Mrs. Petit Four, San Antonio/Isla MujeresAge and Occupation: 25, Technology teacherFiance's Age and Occupation: 30, Math Teacher and Football CoachEngagement Date: Feb 13, 2010Wedding Date: March 2012Venue: Zama Beach Club, Isla Mujeres, MexicoAbout Me: I am a polka-dot obsessed, destination wedding diva living and loving in the great state of Texas. I am an island girl at heart and I visit the beach as often as I can. I am a wannabe DIY goddess, but that doesn’t mean I won’t give it my best shot. I love pearl earrings, the color pink, and ruffles are a part of my everyday wardrobe. My wonderful fiance and I are planning a destination wedding with our closest family and friends and we’re leaving a trail of glitter in our path!
San Antonio is a really fun place to have a honeymoon, or even a mini-moon for all the Texas bees out there. The sun is always shining and the people are always smiling. The weather is great most of the year, but it can get REALLY hot during the summer, so make sure to pack your swimsuit if you’re going to travel then. Mr. PF and I love to play tourist in our own city, but if we were going to do it up big, this is what we would do…
Mrs. Caramel, Los AngelesAge and Occupation: 24, Art Gallery/MuseumsFiance's Age and Occupation: 24, EngineerEngagement Date: January 8, 2007Wedding Date: October 6, 2007Venue: a beautiful church and hotel receptionAbout Me: I love dancing, singing, eating out, eating in, surfing on the net, and brainstorming fantastic ideas. I also love cats, coffee, and know every quote written on Sex & the City. I'm known to laugh really loud and have really crazy hand gestures while I talk. My fiance writes songs and I take pictures. What else? We're just a crazy young couple in love, trying to make a fabulous wedding!
It’s been a while since the last post in this series! Over the past few years, the bees have shared their favorite sights, sounds, and eats in the places they call home. If you’re looking to honeymoon in the States, check out all our past posts in our “Honeymoon in my Hometown” series!
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New York City is an amazing city and I think it’s a great place for honeymooning, even for a quick pit-stop on your way to another destination! (That’s what we did!) Here are my personal tips and recommendations that I think have worked well for all the dozens of visitors I get every year.
For starters:
UWS = Upper West Side
UES = Upper East Side
LES or East Village = Lower East Side
Alphabet City = lower VERY East Side
Midtown = generally 40s to the 60s streets
West Village = lower west side (but don’t ever call it that!)
Mrs. Mouse, AustinAge and Occupation: 25, Weddingbee Editor/AttorneyFiance's Age and Occupation: 31, Civil EngineerEngagement Date: December 19, 2007Wedding Date: September 2009Venue: Barr MansionAbout Me: I just graduated from law school and will be taking the bar, getting married, going on a honeymoon with my guy, and then trying to figure out what I'm going to do with the rest of my life. I was born and raised in a small East Texas town, but I'm no country girl! I'm obsessed with British accents, fantasy (including Harry Potter, of course), and classic rock. My fiance and I consider ourselves both music and beer snobs--but every once in awhile we love to hear a crappy band and drink a cheap brew or two. We're planning an eco-friendly, casual, English garden affair for the end of summer, and we can't wait for it to get here!
I’ve been wanting to contribute to this series for a long time, and I finally got it together! I know other bees have written about Austin, but hopefully I can provide a unique perspective on the city I’ve called home for the past 10 years.
For me, Austin is the perfect mix of small town and big city. It has a famously wonderful and eclectic music scene; delicious, cheap, and varied restaurants; amazing bars, from the trendy to the just plain dives; and even a budding film/TV scene (think Friday Night Lights!). Austin is the perfect place for a casual honeymoon filled with lazy days at Barton Springs, shopping at boutiques on South Congress, and eating your weight in breakfast tacos.
FOOD
We all know the most important part of any vacation, especially a honeymoon, is food. Austin has SO MUCH good food. It’s pretty much insane. I don’t know what I’d do if I ever moved—I’m sure I’d go through Tex-Mex withdrawal.
Tex-Mex:
Trudy’s might be my favorite Tex-Mex spot. Not only is their menu delicious and extensive (everything from a chicken-stuffed and breaded avocado to portabella fajitas to mango-tilapia quesadillas to cheesecake flan), they also have some of the best drinks in town, and a lively bar scene. Must try: the Mexican martini. It’s basically a kicked up margarita on the rocks, served in a shaker with a martini glass and olives.
