Dear Jen and Tom,
Before our honeymoon my fiancé surprised me with a long weekend in Ireland. I am about a third Irish, but have never been. We were actually considering going for our honeymoon, but decided somewhere warm and on a beach would be a bit more romantic. I was so excited to go to a real Irish Pub! As soon as we got settled in at the Inn we headed over to a local Pub the girl at the desk suggested. It was only about a block away so we headed out. When we arrived, it was a very interesting crowd. Everyone was very nice, and VERY DRUNK! I couldn’t believe it. One drunk guy was hitting on me, but to my fiancé. He kept telling him how lucky he was, etc, etc. What I thought was going to be a romantic night out turned into a comedy skit of local Irish men. It was actually pretty funny and no one was offensive, but we were naive Americans in a roaring Irish Pub. We spent the remainder of the weekend in our suite and in the Inn’s garden. I'm not complaining though! Next time we’ll have to stick with the touristier route!
Best Wishes,
Fallon, Boston, MA
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Teen-age Debungle in Italy
Dear Jen and Tom,
I decided to have a destination wedding in Italy. It is my second wedding, and John and I have 3 kids between the two of us. We only invited our close friends and family since we both are older and come from small families. His oldest child is 16 so we decided to allow her best friend, who is very close with our family to come along. The two of the girls went on a shopping excursion, only a few blocks from us, so they could feel like adults. Well there is a reason 16 year-olds are not adults yet. They were “just talking” to two, gorgeous Italian boys, and somehow misplaced their wallets and passports. I was furious, and terrified. I was scared that they were going to be kept in captivity or something barbaric of the sort until we could prove who they were. Luckily it was only a very big headache later before my hubby got everything settled and the girls were allowed to come home with us, all on the same plane. We did have to push the flights back, but that is nothing compared to what I had going on in my head!
Lots of Love,
Cynthia from Nevada
I decided to have a destination wedding in Italy. It is my second wedding, and John and I have 3 kids between the two of us. We only invited our close friends and family since we both are older and come from small families. His oldest child is 16 so we decided to allow her best friend, who is very close with our family to come along. The two of the girls went on a shopping excursion, only a few blocks from us, so they could feel like adults. Well there is a reason 16 year-olds are not adults yet. They were “just talking” to two, gorgeous Italian boys, and somehow misplaced their wallets and passports. I was furious, and terrified. I was scared that they were going to be kept in captivity or something barbaric of the sort until we could prove who they were. Luckily it was only a very big headache later before my hubby got everything settled and the girls were allowed to come home with us, all on the same plane. We did have to push the flights back, but that is nothing compared to what I had going on in my head!
Lots of Love,
Cynthia from Nevada
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Dressing Sexy for the In-Laws
Dear Jen and Tom,
This isn’t horrific, unless you count family humiliation as a nation crisis! I am a very outgoing and opinionated woman, but only once you get to know me. My husband is from Texas but we live in Oregon so we don’t get to see his folks that often. This being said you can already assume that meeting the parents was a huge deal for me and I was my shy and awkward self the entire time. I still am now that I think of it. The specific moment I am thinking of is my wedding shower. My now mother-in-law got us the typical dinner china. She even went to the trouble to send me a scented candle and relaxing bath salts. However, at the bottom of the bag, I thought it was a silky bathrobe, however when I pulled it out in front of all of my family and friends I saw she got me VERY INTIMATE lingerie. How awful! It was an extra large, I wear medium! I was horrified! I didn’t know if it was serious or a bad joke. I still can’t get over the fact that a stranger, whether or not I was about to marry her son, got me such a humiliating present!
Better luck to you,
Julie, Portland OR
This isn’t horrific, unless you count family humiliation as a nation crisis! I am a very outgoing and opinionated woman, but only once you get to know me. My husband is from Texas but we live in Oregon so we don’t get to see his folks that often. This being said you can already assume that meeting the parents was a huge deal for me and I was my shy and awkward self the entire time. I still am now that I think of it. The specific moment I am thinking of is my wedding shower. My now mother-in-law got us the typical dinner china. She even went to the trouble to send me a scented candle and relaxing bath salts. However, at the bottom of the bag, I thought it was a silky bathrobe, however when I pulled it out in front of all of my family and friends I saw she got me VERY INTIMATE lingerie. How awful! It was an extra large, I wear medium! I was horrified! I didn’t know if it was serious or a bad joke. I still can’t get over the fact that a stranger, whether or not I was about to marry her son, got me such a humiliating present!
