Waking up from a dream

Time went fast and the sun kept shining the whole time. After a full week of rain, we couldn't have been luckier. Our family and best friends were arriving little by little during the week and slowly we were getting overwhelmed with happiness. Partying, drinking, and little sleep became our every day new lifestyle for a whole week and a half. This incredible intensity and excitement was providing us enough adrenaline to keep up and enjoy every single second with all of our friends and family despite being exhausted.

The big day was getting closer, and the level of stress was increasing... arriving in Sitges on Friday was absolutely crazy. Just standing in the reception hall of the hotel and seeing all of our best friends from all around the world arriving every other second was inducing uncontrollable feelings that shook our world and even more our hearts. Uncontrollable. We could not stop people from coming in... like waves on the beach that were taking us each time closer to a certain extreme state of incomprehension... how could these two faces be in front of me at the same TIME. It was absolutely impossible, unless we were in the middle of a dream. Waking up right now would be a disaster. Staying focused was the ultimate goal.

We woke up in love more than ever... and the first think I asked her was: "will you marry me?" and she said "yes". A fresh breeze from the window, which was left open the whole night, along with the continuous sound of the breaking waves on the beach reminded us that something was special that day. The sky was splendid and infinite. We had to live that day 200%. Nothing else mattered in the world. We went down to breakfast and slowly realized seeing everyone there that this day was our wedding day, and that we had to start moving to start the show and become the main actors of the day... Hairdresser for Marie and picking up flowers for me. That morning, it was the last time I saw her as the Marie I knew. And at that time I would have never imagined what she was going to transform in to.

I was getting dressed and had Vesna and Edwin, the photographer, running around until they both left for someone more interesting... someone of such beauty that nobody could have resisted her. I went down to the terrace and saw everyone waiting... My heart was beating too fast and I couldn't focus on what people were telling me... I saw Edwin show up and suddenly I couldn't hear anything. I was in a complete silence. The Sun was bright, too bright... and suddenly it got even brighter... She was there, at the door, standing in her greatest beauty... as if every single little droplet of her beauty had migrated to her surface to concentrate and reflect the best perfection that our world can offer us. Peacefully, she walked towards me and took the flowers I offered her and let her lips touch mine for the briefest moment in the purest shyness. This earthquake of feelings took a while to calm down... Nothing else seemed to matter to me than holding her hand and drinking her beauty until my eyes would drown in it.

I was holding the arm of my Mother entering the church. The place was dark and somehow chaotic. The feeling of my Mother on my side was making me feel better. But she naturally left me, there standing alone in front of God. I turned then and with the sound of the nuptial marche I saw Marie and her Mother approaching... I would have never imagined something like this... the darkness of the heavy stone church, the music that was almost as heavy, and that ray of light that was slowly approaching me. I was so grateful to Linda for accepting to walk her daughter down the aisle and to leave her by my side, approving our choice of spending the rest of our days together.

The mass was short and much improvised. I was anxious, and somehow stressed not to understand the priest as much as I would have liked. I asked him to speak slower but after 20 seconds of short efforts, he started again to whistle his blessing words. Missing the spirituality in my miss-comprehension of this ceremony, I realized that most of God’s blessing in this Union was the strength of my love for Marie... The rest of the religious ceremony became almost comical: my niece playing with the ring pillow, throwing it in the air with the ring on it, and my little cousin sneezing and nicely licked his hands to clean himself under the loud laughs of my Dad sitting in the first row.

Exiting the church was sort of a relief… and I could finally relax and enjoy the presence of everyone. We had just been through the official protocol to get married and even as the rice flew outside the Church, getting trapped in Marie’s bra...you couldn't have hoped for better.

The rest of the Day could then be resumed to partying, celebrating, dancing, and drinking… and always in one of the most beautiful environments that seemed to me very unbelievable. The sounds were like music, and the colors were over-enhanced. The lunch, the afternoon, the aperitif, and then the dinner went so fast, all following one another without giving me the time to completely capture the essence of all of my friends surrounding me. I just would have liked to have more control of the time to let me take as much advantage of everyone as I wanted. Marie and I were running around separately harvesting as much from everyone as we could, but it was never enough.

We entered the dining room on Viva la Vida, the last single from Coldplay. I wanted to come out exactly after one minute after the start of the song… but somehow lost track of time and entered way after… I realized it didn’t matter; I did not need the song to get louder to excite the crowd. Everyone was already standing and spinning their napkins in the air like birds beating their wings without ever taking off. Running between the tables with Marie and hearing everyone cheering was once again overwhelming… The world once again was spinning around me. We sat down and spent then the most amazing dinner ever… surrounded by all of our beloved friends and family. Linda and my Dad expressed all their love for us in beautiful speeches, and so did Marie’s sisters, my siblings, and our best friends. Seeing the Girls there on this big screen was also so comforting. I could see Marie laughing, and as hypnotized by the screen. I realized then that somehow that movie relieved her… unconsciously helping her in accepting their absence.

The dinner ended and it was time for us to saber the cake… the only thing that Marie really didn’t want but that we couldn't avoid (the restaurant Manager was really strict about that). Once again, cheered by everyone on Relax, from Mika, we stood up and did it… Once done, I took the advantage of the moment to carry Marie and lift her up to the sky… I had forgotten about my strength (one more time) and about how light she was… it was incredible to see her raise so high above me… the dream was going on. We then kissed for a long time… but it still seemed too short.

