But first, on a slight tangent while I'm still thinking about planes, can I ask why people take babies to Hawaii? First of all, little kids are not good on long plane rides. Aside from sitting still for hours (which most adults don't enjoy), they can't handle the pressure changes and cry and scream. I feel sorry for the kids, they don't know better, but I always end up behind or in front of the 18-month-old or the 3-year-old that kicks the back of my seat. And what do you do with a baby on a Hawaiian vacation? I'm guessing not many surf or snorkel or even enjoy the beach or sun, I just don't get it. Someone has to stay back and watch the baby while everyone else goes zip lining or on the whale watching trip or the baby is under a huge umbrella while everyone is sun tanning... Note to my family: I plan on leaving my <5 year-old children at home for any and all vacations Rick and I will take during that time. Think of it as some quality time with Grandma and Grandpa. Everyone wins.
Sorry for the tangent. Now on to the introduction.
Our storyFor those of you new to the blog, the story of how Rick and I met has been previously documented here, but I feel now is the appropriate time to recap this story. In late summer of 2006, I had a low-level job at Pioneer and though it was a good job and I liked it, I was looking for something more. My boss's boss approached me and mentioned that the research station out in Hawaii was looking for some new workers and had thought I would like the experience. I thought this would be a great experience for me and went for it. In fact, that's how this blog came about. Check back to the first posts to see what I was thinking then.
After travelling for 12 hours across the country with my belongings tucked into 2 suitcases, I arrived on Kauai. My boss there met me and got me set up with my rental car and then sent me on my way west toward my new home. It was dark when I arrived, and I remember as I was driving on the dark and somewhat curvy road feeling as though something was out there, looming over me. The next day I remember being amazed at the mountains that were invisible in the darkness. As I drove I also kept an eye toward the ocean, illuminated by the moon, and at times seeming higher in elevation than I was on the road. The drive that first night towards the unknown in a new place I had never been before was so surreal.
I arrived at the company-owned apartments and hauled my larger suitcase up 3 flights of stairs to the apartment I was assigned to. I was told the door would be unlocked, but I found it wasn't. I remember feeling pretty helpless, just travelling for 12 hours to a place I had never been before, arriving late on a Friday night and the only phone numbers I had were work numbers and no one would be in the office until Monday morning. I hadn't passed any hotels on my way and the only person I knew on the island, my boss, was back where I had just left. I'm not sure if I was freaking out or crying or talking to myself, but regardless, Rick came out of the next apartment and asked if I needed help. I explained my situation, and he also worked at Pioneer, had received an updated list from the company, and knew that I was reassigned to a different apartment. That first night I was so excited I asked him to take me to the beach since I could hear the ocean and I remember standing under a beautiful moon, awkwardly distant from one another. I remember thinking that this could have been really romantic if we weren't strangers.
And the rest is history, so they say. That first weekend I heard him in his apartment (his was directly above mine) and I asked that he showed me around. I think we both needed a friend and we just got along. I think it wasn't until our trip to Japan that I really thought that Rick could be the one for me. We moved back together in November of 2007, me to go to grad school at ISU and he got a promotion and transferred to the main Pioneer headquarters. We moved in together, were engaged in late 2008, and got married last week! It's funny to think that our entire relationship timeline is documented on this blog!
Why Kauai?
Rick's from Texas, I'm from Iowa. We live in Iowa, but where would we have the ceremony? We're not church-going folks and had we to decide on a place, it would be a park or something, but it felt really arbitrary to us.
So we decided to go back to where it all started for us. Had it not been for Kauai, we would have never met. It is here that we started our relationship, and here where we thought it would be the perfect place to start our married lives together. Kauai is a very special place to us and always will be.
But this did bring problems. Though it is what we wanted, it's a lot to ask family and friends to spend the money to travel to such a distant place for a 10 minute ceremony. Rick's grandparents would be unable to travel as would his best man and I was afraid that obscure friends and relatives would take the excuse to vacation and those closer who have less means would feel obligated to go... I didn't want to put that burden on anyone. In the end, we wanted to keep it simple, so we invited our parents and my sister and her husband. It was a really hard decision to make, but in hindsight, I think it was the right one. Plus, we're going to have a party in central Iowa later this spring to celebrate and it will be more fun since we'll be able to interact with our guests (which you can't do at an actual wedding). After moving into the new house and starting the new job, that's the next big thing in our lives! Can't wait!
The photographers
With this unique situation--such a small wedding far away from home--we wanted to make sure that we had plenty of wonderful pictures to share with everyone back home. To me, there was little to think about. I wanted good pictures and I wanted a lot of them. And that's exactly what we're getting :)
A friend of mine from college, Erin, has a photography business called The Locket and I love her work. She and her partner, Sarah, shot Allyson and Chad's engagement (and here) and wedding photos and did an amazing job. Both of these ladies are very nice and my family got along great with them. Anyway, I asked if they did destination weddings and Erin got really excited and we worked out a great deal for both of us. Sarah got married in October and moved to Georgia and started her own photography business and they want to still work together, but the only way to do this is to shoot destination weddings.
That's where we come in.
They asked if they could do a bunch of mini shoots with us, not just the wedding. This would help them to build up their destination portfolio. Good for them. This would also give us a ton of pictures of us around the island that is so special to us. Good for us. We had so much fun with them. We took them around the island for two days before the wedding in a variety of settings (they were so happy with the spots we chose) and they were with me the whole day of the wedding. It was so great. Because we had them with us the entire time, I didn't take a single picture until Saturday. Why take pictures with the point-and-shoot when I had professional photographers with me? By the time the wedding rolled around, we were very comfortable with them, and the girls kept commenting that I was such a model. Not sure if it's because of all my America's Next Top Model viewing or just getting the hang of it. Regardless, I can't wait to see the photos!!!
It was also nice to have them around. They were genuinely interested in the island and hearing about our story. They were great for asking what outfits to wear, what flowers would be good in a bouquet, which beach we should get married on, etc. They were a nice buffer too, the family was familiar with them and enjoyed spending time (and sharing a bed and breakfast) with them. And they were great for those inside jokes, from the broken table to the goosebumps. We really had a great time with them and I'm so glad we decided to go with them. I'm glad I got to know them better, especially since I barely knew Sarah. I know they will continue to do great work!
Onward
I think that's enough for the introduction. I'll work on pre-wedding later today, and maybe get around to another chapter later this weekend. Stay tuned!
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