Better luck to you,
Julie, Portland OR
Ahhh--Chuuu
Dear Jen and Tom,
I have severe indoor allergies but hate taking medication. I do take medication when I need it, but I keep my home pretty tidy so it’s not that much of a hassle when I’m at home. My husband calls me a neat freak, but it’s more cleanliness I prefer. He would probably just die if he knew I was complaining about this, but this is truly a disaster story. On our honeymoon we went to the Swiss Alps. We stayed in a cozy little private cottage and we even went skiing on some smaller mountains most of the days of our trip. However, cottage is a word we typically associate with sweet, this however was not. It was so dusty and dirty I had a sneezing attack. The first night in my husband had to run out and get me some medication. It knocked me right out and he was left alone to watch the fire for hours until he could sleep! So much for romance! I had to request a cleaning crew to come in and totally de-allergen the entire place! It was horrible and I felt a little ridiculous but there was no way I could have survived that!
Love Always,
Cynthia, CO
I have severe indoor allergies but hate taking medication. I do take medication when I need it, but I keep my home pretty tidy so it’s not that much of a hassle when I’m at home. My husband calls me a neat freak, but it’s more cleanliness I prefer. He would probably just die if he knew I was complaining about this, but this is truly a disaster story. On our honeymoon we went to the Swiss Alps. We stayed in a cozy little private cottage and we even went skiing on some smaller mountains most of the days of our trip. However, cottage is a word we typically associate with sweet, this however was not. It was so dusty and dirty I had a sneezing attack. The first night in my husband had to run out and get me some medication. It knocked me right out and he was left alone to watch the fire for hours until he could sleep! So much for romance! I had to request a cleaning crew to come in and totally de-allergen the entire place! It was horrible and I felt a little ridiculous but there was no way I could have survived that!
Love Always,
Cynthia, CO
Monday, January 19, 2009
Spring Break Clash
Dear Jen and Tom,
My husband and I thought we had the perfect honeymoon planned: beachside service, unlimited margaritas, privacy, you name it! We were so excited to finally be able to indulge and relax (it had been a while since we were last able to do so with the years of saving and planning). When we saw a friend’s picture from her vacation in Cancun, we were sold. The beautiful beaches, warm weather, and nice hotel seemed ideal for what we wanted. While we were greeted by the mariachi band and given our ‘welcome’ margaritas, so were the hundreds of college kids that had come for their spring break!
We decided to give it a chance. We went straight to the beach hoping to unwind and recuperate, but the beach looked like Times Square at New Years. Not only were the private cabanas booked for the whole week; there was barely room for our 2 towels on the hotels entire beach. There were Wet T-shirt Contests to my left, Beer Pong Tournaments to my right; it was honestly straight out of “Girls Gone Wild”. Being trampled by drunken college kids, getting alcohol thrown all over us, and having to watch a nearly unconscious girl puke into the hotel Jacuzzi was NOT the romantic honeymoon activities we envisioned. It was impossible to escape the debauchery!!
We decided to explore the city, in hopes of leaving the madness behind. We found a cute little traditional restaurant, off the beaten path, where we ran into another set of newlyweds. We shared our honeymoon nightmare with them. They rambled how wonderful and relaxing their resort was; and without a second thought we knew we had to make the switch! The moment we stepped into the Hacienda Tres Rios Resort, our trip took a 180. This resort was ideal for the perfect honeymoon; full of fun and romance. Our romantic activities NOW consisted of Jacuzzi baths surrounded by fresh flower petals and moonlight massages.
Although the trip ended on a high note, next time we won’t be so quick to jump the gun!
-Cathy G.
Butte, Montana
To learn more about the Hacienda Tres Rios Resort in Cancun visit their website!
