals

For the plane I always pick my comfiest outfit so I’ll be wearing my favorite Adidas leggings, a tank top, knit cardigan, my white reef sneakers, and my denim jacket for when I get cold. Luckily we got upgraded to business class upon check in last night, so there was no need to pack a heavy sweatshirt that I probably wouldn’t wear anywhere else besides the plane.

Below are some pre-honeymoon thoughts/Q&A:

Does married life feel different? We both agree we felt the same waking up the next day aside from the fact that we get to call each other husband and wife, which we both enjoy and like better than “fiancé”. But truly our love felt permanent to me even before the wedding. What is different now is having the memories of our wedding to look back on and that we will forever get to reminisce on such a magical weekend.

What destination are we most looking forward to? Steph – Mallorca overall, but Ibiza because it’s been a bucket list destination for me since I was 16.
Stelios – Mallorca overall, and Valencia for the homemade paella and experiencing the city it was born in.

What destination do we think will surprise us the most? Sicily, because while Italy has been on our list for awhile, it was always the mainland that we pictured being our first experience there. However knowing that it will be October by the time we arrived, we decided to venture further south in search of the warmer weather. We are both looking forward to experiencing the Sicilian culture, lifestyle, and of course the food.

What destination will have the best food? Steph & Stelios – Valencia

What destination will have the best shopping? Stelios – Barcelona ; Steph – Madrid

What destination will have the best beaches? Stelios – Mallorca ; Steph – Ibiza

What destination will have the best nightlife? Stelios – Ibiza ; Steph – My initial response is Ibiza for the clubs, HOWEVER we do like a mix of clubs and restaurants/bars that have DJs or a dancing atmosphere so I am curious which destination will provide the best of both worlds.

Well friends our uber to the airport has arrived. Don’t forget to subscribe to stay up to date on this epic honeymoon journey. See you in the morning Mallorca.

Time for a grand adventure!