Mrs. Glasses, Tokyo/Los Angeles, CAAge and Occupation: 24, English teacherFiance's Age and Occupation: 27, English teacherEngagement Date: September 2008Wedding Date: October 2010 Venue: Parents' backyardAbout Me: I’m an expat living in Tokyo. I’ve been in Japan for almost three years now, where I met my fantastic English fiance. It’s time to leave Japan, so we are planning a fun, intimate, backyard ceremony back home in the suburbs of L.A. in October. Our wedding will be a mix of my love for food, beer, my Japanese culture, and Mr. G’s Englishness. We are on a tiny budget and DIYing almost everything!
Maybe Tokyo isn’t my hometown, but it sure feels like it. Remember when I lived there? That was pretty weird. I’m actually homesick for Tokyo—the lights, the quirkiness, the energy. Japan has four seasons, and in the winter in Tokyo it gets so cold it snows just a bit. Tokyo is most beautiful during the cherry blossom season in late March through early April, or when the leaves change color during fall (known as “koyo“). Avoid summer as it is unbearably hot and humid, and September is the rainy season and prone to typhoons.
Mrs. Brooch, Arlington, VAAge and Occupation: 25, Writer/EditorFiance's Age and Occupation: 29, Front Desk ManagerEngagement Date: October 3, 2009Wedding Date: April 2011Venue: Oxon Hill ManorAbout Me: I’m an indecisive girlie-girl with a motor mouth, can-do attitude, and knack for making others laugh. I dream of becoming a best selling novelist like Elizabeth Gilbert or Julie Powell (a girl can dream, right?), and love long road trips, a beautiful countryside, music, blogs, books, and all things vintage/thrift/antique/or homemade. I’m a Virgo, i.e. overly sensitive, emotional, and critical, and there’s no such thing as short and sweet in my world. I want to say and do it all. Mr. Brooch grounds me. I point where to go and he figures out the way. He’s a pragmatic fancy-pants who enjoys video games and movies. We both adore our mutt, Rocky, and spending time with our amazingly supportive family and friends. We’re planning a garden wedding with a formal reception with lots of whimsy and unique, Southern-inspired details.
It’s a funny thing: when I was younger, my dream was to travel the world. I wanted to go to Paris as soon as possible, and spend my life globe-trotting, but that has hardly been the case.
I grew up in Arlington, went to high school in Herndon, college in Richmond, and I’m living in Arlington again. Talk about full circle, huh? Not quite. I do hope to travel someday. I have resolved myself to the fact it might happen later in life. And, hey, I can’t really complain, since A-town is a pretty nice place to live!
We’re right here next to Washington, DC, so we have the best of both worlds: the suburbs and the big city. I love working near the capital because this area has a lot of culture (lots of fabulous restaurants and shops), and we also have a pride about us! Living not too far from the President, it’s no wonder!
I’m not going into all the fabulous things to do in DC (Mrs. Perfume did a good job of that), because to be perfectly honest, I don’t go there very often. I love go try new restaurants in the city, and it’s really the only area where my girlfriends and I party, but my hometown is definitely Arlington!
Mrs. Lioness, AtlantaAge and Occupation: 25, Physical TherapistFiance's Age and Occupation: 25, AttorneyEngagement Date: August 29, 2009Wedding Date: April 2011Venue: Anthony’s Fine DiningAbout Me: I’m a Southern girl with New England roots. I say "wicked" and "y’all" in the same sentence and I like to drink sweet tea with my lobster. Mr. Lion and I are both former Floridians now living in Atlanta, which fortunately is still SEC country...Go Gators! We both love baseball, coffee, traveling, cooking, and playing Words with Friends with each other on our iPhones all day long. I’m very passionate about the things and the people I love, and I tend to plan things with all of my heart...our wedding, of course, is no different! Oh, and also Mr. Lion is a first generation American of Cuban descent. I may look more like Lucy than Ricky, but I’m doing my best to incorporate some Latin elements into our vintage-garden-Southern wedding!
I wasn’t sure whether or not I wanted to jump on the bandwagon with this bee series. I live in Atlanta and I’ve spent a lot of time in Boston, but I wouldn’t really consider either my hometown. I grew up in South Florida, but I wouldn’t know what to write about because I haven’t lived there in years! So, I decided to focus on a place where I’ve spent a lot of time in my life: Walt Disney World. Here’s the catch: we’re not gonna set foot inside the parks!
