Before And After I Do

Registered Couple: Katy & Jeff

Wedding Date: July 2006

Destination: Wine Country, U.S.A.

Giftpile.com asks Katy & Jeff about about their trip to the Wine Country, California. 

The Wedding

Giftpile: You got married in July. How long did you plan the wedding for?

Katy (& Jeff): We planned the wedding for about a year, but really started to work out the details 6 months ahead of time.

Giftpile: Did you do all the planning yourselves, or did you seek help from family and friends or a wedding co-ordinator? Was this useful?

Katy: I did most of the planning, but my mom and husband helped do some planning and gave me lots of moral support. I couldn’t have done it without them. It is very useful to be able to talk with someone because other people will think of minor details that you would have forgotten. I didn’t have a wedding coordinator because our wedding was very non-traditional (the reception was in a pub), and we were on a tight budget.

Giftpile: What would you do differently, or did the day sail through without any problems?

Katy: I wouldn’t have done anything differently. It was absolutely perfect.

Giftpile: Is there anyone or a particular feature that you would recommend to other couples planning their weddings?

Katy (& Jeff): One of the best parts of our wedding was that we had two musical performances by friends and family. My husband’s aunt and uncle are musicians as well as some of his friends. They played special songs for us, and it was truly amazing. Everyone was teary–eyed. My other piece of advice is to relax and enjoy the day. You spent so much time, energy, and money planning this event – have fun!

The Honeymoon

Giftpile: What made you chose a honeymoon registry and why Giftpile.com?

Katy (& Jeff): There were two reasons why we chose a honeymoon registry. One, we have a small apartment, and we couldn’t fit any more items in our apartment anyway. Two, we have been single for a long time so we already had many kitchen gadgets, towels, and appliances. I did some research and I liked that giftpile was women run, that they donated to charity, had a flat base pay, and they are located in SD where I went to college.

Giftpile: You went to the Californian Wine Country on your honeymoon. Why was that?

Katy (& Jeff): We love wine and have been to wine country many times, but only for the day, and we wanted to spend some quality time up there. We wanted to stay there and relax. We also didn’t want to travel too far from home because we knew we would be very tired. We’ve done a lot of traveling during our lifetimes, and just a year before our wedding we went on a 7 month trip all around the South Pacific, so we didn’t feel the need to go to an exotic destination.

Giftpile: Did you bring home any gastronomic souvenirs?

Katy (& Jeff): Oh, yes. Two cases of wine and a bottle of olive oil.

Giftpile: Was there anything you thought, ‘Ah, what the heck,’ and blew the budget on?

Katy (& Jeff): No, we stayed pretty much within budget. Although, I suppose getting two massages in one week is extravagant.

Giftpile: Would you go back?

Katy (& Jeff): Yes, we already have been back!.

Giftpile: Are there any recommendations you’d like to make – agents you used, activities you went on – to other couples thinking about going to Northern California as a honeymoon destination?

Katy (& Jeff): We stayed in a few different places to get a taste (no pun intended) of different regions of wine country. That turned out to be a good idea. One of our favorite hotels was the Sonoma Mission Inn because it is very posh. It has a great restaurant inside called Sante. The other place that we loved was the Calistoga Village Inn and Spa because it was very homey. There was a whirlpool bathtub IN the living room of our suite! They had a spa where we experienced a wonderful mud bath followed by a massage. It was very unusual and strangely comforting sitting in a tub of mud.

Sarah and Mike went to Paris, France and Amsterdam, The Netherlands on their honeymoon in September 2006.

Giftpile asks them about their trip.

Giftpile: You had been dreaming about going to Europe for a while.  Now you’ve been to two great capitals, Paris and Amsterdam, what would be your ‘must dos’ in either city?

Sarah (& Mike): The wax museum, Madame Toussaud’s was really fun in Amsterdam.  We had a great time posing with all of the people.  I would also recommend the Super Club.  It was more like a club than what we expected, but we had a great time.  In Paris, you have to see the Louvre.  It was all about the art for me in Paris and it was everywhere and fantastic.

Giftpile: Was there anything that you did that you thought, ‘Ah, what the heck,’ and blew the budget on?

Sarah (& Mike): We had bought tickets prior to leaving for the Moulin Rouge and we weren’t really sure that we would like it and it was a bit pricey.  However, we met some great people, drank real Champagne, and got the chance to see a can-can on stage.  It was worth it.

Giftpile: Paris and Amsterdam are great cities.  Did you have things that you wanted to do but didn’t have time for? 

Sarah (& Mike): In Paris, we wanted to go to the Musee d’Orsay and we didn’t get the chance.  The line was 2.5 hrs long and we had already gotten there in the afternoon.  We had also tried to go on the day (Tuesday) that the Louvre was closed - big mistake.  I would buy tickets in advance for that museum if you want to go.  We’ll do that next time.

Giftpile: And finally, what were the best parts of your honeymoon?

Sarah (& Mike): The NH City Centre Hotel in Amsterdam was incredible.  We got one of the two rooms with access to the roof porch overlooking the canal and it was beautiful.  Sitting out there on that porch was one of the best parts of our honeymoon.  Just looking at the skyline and the stars was incredible.

View the honeymoon journal of Sarah & Mike.

Registered Couple: Sarah & Mike

Wedding Date: 10 September 2006

Honeymoon Destination: Amsterdam & Paris