But I had never really given consideration to what that would actually look like. Sometimes I perused wedding websites looking at dresses but it was more to keep my mind distracted than in a for real way. So there I was 4 weeks ago, reading articles where a "budget" wedding was one that was less than $10K, looking at pictures of people I didn't know with weddings running the gamut of "carnival themed," "harvest themed," "black-tie themed," and then the (obviously extremely popular) "beach themed."
I was not going to have a beach themed wedding. My life does not have a beach theme - it just is.
As an aside - one day Chris (aka wonderful husband to be) and I walked out to the beach to meet some friends and maybe get in some kiteboarding. Most times, we go to the beaches where people aren't - just easier that way. But today we were at a very popular tourist spot. As we walked over the wooden boardwalk, following the beacon of the kite in the sky we were stopped and a group of ladies asked us to take their picture. I like when people do that so I was happy to oblige and I took a few from different angles (nothing is worse than getting up the courage to ask a stranger to take your picture only to realize later its blurry or simply the worst picture ever). As I handed back the camera, lady #1 said "Do you have a camera?" and held out her hand.
Now this is one of those moments when the power of the human mind is staggering. In the mere millisecond it took me to process I had a thought trail something like this:
"What? Why would I have a camera? And if I did, why would I bring it to the beach? My Blackberry already has enough sand in it. Electronics at the beach are just a bad idea..."
And then the neurons fired and actually worked allowing me to answer:
"No (smiling)...we live here. But thank you."
Lady #1 stood aghast at this revelation and numbers 2-4 simply stared awkwardly as we walked away. Chris was still wondering what my answer had anything to do with her question, which was clearly a yes/no answer. I continued walking down the beach on a normal afternoon in my beach themed life.
Why would I want a beach themed wedding?
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Hi Sarah, just come across your blog and it caught my eye - so I thought I'd have a read.
ReplyDeleteI can totally relate to your answer to the group of ladies, I am English but now live in Spain, in a small sea-side village. When we speak to other English people who are here on holiday they automatically assume we are too, they are always so surprised to hear we live here all year round.
I shall look forward to following your journey to your wedding, my husband and I married in California 4 years ago and our cake & flowers wee prepared by the local Nob Hill supermarket - and they were wonderful. We had such a fabulous time.
Thanks Jacqui! That's so cool you live in Spain! I hope to live overseas someday soon. I have a degree in International Health and Development and I'd love to actually work internationally instead of just studying it :)
ReplyDeleteWhere in England are you from? My family is from London!
Hi Sarah, I lived in Sheffield from being 3 years old until we moved to Spain last year, my Dad lived in the same house in Sheffield from 1963 until he died last year.
ReplyDeleteI'm currently studying Spanish and I'm also doing a course to teach English as a foreign language as I am living in a very Spanish village where there is a lot of interest in spekaing English. I already help with a childrens English class and it's so much fun.
That's really exciting, but probably a lot of change!
ReplyDeleteA massive change, but I am firm believer in preparing for changes and so used a life coach for 3 months to help me prepare for early retirement, dealing with the issues my husband may have and dealing with moving away from family & friends. Fortunately it's all worked very well for us and we love it here. I think it's been so important that Neil & I are really good friends as well as being married. I never understood people who said they had met their soul mate - until I met Neil, I consider my self to be very lucky.
ReplyDeleteI have a good idea, but what is a life coach? Is it similar to a therapist? That's an excellent idea, and one I hope to remember as one day I'd like to live overseas.
ReplyDeleteThey are probably the same thing but I think of a life coach who helps you prepare for changes to your life and deal with day to day challenges whereas I consider a therapist someone who helps overcome issues that are having a negative effect on life due to past experiences. One deals with future preparations to avoid issues, the others helps resolve issues that have already happened - just the way I choose to identify with them, over the years I have worked with both, they probably have similar skills and training, just deal with different aspects of life.
ReplyDeleteThat is a really good explanation! Thanks!
ReplyDelete