Jacqueline Chambers
  • Home
  • Who is Jacqueline?
  • Blog
  • Follow Jacqueline!

Countdown to Crete

8/20/2019

2 Comments

 
My wedding website says that I have 31 days until the big day. I’ve never particularly liked countdowns.  They make me feel as though I am ticking my life away, making me forget that it’s not just the milestones in life that matter, but the moments in between.  I dislike putting so much weight onto one day, event, or holiday.  Countdowns make them so exceptionally fleeting, they become immediately replaced with nostalgia and a framed photograph or Facebook memory. 
Picture
Bridal Shower at the Colony Hotel in Kennebunkport, Maine.
Because of this, as excited as I am for the wedding, I’m also dreading it.  I don’t want it to be over.  I look back at the bridal shower my mom threw me in June and it feels like it didn’t really even happen.  An amazingly happy day that lasted several hours and felt like a minute. Tears, hugs, laughter, reunions ripped away as quickly as the 
wrapping paper that covered the gifts, now just a memory of a wonderful day. There is no reason why the wedding shouldn’t feel like this multiplied tenfold, and much of me is consumed by wanting to say “SLOW DOWN, I’m not ready for the planning and anticipation to be over!”  But time is never listening.
 
Philosophizing aside, I am beyond excited.  Seeing all the plans, the Pinterest boards, the screenshots, the dog eared pages of magazines coming to life is the stuff of little girls’ dreams.  And I’m blessed that I’ve been indulged by my partner and my parents to have my dream wedding on the island of Crete.  It is not the easiest place for guests to get to, its distance meant my parents could not join me for walk throughs with wedding coordinators, and compromises have been made to allow for cultural differences and logistical necessities.  But even from afar, there has been a lot of joy in planning, and I hope everyone feels just as indulged as I in 31 days’ time.   
At least one thing we don’t have to worry about is getting the paperwork together to have a legal marriage while abroad.  Murat and I officially married soon after he entered the United States to comply with immigration procedures.  We did so happily and 
Picture
Waiting to be called at City Hall.
had a special day, but being called by a number at City Hall like you are at a deli waiting for a pound of ham wasn’t the ‘wedding’ we’d always dreamed of, and it was important to us to have our family and friends celebrate in our union and love.
 
I keep picturing September 21st over and over in my head, though I hope to let most expectations go on the big day and just celebrate and enjoy whatever unexpected or crazy thing happens.  If DJ Nikos misses a few ‘must-plays,’ or the flowers don’t turn out Pinterest perfect, or the meltems in Crete is so strong my hair comes undone and tangled, it won’t matter.  I’m ready to soak in the fact that Murat and I put up with years of long distance, and that in turn, my family and friends are willing to travel long distance to rejoice in our long-awaited wedding.
Picture
Spinalonga Island of Elounda, Crete. Clear water that is a siren's call for a swim.
2 Comments

    Jacqueline

    Reflecting on my experiences with the world, my neighborhood, and my home. 

    Archives

    November 2023
    June 2023
    September 2022
    April 2022
    July 2020
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019

    Categories

    All
    Acting
    Acuka
    A Fidler Afn Dakh
    Avgolemono
    Beautiful Life
    Bolognese
    Bon Appetit
    Brussels Spouts
    Chase
    Chase Bank
    Comedy Of Errors
    Community Theatre
    Cooking
    Cooking Novice
    Crete
    Decor
    Family
    Fiddler On The Roof
    Fresh Beginnings
    Greece
    Greek Cooking
    Greek Wedding
    Happiness
    Home Chef
    Home Cook
    Home Ownership
    Human Connection
    Interior Design
    Interview
    Kitchen
    Land Down Under
    Love It Or Leave It
    Marriage
    Melbourne
    Misfits Market
    Moving
    Mykonos
    My Time
    New Home
    Newlywed
    New Start
    Off Broadway
    Pepper Paste
    Recipe
    Recipes
    Red Peppers
    Santorini
    Shakespeare
    Solo Traveler
    Soup
    Studying Abroad
    Theatre
    Thessaloniki
    T&L
    Travel
    Travel And Leisure
    Trial And Error
    Turkey
    Tv
    Wedding
    Wedding Planning
    Weddings
    Writing

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Home
  • Who is Jacqueline?
  • Blog
  • Follow Jacqueline!