My husband and I thought we had the perfect honeymoon planned: beachside service, unlimited margaritas, privacy, you name it! We were so excited to finally be able to indulge and relax (it had been a while since we were last able to do so with the years of saving and planning). When we saw a friend’s picture from her vacation in Cancun, we were sold. The beautiful beaches, warm weather, and nice hotel seemed ideal for what we wanted. While we were greeted by the mariachi band and given our ‘welcome’ margaritas, so were the hundreds of college kids that had come for their spring break!
We decided to give it a chance. We went straight to the beach hoping to unwind and recuperate, but the beach looked like Times Square at New Years. Not only were the private cabanas booked for the whole week; there was barely room for our 2 towels on the hotels entire beach. There were Wet T-shirt Contests to my left, Beer Pong Tournaments to my right; it was honestly straight out of “Girls Gone Wild”. Being trampled by drunken college kids, getting alcohol thrown all over us, and having to watch a nearly unconscious girl puke into the hotel Jacuzzi was NOT the romantic honeymoon activities we envisioned. It was impossible to escape the debauchery!!
We decided to explore the city, in hopes of leaving the madness behind. We found a cute little traditional restaurant, off the beaten path, where we ran into another set of newlyweds. We shared our honeymoon nightmare with them. They rambled how wonderful and relaxing their resort was; and without a second thought we knew we had to make the switch! The moment we stepped into the Hacienda Tres Rios Resort, our trip took a 180. This resort was ideal for the perfect honeymoon; full of fun and romance. Our romantic activities NOW consisted of Jacuzzi baths surrounded by fresh flower petals and moonlight massages.
Although the trip ended on a high note, next time we won’t be so quick to jump the gun!
-Cathy G.
Butte, Montana
To learn more about the Hacienda Tres Rios Resort in Cancun visit their website!
Learn how to prevent a disastrous honeymoon at our site! Click Here!
Friday, January 16, 2009
Valentine's Day Memories
Dear Jen and Tom,
I've been thinking about Valentine’s Day recently because that’s all you see everywhere for the two weeks leading up to the 14th. I can’t help but giggle to myself every now and again when I see romance this time of the year. When my husband and I first got together, we were in Florida for grad school. He took me to the beach and tried to write I love you in the sand. But he wrote it too low and the tide had washed most of it off by the time we walked down. I made a joke at the “poor sap” who wrote that for his girlfriend or wife, not knowing it was meant for me. It was the first time we would have said the L word, taking the relationship to the next level. He was so nervous the rest of the night because he didn’t know how else he was going to tell me, or even if he should. I had helped him make a picnic, but he slipped in a love note when I wasn’t looking. It was sweet and revealed much of his heart. Each Valentine’s Day since, I take it out and read it during dinner. After dinner on the freezing beach, we walked back to the car. I don’t know how he did it but my present was sitting on my seat when I got back! I unwrapped it right there. Inside was a monkey wearing a collar. Charles calls me his little monkey. He wasn’t trying to say I'm on a tight leash now with the monkey’s collar. He was trying to say “I love you.” The collar was a gorgeous silver and diamond bracelet. He had the back engraved “Happy Valentine’s Day My Love.” Of course like any giddy school girl I had to question the “my love.” He then nervously told me that he loved me, right there in the beach parking lot. We now live in Colorado; each year we fly down to Florida for a couple of days right around Valentine’s Day to commemorate the cement where our love began.
