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Today is my 39th birthday. I’m celebrating today with my husband in the little town of Perast on the Bay of Kotor in Montenegro. There’s no place in the world more beautiful than here!
Most of this year was defined by one thing: the wedding. WeddingS, that is. Charlie and I got married three times — an elopement in April, a big Prague wedding in May, and a smaller Boston wedding in July!
We got engaged in July 2022, so pretty much my entire duration of being 38 has revolved around the weddings.
Each year, I do some kind of birthday post that kind of sums up the year. This year, I don’t really have a big recurring theme or news to share — so I’ll share a bunch of things I’ve learned.
The Prague wedding and elopement photos are by Teru Menclova and the Boston wedding photos are by Joe Gonzalez-Dufresne. We are thrilled with their work and recommend both highly!
Wedding Things
Weddings don’t go by in a flash — American weddings go by in a flash. Everyone always talks about how your wedding goes by in the blink of an eye, and to concentrate on the memories!
At the end of the big Prague wedding, I looked around at everyone and thought about how it felt like the whole day was NICE and LONG. I had so many memories and got to spend time with everyone.
But the Boston wedding was over in a fraction of an instant. You know why? BECAUSE AMERICAN WEDDING RECEPTIONS ARE USUALLY FOUR HOURS LONG. That’s how venues price them out. Culturally, most of the world has much longer wedding receptions! Even the British, our closest cultural relatives!
Our American wedding reception started at 5 PM and ended at 9 PM. By contrast, our Czech wedding reception started at 5 PM, Charlie and I left at 1 AM, and the bar staff were disappointed we left so early! Czechs go till dawn!
If you’re having a typical American wedding, plan for some kind of after-party. You don’t necessarily have to pay for it — we went to the bar next door in Boston and everyone bought their own drinks. (Do inform the bar ahead of time when people are coming.)
Try to get married within a year of your engagement if you can. I know this isn’t a possibility for everyone, especially if you need to save up money or you live in a place where venues book out years in advance, but if…
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