Obviously, I love the parks. But one of the great things about Disney is that the magic doesn’t end at Space Mountain and ice cream bars. Resort-hopping is one of my favorite things to do at Disney because it allows you to be immersed in the magic without having to deal with the crowds. Best of all, the resorts are all about the details falling into place under a broader theme…sound familiar? Let’s start with my personal favorite, shall we? Read more…
Mrs. Taco, San FranciscoAge and Occupation: 29, writer/editorFiance's Age and Occupation: 37, editorEngagement Date: May 13, 2009Wedding Date: August 2010Venue: The Green Room at the War Memorial Veterans BuildingAbout Me: I like laughing and talking with good friends over good food and good drink, be it wine, cocktail, or brew. I write and edit things for fun and profit, but I rarely "write" these days without a keyboard and high-speed internets. Favorites include Mr. Taco, my Boston terrier, San Francisco, getting out of town, and the Roaring ’20s. I was kind-of planning a wedding since roughly 2006, when I discovered "Whose Wedding Is It Anyway?" on the WE channel. I ran and didn't look back with a theme I called "urban vintage," and it culminated in the most magical day a taco could ask for.
To interrupt my regularly scheduled recap posts, I decided to participate in a special Bee series, Honeymoon in My Hometown, in which we pimp our home bases to the masses, should you be considering a honeymoon in our backyards.
This Taco is a Bay Area gal through and through. I grew up in South San Francisco: a suburb that, contrary to popular belief, is not part of its famous northern neighbor. I returned home for a spell (gah) in 2003 after college, and I bounced around the Bay Area a couple times until moving to San Francisco almost three years ago.
I love it here. And you will love it here, especially if you like some key things: hilly city scenery, fresh, organic food, wine, and walking.
I’m not categorically opposed to tourist things, but there are some I could do without. Read more…
Mrs. Lamb, NorfolkAge and Occupation: 25, Homeland Security ConsultantFiance's Age and Occupation: 27, Graduate StudentEngagement Date: January 2009Wedding Date: January 2010Venue: Trinity Presbyterian Church/Harrison Opera HouseAbout Me: I’m a Homeland Security Consultant with a tendency towards pulling office pranks, taking lunch breaks, and drinking Wawa shakes. I’m also an English major with a serious obsession with alliteration and rhymes. While I’m not keeping America safe, I’m training for half marathons and the Escape from Alcatraz swim. Or moving for the third time this year. Or baking. Or wedding crafting. Or crying about wedding planning. All the while, I’m getting myself into Lucille Ball-esque scrapes and making Jim Carey-esque faces. Our big fat Czech/Baptist/Jewish/Italian wedding is a combination of vintage eclectic, DIY, and little spoonful of sugar from our Event Coordinator. It’s going to be a Norfolk flavored wedding with the verve of an only-daughter-blow-out bash!
You may have taken summer vacation to Williamsburg and been forced to appreciate colonial history, but the area has a ton to offer in the way of romance and activity for a honeymoon close to home. Here are my personal suggestions if you’re headed to the area for your honeymoon (or anniversary trip, or even babymoon trip?).
Stay downtown and enjoy the water views! Hop on the water taxi to explore downtown Portsmouth, or hop on the highway to enjoy any of the 7 cities in the area. We stayed there on our wedding night and received excellent service. Read more…
Ms. Cheetah, Los Angeles/Palm Springs
Age and Occupation: 31, Artist, EducatorFiance's Age and Occupation: 32, TV FinanceEngagement Date: April 2010Wedding Date: March 2011Venue: The ViceroyAbout Me: I’m a silly, sassy lady with a compulsion to create. I love to sing and dance, despite the fact that I lack any talent doing either. I somehow manage to be messy and organized at the same time. I like to spend my days road tripping, watching '80s movies, reading true crime books, buying things on sale, sending postcards, playing board games, dining at food trucks, snuggling, and drinking ginger ale. I have a weak spot for all things sweet, especially Mr. Cheetah! I’m a Chicago girl and he’s a Nor Cal boy but we love living in the City of Angels. After 10 years as a couple we are planning a fun-filled semi-destination wedding in Palm Springs. Hope you enjoy the ride!
LA has so much to offer (including the sunny weather!) it would make an amazing honeymoon-or minimoon for those of you within easy driving distance!
Mr. Cheetah and I love to play hosts to guests from near and far, so here’s a sample of some of the things we might take you to do if you came to visit LaLa land for a week.
