Honeymoon!

First, let me say that if any of this makes no sense, I apologize -- I've not slept in about three days. Don't know why, but it's making trying to function very exciting. And in the midst of this excitement, even more ...

Let me back up a tad. While we had already decided that we were going to have a very small wedding, my best friend, Joe, was adamant about being a part of it. Joe and I were introduced through a mutual friend and hit if off immediately back in the early 90s -- we know where all of each other's bodies are buried and probably helped with the interment! At any rate, I couldn't deny him taking part in our day and Matt was very generous about including him.

So Joe and I finally had a chance on Monday to catch up regarding how the wedding plans were going. I told him that we were all set for the place we're getting hitched as well as where we'd all be staying afterward (oh yes, by the way we DID get all the rooms we wanted at the Meander Inn -- yay!), and that basically I just needed a dress and someone to marry us. Legally. Then he asked where we were going on our honeymoon.

Uh. Well.

I explained that a honeymoon was on hold because of funding. As in, we don't have any. And we'd both come to terms with that. We're just happy that we can have our day and get away that night with our family. Joe left the topic while we talked of other things, then asked, "Would Matt have a hard time getting away?" And I answered no. So then he did the most wonderful thing. He offered to give us a honeymoon.

Joe and his partner, Cabel, have a "little place" in Irvington, VA, that they renovated about a year ago. I'd heard about the progress, of course, and had seen a couple of pictures. Have I mentioned Joe is an interior designer and an architect? Yes, so their regular home in Los Altos, CA is GORGEOUS. Straight out of a design mag. Joe offered Matt and I the use of their newly renovated home in Irvington for a week so that we could have a getaway. I, of course, burst into tears because that's what I do.

Here's where we'll be for a glorious week in October. And it got me thinking that you really don't have to have this super-expensive European or Caribbean extravaganza to have a "proper" honeymoon. All you need is a place where you can get away and be just the two of you for a bit. True, a lot of people don't have fairy godmothers who own multiple houses, but all people do have friends and family who also have friends and family, and somewhere along the line, there's sure to be a condo or a timeshare or even a well-kept secret of an inexpensive and charming hotel or town that's worth exploring!