Music Monday

In the whirl of packing, wedding prep, and tying loose ends before I leave the country, this post somehow got lost in the shuffle. To be honest, I'm not too mad about it because (a) we finally got around to celebrating Peter's birthday, which is WAY more important than blogging, and (b) I just made the wedding playlists to end all playlists. Guys, they are good. And will (hopefully) get people dancing and having a good time. I'll share them on 8tracks eventually, but for now here's a quick tease!

The interesting thing about the whole process is, you can't necessarily make your perfect wedding playlist. If you really want your guests to have a good time, you have to try and get a balance of what they'll like- your cousins, your friends, and the older crowds all want to hear different things. So I skipped a few of my personal favorites (sorry, Passion Pit) in favor of impossibly catchy pop songs and some classic oldies and of course a few rock hits where I thought I could get away with it ;-). Hopefully the formula works- we'll find out soon enough!

What are your favorite wedding songs? Slow dance songs? What's the last song you want to hear at a wedding these days because you're so sick of it?

Oh yea- we're leaving the U.S. TONIGHT! First stop: London. Feel free to follow along on instagram if you'd like! :)

Wedding Wednesday: How we Met

Peter and I sat down to write the 'How We Met' section of our website when we realized something:

We couldn't do it.

I mean, it was the weirdest thing. I love that romantic, cheesy stuff. I read wedding blogs religiously. But for some reason, when it came to us, to our story, we couldn't get farther than a few sentences before devolving into giggles and calling Peter "Pizza." At one point we were seriously considering using this:

Peter was on Crete conducting research on how to build a laser large enough to destroy the sun. Georgia, a Floridian, was conducting research on a similarly malevolent topic at the medical school. As he was atrocious at Greek, he decided to take a Greek language class. Although Georgia wanted to brush up on her Greek, her true motive of joining the course was to pick up guys. Mission accomplished when she strolled in and sat in front of 3 handsome young physicists. Due to language barriers, Peter was the only one capable of sealing the deal.

Then I scrapped that and just wrote 'we met at a bar.' Yea. Not exactly Disney-fireworks-starry eyed romance material.

I guess when it comes down to it, we're just not the type of people who can write out our feelings so intimately for all the world to see. We're either too cool for it, or not cool enough to figure out how to write it down and make it sound clever and sweet and coy enough; I suspect it's the latter. I realize this sounds quite funny on a personal blog, of all things. But it's true. And personally, I'm cool with it. :)

I guess the advice I am trying to divvy out is: when the time comes to plan your wedding, make it out how you'd like it to be. Provided your guests are well accommodated, you really don't need to indulge in any of these traditions if they're not really 'you.' Peter and I are getting married, before God and our families. It's as simple as that. And there won't be a garter toss, or a cake cutting (unless my Dad wins on this one,) or a cutsey 'How We Met' page on the website.

And it's going to be absolutely perfect. 

How to Get Married in New York City

First off, it's imperative to pick the perfect partner- one who laughs at your weirdness, accepts your ragged edges, keeps your on the straight and narrow, and overall thinks you are the bee's knees.

Have you got them?

Next, you must apply to get married! you can start online, before heading to the City Clerk's office to complete the process.

At this point you'll have a bit of waiting to do. So you'll peruse the gift shop, and the selection of bouquets...

you'll creepily watch other couples pop out of the chapel one by one, each dressed beautifully and beaming

Then it's your turn- you nervously laugh with the city clerk employee at the fact that you and your spouse are decidedly not hispanic as it says on your application, wring hands in anticipation, then breath a sigh of relief when she tells you that you can head over the courthouse anytime after 24 hours and get hitched!

So back you come the next day, fully equipped with a suit, a white dress, and a bouquet of flowers generously provided by your gracious friends for this very occasion.

The mood must be appropriately serious, of course...

 Make sure to have a few proper witnesses around; perhaps a brother...

 Or a few old friends

By the way, do NOT expect a wait at this point- at least not on a week day! You will not, in fact, have time to do more than throw a touch of mascara on, let alone trim and polish those bare nails before you're called up to get your license printed!

Wedding Wednesday: the details

Throughout this whole planning process, I've been trying really hard not to let the inner bridezilla rear it's ugly head. The high-strung part of me tries to justify it- you only do this whole wedding thing once (if you do it right the first time)- so it has to be perfect, obviously. There's also the socially anxious part of me that envisions people walking into our wedding and seeing less than stellar flower arrangements or plastic tables and chairs and whispering about how tacky or cheap everything looks {yea, I have a very vibrant imagination.}

Obviously, none of these things will happen- people are generally nice, and the whole point of the wedding has absolutely nothing to do with our choice in rentals or foliage {I think it's something to do with finding the love of my life? not really sure...} anyways. I'm still a very visually driven person, so there are a few key things that I think really are worth the splurge in our case.