The music started to get louder… The time had come for us to open the dance on a Wonderful World from Louis Armstrong. My Grandfather who passed away a few years ago on that same day loved that song. We did not mention him once during the whole day… but I knew he was there: in the air, in the waves, in the sun, in the colors of the world surrounding us that day. The song was his, and we picked it for him. I quickly got the chance to dance with Linda, while Marie invited my Dad before the song ended. Following that song, the party was only getting stronger, wilder… and become one of these perfect parties that you never forget. My siblings and cousins were crazy. The Family was all together and stronger than ever. The adrenaline of the day was still kicking and gave Marie and me enough energy to last to the end and keep dancing with everyone. Marie was fabulous… She could spin forever followed by her dress, as fluid as water, and light as the air. It was exceptional. We ended up shirtless, wet, jumping in the air, and spinning all together singing on les Lacs du Connemara.

Few of the last ones remaining went to swim in the sea… I left with Marie holding her hand, and returned to our room once the music stopped. We had deserved to go to bed. The wedding day was over… but the dream wasn’t.

Sunday lunch was breakfast for many of our guests, but also like a general good bye for everyone… Sitting on our favorite terrace surrounded by the sea, like on the deck of a gigantic ship, we could once more time dream that it would never end.

Little by little, people were saying good bye as they said hello… These Good Byes are not like regular good byes… As each time with most of our friends, the Good Byes are not followed by Hellos before at least 1 or 2 years, which makes them always very intense. The place became quieter, and suddenly we were left by ourselve, exhausted. Luckily some of our close family members joined us for a nap on the beach… one last swim in the sea before having to say good bye to Sitges.

We still had the chance to hang out with many of our friends for few days in Barcelona. The final wake up was getting close, and the dream was about to end… We concluded with one final crazy night with Marie’s cousins in the restaurant Mussol, the same place where everything started a week and half earlier with the first of our friends arriving in Barcelona, the Redmans. The dream was over, but left some of the best memories thanks to the 126 friends and family members that came from all over the globe to show us their love for us. We both thank them deeply, from the bottom of our heart.

We're getting married!

Our first post is entirely dedicated to our upcoming wedding in October. Below you will find useful information to help you plan your upcoming trip to Spain. We are looking forward to celebrating with everyone on this special weekend.

We will be getting married in Sitges, a small town just south of Barcelona. It is a beautiful town located on the Mediterranean Sea with everything within walking distance, including plenty of beaches. The church ceremony will be held at the Parish of Sant Bartomeu and Santa Tecla. The aperitif and dinner (reception) will be held at the El Margallo, which is a 20 minute walk from the church. Don’t worry, transportation will be provided. However, we will be walking barefoot with champagne on the beach; all are welcome to join us! We will be spending Friday and Saturday night in the Sunway Playa Golf Hotel, and we recommend any out-of-town guests to stay in the same or other hotels in Sitges. We will be in Barcelona the whole month of October to be able to spend as much time as possible with those who decide to spend more time in Catalonia.

Location: Sitges, Spain

Date: October 4th, 2008

13h00

Church Ceremony: Parish of Sant Bartomeu and Santa Tecla

18h00

Reception: El Margallo, Sunway Playa Golf Hotel

The reception includes the apperatif and the dinner.

Where to stay in Sitges:

We recommend that you stay at the Sunway Playa Golf Hotel. Most of the rooms are "apartment" style and are equipped with kitchen and laundry facilities. The rooms range in price between 90-120 euros. When reserving your room, say that you are with “La boda de Alexis y Marie” to receive a 10% discount. It is best if you call or email the hotel directly at: +34 93 894 18 39 (ask for nuria, she speaks english, french and spanish) or nuria@sunway.es. You will find below a list of the prices for each type of room available in the hotel. Breakfast is usually not included, except if indicated. Additional breakfast would cost about 10 euros.

If you are considering staying in another hotel, below you will find a detailed map of Sitges with the names and locations of most hotels in the town.

For those interested in staying in Barcelona for the weekend, be warned. It takes ~40 minute by either car or train to reach the city center. Public transportation stops a little before midnight, so you might get stuck in Sitges for the night or miss the end of the party!

For those with cars, there is parking available at the Sunway Playa Golf Hotel. There are also parking garages located throughout the town.

Flights to Barcelona, Spain:

From Europe:

There are 4 low-cost companies which offer direct flights to Barcelona: Clickair, Vueling, Brussels Airlines and EasyJet.
To find the best prices and schedules, we recommend http://www.edreams.com/

We don't recommend flying with RyanAir because they fly into Girona which is 1.5 hours from Barcelona by bus.

From the United States:

Direct flights to Barcelona from the east coast are offered by:
Continental from Newark Liberty International (EWR)
US Airways from Philadelphia International (PHL)
American Airlines from New York City (JFK) after April 24th

Transportation from airport to Sitges:

Sitges is easily accessible by both bus (~2.85 euros, one-way) and train (~2.40 euros, one-way). There is a bus every hour and a train every half hour from the Barcelona Airport. It takes ~45 minutes to get to Sitges. For a detailed bus and train schedule, please click here.

Taxis and car rentals are also available at the Barcelona Airport.