This past weekend, we celebrated our first wedding anniversary. We went back to the Inn where we got married and stayed in the same room where we spent our wedding night. I had been dreaming about the beautiful claw foot bathtub and Joe had not stopped talking about the huge marble steam shower with the magical water pressure that makes you wonder if you've ever really been this clean before. So basically we were most excited about the bathroom.
It's weird for hotel room to feel like home, but I love everything about that room. It's so cozy and warm and beautiful. It's where I put my wedding dress on and where my bridesmaids and I shared a toast and where we prayed together before the ceremony and my wedding dress hung there and I stood here to put on my earrings and my mom zipped me up right there.
We took our shower and bath, respectfully, and got dressed up for dinner downstairs in the Inn's gorgeous restaurant. As a surprise for Joe, I asked the pastry chef at the Inn who made our wedding cake to re-create the top tier for anniversary dessert. After our wedding, Joe was so disappointed we didn't get any cake leftovers to bring home and I totally forgot to ask that the top tier be saved for us. So this was my way of making it up to him. Vanilla spice cake with lemon mousse. He was very pleased.
Then, instead of the bill for dinner, we were brought this:
How lovely is that? That's the thing about this Inn - I feel so loved and taken care of and soul comforted when I'm there. It's a special little piece of the world that is nothing but blessings. And a big part of the reason why is my dad.
The morning after our wedding, we hit a bit of a rough patch that threatened to take the wind right out of my just married sails. When we went to check out of our room, I could not find our room key anywhere. I could have sworn I put it in my coat pocket, but it was nowhere to be found. Joe tore the hotel room apart looking for it and then headed outside to retrace my steps to and from the car. Meanwhile, I was told that the 50% deposit I thought I'd paid for the room months ago hadn't processed and instead of half the room charge I anticipated, I now owed the whole thing. While I desperately searched through my phone trying to find the e-mail I thought I had gotten confirming prior payment, the event manager came to find me to give me the alcohol bill for the wedding. We had opted to pay on consumption because we only had 48 people at the wedding and I was sure we'd come out better that way than paying in advance for an open bar for all. I seriously underestimated how much people drink at weddings. So not only was the bill way more than I expected, but they also wanted payment before we left. I had figured they would invoice me and I'd have some time to get another paycheck before I had to pay up. I had figured wrong.
So there I was newly married, keyless, with a hotel bill double the size, and an alcohol bill that was more than my wedding flowers and wedding dress combined, and no immediate way to pay for it all. I was fighting back tears while I walked to the Inn's casual dining restaurant where my dad and his wife, Jamie, were waiting for us to join them for brunch. I explained why I was upset and without hesitating for a moment my dad and Jamie handed over a credit card and saved the day. They made everything ok. A wonderful moment filled with love and relief and gratitude which I was reminded of when the waiter brought that card to our table this weekend. Thanks, dad, for everything. You really know how to make a girl's day.
Oh, the key turned out to have fallen through a hidden hole in my pocket and was inside the lining of my coat. Don't ask me how long we looked for it before I finally figured that out.
After dinner, we headed back up to our room, lit a fire in the fireplace, toasted Prosecco with our wedding champagne flutes, snuggled up to watch Ghost Adventures, and woke up to breakfast in bed (we'll skip the part where I tripped carrying the tray to the bed and spilled the orange juice all over the beautiful bedding and then apologized profusely to the innkeeper while still in my pajamas as he graciously bundled it all up and reassured me not to worry - mornings at the Inn are apparently not our most magical hour).
I can't believe it's been a year already.
Sometimes I look at my husband and try to reassure myself, "don't think of it as forever, think of it as just until one of us dies," and sometimes I look at him and think, "oh my gosh, only forever, I miss you already."
Either way, whatever the moment, even when I maybe want to kill him a little, there is no place I would rather be than in this life with him.
May these forever be our views across the table.
1 comments:
Happy anniversary!
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