1. lighting 

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To me, bistro lighting is one of the simplest ways to make for a more elegant and intimate wedding atmosphere. Especially when you think about the alternative- flood lights that wash everyone out and totally kill the mood. 

2. Wooden tables and chairs

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When we decided to try and throw a wedding in Greece, both Peter and I knew exactly what we wanted- a laid back night at a Taverna under the stars with great food, an abundance of wine, and simple, unassuming decor. I love the little wooden tables and chairs that most restaurants in Greece are already equipped with- so why reinvent the wheel? They add to the atmosphere just as much as, if not moreso, than traditional decor, just from their large size and prominence in the scenery. To me they look far more elegant than round tables draped in stuffy white linens ever could. 

3. food 

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Because people need to eat- and eat well- at our wedding. duh.

But in all seriousness, this is one of the biggest reasons we chose Crete for our wedding. We both love the food. We are dragging our guests through winding mountains into what is essentially the middle of nowhere- we'd better make the food well worth it. 

4. Flowers (kind of.)

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Wedding Wednesday: The Honeymoon, or let's run away to Santorini RIGHT NOW.

I've always been a big dreamer,
For better or for worse,
I always need to be planning the next trip, adventure or step in life.
Now that I've been rooted to the U.S. more than ever,
I have to quell the urge to pack up and go somewhere by planning my future.
It could be a weekend with Peter, or it could be my long-wanted venture to New Zealand,
It's the only thing that keeps me sane while I'm stuck stateside,
working towards this crazy goal to become a physician.
{it's also kind of why I started this blog.}

Anyways,
Lately, most of my planning has been for our honeymoon in Santorini
True, this role is traditionally relegated to the groom,
HOWEVER,
I find it strangely motivating to hunt down Santorini's best-kept secrets
I kind of see it as my reward for surviving the next 358 days of craziness :)
Anyways, Peter will ultimately plan everything out,
And he actually has a friend who can get us a great deal at a private apartment overlooking the caldera,
But I'm still having fun looking around for a few hidden gems.

So enough ranting from me-
Here's a few stunning spots and hotels that I've found so far!

1. Imerovigli

something blue

You guys. I discovered Polyvore today. and this is the end result:

So Peter is the kind of guy who thinks he can fit 36 hours of events into a 24 hour day
Which is why that weekend was so incredible, exciting and exhausting.
Here goes:

I woke up on the morning of the fifteenth slightly exhausted and very confused.
First off, Peter's flight had been a bit delayed and we'd pulled into Ormond just in time to grab a Valentine's Day dinner from Grind before the kitchen closed
and pass out watching an episode of Sherlock at 11.
Secondly, it was 10 in the morning and Peter was already up, snooping around in the kitchen
and asking me for my car keys.
Bold moves for the guy who doesn't like to drive in Florida traffic
{can't say I blame him.}
So I lazily acquiesced and fell back asleep.

I came downstairs to a huge bouquet of the loveliest flowers,
and Peter cooking up the fluffiest banana oatmeal pancakes with strawberries, mascarpone cheese and honey.
A pretty great start to our third year anniversary,
especially seeing we had spent our first and second an entire ocean and eight time zones apart
but hey, who's counting?

He told me we were going on an adventure,
So naturally I threw on a cute skirt and my Frye boots,
and naturally he told me that, dear, I might not want to be wearing a skirt where we're going.
I begrudgingly changed into jeans.

In the car, he handed me  a note:

Dear Georgia, 

 It's so great to finally be together on our anniversary. I hope you enjoy the day. Here is your first envelope of the day. Let's see if you can guess where we're going.

Love, Peter

Inside the envelope was a tag from the boots  he'd gotten me for Christmas,
and a photo of the two of us holding a heart-shaped falafel. {???????}
You can see why I am marrying him, obviously (:
 Well, in spite of appearances, I am not hopelessly dumb and realized he was taking me horseback riding
and freaked out accordingly.

On the way to the stables, we stopped to pick up our race packets
{did I mention we were running  the Daytona Beach Half Marathon?
Because that also happened that weekend.
As I said, 36 hour days :)}

So then came the horseback riding!

Which was incredible.

There were only four of us, 

and the very weird trail guide let us trot a few times,

which was a nice change of pace from your typical trail ride.

So now we had to pause and help my roommate load his motorcycle onto a trailer,
Before heading out for the next adventure-
a picnic on the beach!
We stocked up on spanakopita from Theia's bakery,
prosciutto from Bon!

And obviously, wine...

Not How Peter Proposed (but still pretty amazing.)

I know, I know

I promised an engagement story
and here we are,
2 MONTHS LATER

and nothing.

it's coming though, trust me!

For now here's a sweet surprise proposal that brought me to tears!
This guy just pulled all the levers in the most creative way
and I'm a sucker for families uniting

Can't wait to share ours- maybe tomorrow?

G