With Love,
Abby
I've been thinking about Valentine’s Day recently because that’s all you see everywhere for the two weeks leading up to the 14th. I can’t help but giggle to myself every now and again when I see romance this time of the year. When my husband and I first got together, we were in Florida for grad school. He took me to the beach and tried to write I love you in the sand. But he wrote it too low and the tide had washed most of it off by the time we walked down. I made a joke at the “poor sap” who wrote that for his girlfriend or wife, not knowing it was meant for me. It was the first time we would have said the L word, taking the relationship to the next level. He was so nervous the rest of the night because he didn’t know how else he was going to tell me, or even if he should. I had helped him make a picnic, but he slipped in a love note when I wasn’t looking. It was sweet and revealed much of his heart. Each Valentine’s Day since, I take it out and read it during dinner. After dinner on the freezing beach, we walked back to the car. I don’t know how he did it but my present was sitting on my seat when I got back! I unwrapped it right there. Inside was a monkey wearing a collar. Charles calls me his little monkey. He wasn’t trying to say I'm on a tight leash now with the monkey’s collar. He was trying to say “I love you.” The collar was a gorgeous silver and diamond bracelet. He had the back engraved “Happy Valentine’s Day My Love.” Of course like any giddy school girl I had to question the “my love.” He then nervously told me that he loved me, right there in the beach parking lot. We now live in Colorado; each year we fly down to Florida for a couple of days right around Valentine’s Day to commemorate the cement where our love began.
With Love,
Abby
Make your special moments into a history like Abby.Click Here!
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Cruise Gone Bad, Bad, Worse
Dear Jen and Tom,
You are never going to believe what happened two years ago on our honeymoon. My husband Joe and I decided to take a cruise for 8 days after the wedding. We didn't know much about cruises but our friends gave us some tips and we landed on going around Africa. We had high but few expectations. Now, don't get me wrong, we did have an amazing time being together, however, from the booking to the unpacking and doing laundry once home again, everything was a disaster. Joe, being the accountant that he is, always likes to get the best deal he possibly can. So he decided to go on random websites for hours each night finding the "perfect" cruise. I didn't find out about his extensive search until recently.
We got to the air port around 5 AM the morning after the wedding and conveniently our flight was over booked, which led to four hours of a little girl's stories, who was flying to visit daddy because mommy kicked him out (Great way to start a marriage, right?) Once we arrived on the ship we felt invincible. However, it didn't really look how we felt. I was fairly old and made creaking noises. I make jokes that I felt like I was on a pirate ship, not an elegant cruise. But I couldn't tell Joe because he was so proud of his great deal. Well the first night went smoothly, for a gigantic pirate ship. Then the bickering began. Fighting when we woke up, until deep into the night. It kept us up the majority of the cruise. We couldn't escape it; not at dinner, not at the pool, not even in the spa when we were apart. I'm not talking about Joe and I fighting. I'm talking about the others on this miserable divorcee cruise. It was horrible. Terrible. All the couples seemed to be seconds away from a divorce. The only thing Joe and I had were each other. The cruise was a complete mismatch. I felt like I was trapped in a bad comedy.
But the misery didn't stop there. Joe could see I was miserable so he tried to spice things up. He got me a stuffed dog, dark chocolates, and some gorgeous flowers from the pitiful cruise souvenir shop. Then the old boat hit a wave and everything Joe had just bought me went, down, down, down. As I glanced over the side of the ship all I could see was the tiny dark pieces of happiness soak into the ocean. It was a small event, cheap chocolates, but to me it was the end of the world.
This next part is the icing on the cake. Wouldn't you know, as soon as all Joe's hard work hit the water, Mr. Rosengardner came stumbling up to me. He tried to put the moves on me, for the fifth time, completely ignoring the ring on my finger and the man on my arm. He spilt his gin and tonic all over my blouse. Then, of course, tried the oldest trick in the book- tried to pat me dry. Oh I wish you could have seen the look on Joe's face right before he clocked that old son of gun. All I remember next was a lot of pointing and more yelling. At the next port we were asked to leave the cruise.
So, there we were, stuck in Africa with no hotel no idea what we were going to do. Luckily we found a nice hotel and settled down for the night. We found out the nearest airport was 28 miles away. This would be no problem if we were in southern California, or even anywhere that uses something other than donkey for travel. Can you imagine riding a donkey for 28 miles on your honeymoon? OUTRAGOUS! The bumps and smells were a close second and third favorite right after the pesky bugs. Needless to say, this June when we renew vows I did the research this time and came across AskAboutTravel. My travel agent, Amie was so helpful and I am completely confident that this time it will not end in a donkey ride to the airport. Love,
Allison and Derek
Seattle, WA
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