Weddingbee

Last two images found here.

Cappadocia has a significant history; it was both the home to ancient Hittite civilization, and the underground tunnels were used by early Christians to avoid persecution. The Goreme Open-Air Museum contains many ancient churches, and the underground cities of Kaymakli and Derinkuyu are also places to visit. Perhaps the most popular thing for tourists is to take a hot air balloon ride at sunrise.

Image found here.

Now, there are also many fabulous places to stay in the area:

Sacred House has good tripadvisor ratings; prices range from $130-170/night.

Gamarisu also has excellent tripadvisor ratings; rooms range from $95-$700, with most $200 or less.

So we could spend time in Istanbul, and some in Cappadocia. We could also travel to Bodrum or another locations along the coast for the requisite beach time.

After mulling over this option for several weeks, neither of us were absolutely ecstatic about the plans. My mom traveled to Turkey this year, and somehow that makes it seem…less exotic of a locale. And given how much flights were going to cost, it might make sense to travel someplace that is cheaper once you get there.

We considered Argentina, but May weather would be more like November here, and I wanted someplace warm. Asia, perhaps? We had already nixed India (Mr. Dahlia has been there) and Thailand (Mr. Dahlia has been there, and May is the rainy season). We had talked about Japan, but it would eliminate the whole being cheaper once you get there, and it would definitely be more of a see-as-much-as-you-can sort of vacation than a relaxing one with some sightseeing.

Stay tuned for the next (and final!) installment of our honeymoon search…
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I wonder how Mr. Dahlia has influenced my own political opinions. We have similar stances on a wide variety of issues- I wouldn’t be marrying him if we didn’t agree on many of the issues- but there are some where we have differing viewpoints. My parents have wildly different views on most political issues. One of my brothers and his girlfriend are pretty much two peas in a pod when it comes to political views. While I am more engaged in politics than Mr. Dahlia is, he pays closer attention to a wider range of issues than I do.

Do you and your partner/betrothed/spouse have similar views on political issues? Is that an area of compatibility that is important to you and your relationship? Have you been able to influence each other when it comes time to vote? « Hide it

Greece.

And we both fell in love with one place in particular- Ikies. Nestled on the outskirts of Oia, Ikies offered private outdoor jacuzzis, breakfast on your own private terrace, and the nearly impossible perfect 5 rating on tripadvisor.

Check it out.

A view of the property.

Isn’t that terrace amazing?


The rooms aren’t too shabby either.

Look at how beautiful it is at dusk!

Only trick was, while Greece is new to Mr. Dahlia, I have been to the Greek islands before. Although it was while I was backpacking through college, and was only on Santorini briefly because we missed our ferry stop in Ios (think MTV spring break, only with Aussies instead of Americans), I still wasn’t settled on going someplace I had been before. Besides, we wanted city! And I am not a big fan of Athens. And somehow, to me, Greece just doesn’t sound too exotic.

So what if we went to Istanbul as well? Turkey sounds exotic. And we could stay at MiSafir Suites, a place that has (say it with me now :-D), amazing tripadvisor ratings. Just look at it:

That way I could get my passport stamped in a new country as well.

Like all the places thus discussed, there was just one trick. This time, it was that there is no good way to get from Santorini to Istanbul. Flights must go through Athens, and there are two airlines available: Olympic and Turkish. Flights are expensive, and it seemed difficult justifying spending $800 to go to someplace mostly because I wanted to go to someplace new. But what if we just went to Turkey?
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As cool as Vivo seemed to us, my mom’s reaction was more along the lines of, “You want to have your wedding reception in a nightclub?!?” This did not go over too well. It seemed that my parents were looking for something more traditional…so where did that lead us?

To the Heights Rockefeller Center, with a capacity of 150. Unfortunately, (and fortunately) my parents had visions of a larger reception, and we were on the quest for a new site.

What place had character, was not an impersonal hotel ballroom, and was located between Cleveland Heights and downtown?

I scanned the internet for answers to that question, and Mr. Dahlia and I reviewed our options. Data was posted into an ever increasing excel file. I looked at the websites of dozens of venues. Mr. Dahlia probably called close to a dozen. (That is how we divide up the tasks- I research on the internet, and he calls or emails). We discovered in this process that there is at least one major event place in downtown Cleveland that did not know what creme brulee is.

We narrowed it down to three choices: Windows on the River, Sammy’s at Myers University Club, and the English Oak Room. We drove into town from Michigan, and scheduled appointments with people at each location.

Mr. Dahlia called to confirm our appointments as we drove into town, and learned that not only did Windows have no recollection of our appointment, they also don’t do showings of the space on Saturdays. We were a bit bummed, because the space seemed really cool. But that also made our decision easy- if they were unable to keep an appointment for us when they were trying to sell us the space, what would they be like once we signed a contract?

They were crossed off the list.

Myers University Club became the first venue that we looked at formally. We were met with the Sammy’s representative, and toured the facilities. They were nice, and the ballroom had lots of details. Lots and lots of pink/mauve/salmon details.