When in LA you have to see Hollywood and experience some of the entertainment industry. Read more…
Mrs. Meerkat, Kalamazoo, MI/Riviera MayaAge and Occupation: 30, Application EngineerFiance's Age and Occupation: 23, IT ConsultantEngagement Date: July 26, 2008Wedding Date: December 2010Venue: Al Cielo / La LagunaAbout Me: I’m a tech-savvy tomboy with an affinity for hot tea and good sushi. Us Meerkats are just a couple fun lovin’ geeks from Michigan. We love anything having to do with movies, books, video games or technology and we hold a special place in our hearts for our two very spoiled shih-tzus, Wicket and Bravo. We also LOVE to travel. We love it so much it only took us 12 hours after we got engaged to decide to have a destination wedding. We are working our little Meerkat tails off planning a rustic-chic, travel themed destination wedding in the Riviera Maya with a semi-formal, vintage-turned-modern, outdoor at home reception back here in Michigan.
Mr Meerkat and I LOVE living in Michigan (minus when we get huge snow storms) and to be able to share it with you… *squeal* Yea, I am that excited. I promise to try my best to keep each category to my top three choices otherwise this could get really long, really quickly.
The Air Zoo is #1 on my list of things to do in Kalamazoo. Basically it’s a interactive museum that has AMAZING displays of transportation from the first hot air balloon to present day. It has some old hot air balloons and bi-planes:
Mrs. Cardigan, AustinAge and Occupation: 21, Student/Soon-to-be Special Education TeacherFiance's Age and Occupation: 20, Student/Soon-to-be Accounting Systems AnalystEngagement Date: August 16, 2009Wedding Date: January 2011Venue: Vintage VillasAbout Me: I'm a native Austinite who was raised as a die-hard Aggie. Luckily, I'm a pretty persuasive girl because I managed to convince my high school boyfriend (now fiance!), Mr. Cardigan, to ditch his hardcore Longhorn ways and join me up at A&M, where we currently reside with our adorable dogs, Cullen & Ranger. We're currently planning a bright, cheery wedding with a ridiculous amount of DIY projects that I can't wait to tackle! I love crafting in any form, reading, and margaritas (I think I love them the most!). Organization is what keeps me sane and I love helping others, which is probably why I ended up as an education major. It gets a little chaotic sometimes when you're planning a wedding among all of the papers, projects, finals, and certification exams, but we're having the time of our lives and we can't wait to get started on our journey as husband and wife - and we're so excited to share our wedding with the hive!
I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this before, but I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Austin. Seriously, it’s the best. You’ve got the awesome downtown area, full of live music, amazing shopping, and plenty of shows and events, and then just outside of downtown you have the gorgeous hill country with some of the most beautiful views ever and a much quieter atmosphere.
Before I even became a bee, I remember reading the Honeymoon in my Hometown posts and wishing I could write one all about Austin. I’m so excited to have a chance to share some of the things I love about my hometown!
Where I’m from is actually a bit north of Austin itself, and that’s what I’ll be focusing on for this installment of Honeymoon in my Hometown. I know you’re dying to hear my recommendations, so let’s get started!
Let’s pretend you’re headed to Austin for a weekend getaway. You only have from Friday after work through Sunday afternoon, so you want to hit the high points, and you don’t have a lot of time. Read more…
Mrs. Earrings, Fresno, CA/ Nelson, New ZealandAge and Occupation: 20, Student, Wannabe Writer
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 19, Photography StudentEngagement Date: February 14, 2010Wedding Date: January 2011Venue: Gardens of the WorldAbout Me: I'm a girl from down under who grew up in Indonesia and I'm marrying a California boy. I'm addicted to all things sweet, have never met a chocolate silk pie than can get the better of me, and have dreams of one day being a fulltime novelist. I go weak in the knees for lace, tea cups, and a beautifully crafted sentence. When I get excited about something (whether it is historical linguistics or the Beatles) I tend to go overboard in research, and planning this wedding is no different. Mr. Earrings is my high school sweetheart, my best friend, and somehow we combine all our quirks into one big happy mess.
