On Wedding Websites

I am a big believer in wedding websites. Love them*. It's an easy medium to get necessary information about the events (without having to ask the bride / groom) and very helpful when traveling out of town. Whenever we receive a save the date with a wedding website, I bookmark it on my computer for quick reference until the big day.

So, it goes without saying that Mr. Turkey and I put together a pretty comprehensive site, setting it "live" online approximately 9 months before the wedding. Fun fact - although save the dates did not go out until the fall, some guests found our site beforehand...several even noticed when I made the change to the venue. Goes to show you that nothing's private on the web!

Screen shot of our webpage front page - you can see that the images are rotating

Pretty, Pretty Paper

As a paper-obsessed bride, it's no wonder that there have been multiple Turkey posts on stationary and the like. There could have been more, but I was able to show some level of restraint.

So far, you've seen our save the dates, invitations, guest bags and welcome booklets, but I've been holding out on you.

The FULL Turkey wedding paper suite

In this post I'll wrap up the final pieces that you haven't seen before - all masterfully done by Two Paperdolls (TPD).

Gifting the Girls

So we've gone through gifts for our special guests and groomsmen...now it's onto the lovely bridesmaids!!

Beautiful ladies (I'm not biased or anything) at the rehearsal

Although in some ways they were the easiest group to gift, their wedding gifts were a little tough because, um, I had already used up a LOT of my ideas.

GIfting the Guys

A couple months ago, we shared with you how we were dressing the guys for our black tie optional wedding - vests and ties - and how their gifts were tied to their attire.

Oh, and we went with the "wisdom" of the Hive and put Mr. Turkey in a vest and bow tie.

Photo by Philip Gabriel Photography

But we couldn't very well just get the groomsmen one thing (well we could, but we didn't)! We decided to get something that would go with the tie, but would come in useful down the road, especially as most of them work in business.

Gifts for the (Special) Guests - Part II

Mr. Turkey and I both love giving gifts. We pride ourselves on trying to think of new and different things that fit the individual's personality. Gift cards are a last resort.

In fact, we're that couple that often has trouble waiting to give gifts. Mr. Turkey said that if my parents didn't have my wedding day gift in their possession, I would have received it months ago.

Handsome Brother Turkey delivering my gift / taking Mr. Turkey's

Welcome Welcome

I teased you with a picture of our welcome booklet back when I shared the last minute details for our wedding. However, this project was such a labor of love (and collaborative effort with Two Paperdolls) that it deserved its own post.

Photo (and booklet) by Two Paperdolls

Turkeys in Paradise: Tips for Honeymooners

As I promised in my first post, we wanted to close our honeymoon recaps with tips for those about to take their post-wedding trip!

Mr. Turkey and I tried to keep these as generic as possible. However, you'll notice that many of them have more to do with the overall preparation and experience than a specific location or honeymoon style.

1. Pack EARLY
Take our advice and pack before you head to the wedding. I repeat...before the wedding.

Clearly there will be some things to add at the end, but whether you're leaving hours after your celebration or a day later (like us), packing early is key. The last thing we wanted to do with our Sunday afternoon was pack a suitcase. We preferred falling asleep on the couch much more.

One Month Ago (yesterday)

It's hard to believe that a month has passed since we said "I do".

Photo by Philip Gabriel Photography

Turkeys in Paradise: Sun (+ Hotel Reviews)

Being in Hawaii, you can be sure that we saw A LOT of sun.

Waikiki morning - no clouds to be seen

In May, Hawaii sees average highs in the 80s and average lows in the high 60s / low 70s. The actuals were about the same for us, which was fabulous. It was only on our final day (when visiting Pearl Harbor) that we saw any rain.

However, I'm not going to talk about the weather or give you a blow-by-blow of our days on the beach or show lots of gratuitous shots of us in bathing suits (ummmmm). Instead, I thought it would be more helpful if Mr. Turkey and I shared our perspectives on our hotel experiences. After all, with the summer upon us, there are a lot more weddings...and honeymoons (or anniversary trips).

Turkeys in Paradise: We Splurge

Since it was our honeymoon, it seemed only reasonable to "splurge" a little bit (you know, since a trip to Hawaii wasn't enough).

However, these "extras" wouldn't have been possible if it wasn't for the kindness of our family and friends. Although we didn't do a honeyfund (like The Castles), we were very lucky. I mentioned how we were gifted a helicopter ride by my Aunt & Uncle and a dinner from our friends A&J, but Mr. Turkey's parents were especially giving. FIL & SMIL Turkey booked our flights to Hawaii using their frequent flier miles, while MIL & SFIL Turkey gave us a very generous monetary gift for our trip.

Oh, and Brother Turkey is super awesome too. More on him below.

Throwback photo with Brother Turkey in Hawaii

Turkeys in Paradise: Fun Fun Fun

I promise you, Mr. Turkey and I did not just eat our way through Hawaii...we actually saw some stuff too!

As I mentioned way back when, we're not just the "beaching" type and require activities intermingled throughout our vacations with fairly regular frequency. This was extremely clear in our morning activity choice after waking up at 4am on honeymoon day #1.

Could we have sat on the beach? Sure.

Yes, we did this - dorky and proud of it

Could we have gone shopping? Yup.

At 4am, not too much is open, though.

Could we walk ~3 miles and then hike in the blazing sun? Now THAT sounds like fun.

Walking the streets to Diamond Head

Turkeys in Paradise: Food, Glorious Food!

Mr. Turkey and I like to eat. A lot*.  So, when it came to our honeymoon, we made meals a priority, often finishing our days in the sun absolutely stuffed.

**Warning: if you are hungry or thirsty, I would not recommend reading this post**

We started early on our food and beverage journey, enjoying lava flows and tasty salads at the Moana Surfrider's Banyan Courtyard despite complete and utter exhaustion following 14+ hours of travel.

What time is it? Where are we? Can this meal be fed to me in bed?

From that day on, we attempted to drink any and all tropical beverages offered. Below, a sampling of some favorites - they create a fruity, liquid rainbow!

Starting top R, clockwise: Lava Flow, some sort of alcoholic Ecto Cooler from the Westin Maui, watermelon soda, and a Hawaiian Salt at Duke's (Ocean Vodka with lemonade, passion fruit juices and Li Hing powder)