Growing up I had never been the type of girl to think about her wedding. I had never imagined what my dress would look like, much less what the colors, flowers, location, etc. would be. I had never even so much as touched a bridal magazine prior to getting engaged. The one thing I had thought about though was the honeymoon. Some girls dreamed about their perfect dress, flowers or invitations –I however, dreamed about my perfect honeymoon (Over the water bungalow in Tahiti? Yes please!)
Travel is easily one of my biggest passions in life. Ever since spending a semester abroad in Australia I have developed a severe case of wanderlust. There are so many amazing places to visit in this world and as you can imagine narrowing it down to just one—for the first trip as husband and wife no less (eep!!!)---was somewhat overwhelming for me.
And this is where my obsessive compulsive anxiety driven indecisive nature started rearing her ugly head. Luckily, I quickly discovered that there were many factors and travel logistics to take into account while planning--especially since I live in New York, S. Monster lives in Ireland the wedding will be in Florida and we’ll be moving to Ireland after all is said and done. Neither of us was keen on spending 4 days of pure travel time—which would had been the case had we tried to go to the French Polynesian (where I initially wanted to go), so that narrowed down our choices somewhat for us. Excluding the South Pacific and Asia due to travel, Europe since we will soon be living there, and Africa/ Maldives due to cost, we were able to limit our focus to the Caribbean (though not for lack of still looking elsewhere on my part)
I now (a little reluctantly at first) had to figure out where to go for an exotic non clichéd honeymoon in the Caribbean or if it was even possible. Places like Jamaica or St. Thomas are beautiful but they’re overdone and exotic would be the last word I used to describe them.
As I was stressing over this one night to my parents, my father told me to simply take a deep breath and stop. Stop stressing, stop worrying, stop sticking my nose where it doesn’t belong. He told me that the honeymoon was the groom’s responsibility—not the brides—and that I needed to trust S. Monster. I tried to argue but realized that my father (as most wise parents usually are) was completely right. I had gotten so caught up in micromanaging everything for the wedding that it had all too easily spilled over into the honeymoon. Consequentially I became so determined to plan the “perfect trip” –one that was exotic, amazing and romantic—that I lost sight of what was really important. I had become so overwhelmed with having to have it be "perfect" that I was continually second guessing S. Monster. Something that should have been fun was becoming a huge source of stress. So I let go. I gave full responsibility back over to S. Monster (where it should have been the entire time) with the knowledge that whatever he picked (even if it was Jamaica) I would be elated. And you know what? After I let go, I was able to truly relax and enjoy the process. Truthfully, the honeymoon is just one of the hundards of trips S. Monster and I will take in our life. It is not so much about where we go, or what we do, as about what it means to us. This is the first trip as husband and wife and after 4 years together, 3 years of which were long distance that spanned 3 different continents, we will finally be together! I trust S. Monster completely and knew that he would do an amazing job picking the destination-and of course, as always,he didn’t disappoint.
S. Monster picked St. Lucia for our honeymoon and it couldn’t be more perfect. Located in the pristine West Indies, St. Lucia is a small, lush tropical gem that is still relatively unknown. It is also known as the "Helen of the West Indies" because it switched between British and French control so often it was likened to the mythical Helen of Troy. The Atlantic Ocean kisses its eastern shore, while the beaches of the west coast owe their beauty to the calm Caribbean Sea.
In natural beauty, St. Lucia seems like an island plucked from the South Pacific and set down in the Caribbean. Its dramatic twin coastal peaks, the Pitons, soar 2,000 feet up from the sea, sheltering magnificent rain forests where wild orchids, giant ferns, and birds of paradise flourish. The rainforest is broken only by verdant fields and orchards of banana, coconut, mango, and papaya trees. The island offers the perfect balance of exciting and exotic activities to heavenly pampering and long lazy sun soaked days.
Thanks to the benevolent generosity of my future in-laws, we will be staying in the gorgeous Windjammer Landing Villa Resort.
We were fortunate enough to secure a secluded hillside villa complete with a breathtaking view of the Caribbean and our own private plunge pool.
Yes, I think this will do quite nicely...