Now, while this would be fine for lots of people getting married (and brides especially!), pink is not my color. I don’t do froufrou. (Well, I like froufrou, but that’s not what I mean). I’m not a girly girl, and Mr. Dahlia spends more time getting ready in the morning than I do.

Plus, the Sammy’s representative with whom we would be working did not understand us.

Sammy’s Representative: “And this is where we typically place the wedding cake.”
Mr. D: “We are not going to be doing cake- we would like creme brulee instead.”
SR: “Oh, but you want a cake.”
Miss D: “I’m not really much of a cake person. Creme brulee is my favorite dessert.”
SR: “But you want to have a cake, for the pictures.”
Miss D: “No, we don’t. We want to crack the creme brulee instead.”
SR: “But you want cake. Your grandmother and aunts will be expecting it.” (appeals to my mother)
My mom: (sternly) “No, they are not going to have a cake.”

So they were crossed off the list.

That left us with the English Oak Room. There was a scheduling mix up, and we ended up being let in to the place by a security guard. The room itself is fine, and it has a lot of character.

Unfortunately, it is located in what is essentially a shopping mall. Cocktail hour would take place in a roped off area of the mall. Not so awesome.

We were back to square one with location, forcing us to broaden our horizons, and reconsider previously rejected locations.
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very chic bath

and your own private terrace!

And if we wanted beach time, there is always the Canary Islands.

The above pictures are from the Hotel Palm Beach, which has the modern, design styled rooms shown below. This place has decent tripadvisor ratings.

Or if you want something more traditional, consider the Hotel San Roque, also with good tripadvisor reviews.

The regular room.

Or splurge on the tower room.

Complete with its own terrace

that has views of the ocean.

But after some discussion, we decided that Spain was not the place for us- partly because we wanted more hotel like amenities, and partly because Mr. Dahlia had fallen in love with someplace else.
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Our first thought was navy blue. The chairs in the ballroom are navy, and it would coordinate. But what colors would go with navy? Whites and creams. Not a fan of pink, nor the all blue look. Mixing in red would be a bit too patriotic. Yellow and its variants, would make the wedding the colors of my grad school, which is problematic, as I (and my family) supports my grad school’s arch enemy.

So we tossed around the idea of green.

Image from the knot.

But it didn’t seem like it would fit too well with the ballroom. And how does it represent us/jazz/vintage/historical/hip/modern/classic all at the same time? (Unfortunately, we have demands for these colors).

I made an “inspiration” board.

Mr. Dahlia and I looked at it, and looked at it, and just didn’t like the vibe the virtual collage was giving off.

(click images for larger view)

On a whim (and with the help of the paint can tool), I made a couple of quick changes.

And it all seems to just flow so much better.

So it looks like we have colors - burgundy and champagne. Which is fabulous, given how much wine we seem to drink.
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Complete with hammock

And private plunge pool!

And for a bit more, you could stay in the Palapa suite, which has a unique indoor/outdoor feel to it. Like living in the rainforest with luxury accommodations.

Just check out the shower!

Unfortunately, when I proposed this place, Mr. Dahlia vetoed it on the argument that he doesn’t want to go to Mexico, and the lack of a nearby bustling metropolis. So I went back to the internet, and continued the search…
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However, different reds or variations of red can clash. Like the prom picture where three of us were dressed in red (that’s me!), salmon and pink, respectively.

It’s great that everyone else was in blue or purple so we could alternate and end up with coordinated (and not clashing) pictures.

And then comes along J. Crew’s fall catalogue. Every two or three months it seems that they release new colors for their special occasions collection. Conveniently, one of J. Crew’s fall colors is “vintage burgundy.” What are the colors of our wedding? Burgundy and Champagne. What is the theme we are loosely going for? Vintage jazz and swing. This could be perfect. And the ladies would have their choice of three dresses, the Caroline, Goddess, Sophia.

I ordered a fabric swatch, and it was an absolutely gorgeous color. And I worked up the nerve to ask the lovely ladies what they thought about the dress. Thankfully, each likes them and hopefully will be able to find a style that works for her.

They are choosing from:

Caroline dress

Goddess dress

Sophia dress

As of right now, it looks like at least 2 of the 3 will wear the Sophia. For those of you that let your bridesmaids pick dresses, did any of them end up picking the same dress?
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But three years ago tonight, we watched Lost in Translation. Mr. Dahlia had broken up with his longtime on-again off-again lady friend, and my housemates were all off doing various things (i.e. they had a marching band commitment) . We watched the movie in my room (the single! No roommate for me that year!) in the house, and when the movie was over, he looked at me. And said “Miss Dahlia, I have to tell you something. I’m not quite sure how to say this, but I’m really a big…fan of you.”

And there you have it.

Us then:

At the drive-in in Arkansas.

Serving people at that friend’s birthday party. (Yes, it was in a coffee shop- the one we worked at and I lived above in college. As an aside, about this time, that same friend of ours had a dream that the two of us were getting married.)

And now:

In DC a couple of weeks ago.

Right before hearing DJ Tiesto.

Happy anniversary, my love.
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