Nelson is located at the top of New Zealand’s South Island. While I grew up in Papua, Nelson is the town where I was born, the place where my family would always come during breaks from Indonesia, where I have many relatives, and where our wedding will be. So if I have to pick a place where I “come from” I say it is Nelson. Read more…
Ms. Sloth, PhiladelphiaAge and Occupation: 35, Account Manager and Fashion BloggerFiance's Age and Occupation: 30, Design AdminEngagement Date: December 25, 2009Wedding Date: May 2011Venue: Bartram's GardenAbout Me: I'm an internet junkie and music snob with a good eye for a bargain. I couldn't live without thrift store shopping, cheeseburgers, sushi, Coke Zero, websites devoted to silly photos of baby animals, Photoshop, and Mr. Sloth. Speaking of which, he and I are a pair of goofball homebody nerds who love our beagle (the most ridiculously adorable dog EVER) to an embarrassing degree. We're planning a low-key and intimate yet festive and quirky outdoor wedding with DIY details and deeply personal touches, and it's all taking place in the city where we fell in love and call home: Philadelphia.
My beloved Philly has got something for everyone. Whether your idea of the perfect vacation is stuffing your face, bar hopping, shopping like crazy, sightseeing at historic landmarks, or taking in the scenery, Philadelphia is the perfect place for you. Best of all, Philly is remarkably affordable, so you won’t spend a fortune on your trip.
Bru did such a fantabulous job with her profile of Philly last year that I’m not even going to try to compare. Check out her post for hotel info, shopping, sightseeing and more. I’m going to expand upon my favorite thing about my city and about any city: the food and drink.
Get ready to drool!
Noms:
In my opinion, Philly is a foodie’s paradise. I could easily write ten blog posts full of my restaurant recommendations, so narrowing it down to just a few will be difficult. Read more…
Mrs. Earrings, Fresno, CA/ Nelson, New ZealandAge and Occupation: 20, Student, Wannabe Writer
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 19, Photography StudentEngagement Date: February 14, 2010Wedding Date: January 2011Venue: Gardens of the WorldAbout Me: I'm a girl from down under who grew up in Indonesia and I'm marrying a California boy. I'm addicted to all things sweet, have never met a chocolate silk pie than can get the better of me, and have dreams of one day being a fulltime novelist. I go weak in the knees for lace, tea cups, and a beautifully crafted sentence. When I get excited about something (whether it is historical linguistics or the Beatles) I tend to go overboard in research, and planning this wedding is no different. Mr. Earrings is my high school sweetheart, my best friend, and somehow we combine all our quirks into one big happy mess.
Maybe you’re a couple who wants something out of the ordinary for your honeymoon. You want adventure, to go somewhere that most people have never even heard of, let alone will ever see. A place where new species of wildlife are still being discovered, where most villages can only be reached by helicopter or a 6-seater plane, a place whose mountains still defy roads to cross them. A place where the stone age meets the new millennium.
That place is West Papua, where I have spent a good 18 years of my life, and even though I have left there now, it still holds a large chunk of my heart. Read more…
Mrs. Hermit Crab, New York, NYAge and Occupation: 24, Youth Director soon to be Grad StudentFiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Medical Student - soon to be Surgery ResidentEngagement Date: October 11, 2008Wedding Date: June 2010Venue: New York Botanical GardenAbout Me: I love all things food, books, our furbaby, Rashi, and adventures with my amazing fiance (oh, and saving the world!). This summer I will not only be a bride, but a bridesmaid, officiant, and attendee as well---it's all about weddings in my life right now, full of so many exciting moments and projects. We're planning a fab New York City wedding weekend full of family, love and lots of color!
When visiting other cities or countries, Mr. Hermit Crab and I are always interested in the Jewish culture and history in that place. We have visited synagogues and historic landmarks all over the world, and we are always learning new things. New York City has amazing Jewish resources and culture to explore, and I have put together a short list of the many opportunities there are here.
Just a disclaimer: I don’t work for any of these organizations/restaurants/etc. I just like them! Also, this is definitely not an exhaustive list—just some of my local faves! All of these places are in Manhattan unless otherwise noted.
Good Eats
Short of visiting Israel itself, New York City has some of the best kosher restaurants in the world. They range in price, cuisine and location, but there tons of options!
*Just a side note, for anyone traveling to NYC: A great resource for eating out in New York City is Menu Page. You can search for any restaurant by neighborhood, cuisine or other category.*
Anyway, here are some of our tried and true favorite kosher restaurants (you can get supervision information on most of their websites, if you are interested, as well as hours, menus and prices):
Murray’s Falafel (meat) 261 First Avenue between 15th and 16th Streets
In my opinion, some of the best falafel in the city, by far. Their shwarma and sides are also delicious (I have been told, since I am a vegetarian)
Unique Wedding Favors
Let’s start with my personal favorite, shall we?
