Gator Bride - A Florida Gator Themed Wedding Blog » Honeymoon

Just Mauied :: Honeymooning in Maui

Mrs Gator — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 01:14:08 +0000

In the “honeymoon recap” area, I’ve been quite lazy. It’s not like we didn’t have the most amazing time of our lives in Maui, it is just the MASSIVE amount of photos Mr. Knight took on our honeymoon is making this task quite daunting. (Massive amount = 1,500+ photos = out of control Husband)

The view from our condo in Maui… just breathtaking. It was the best view on the island, and we’re not just saying that, we checked! Waking up to THIS every morning was heaven!
photo by Mr Knight

I don’t want to bore you with a bazillion pictures of us in romantic locations, so I’m going to try and condense our honeymoon recap (and give you a fabulous view of Maui) in as little pictures as possible. :-) If you haven’t seen our honeymoon video, then you better get your butt on over there and view it. It truly captured the feeling of Maui and our honeymoon perfectly.

In Maui there were lots of Mai Tai’s to be consumed:

Mr. Knight enjoying a Mai Tai at Mama’s Fish House

Lots of Luau’s to attend:

Enjoying a Mai Tai at the Old Lahiana Luau. Yums.

Lots of posing on volcanic rock:

Mr. Knight chill-laxin on some volcanic rock.

Lots of scenic pictures to be taken:

View from the Five Palms Restaurant at the Mona Kai in Kihei.

Lots of romantic bike rides:

28 mile bike ride down a volcano is not everyone’s idea of ‘romantic’ but Mr. Knight and I loved it. One of the top 5 experiences of our life (so far). Biking through 10 different climate zones (starting in freezing 26 degrees at the top and ending at the ocean) was unbelievable.
Mr. Knight and Mrs. Gator exhibiting the “Honeymoon Pose;” photo by our Maui Guide from Mountain Riders

Lots of yummy food to chow down on:

Enjoying some calamari, sushi and shrimp at the Five Palms. Yes that is two raspberry mojitos you see in front of me. I was out of control that night, but hey, you have to get a little out of control on your honeymoon, right?

Lots of champagne to be devoured:

Not only did the owners of our condo leave us champagne, but Mr. Knight’s Mom also sent us champagne. So we celebrated watching the finale of “Lost” (in HAWAII, where it was filmed) by toasting to them with lots and lots of champagne. By the end of the night, I was whining on the floor of our bathroom (after I had slipped on… champagne). No more champagne for me. Bad little gator.

Lots of guard rails to pose for pictures on:

Mr. Knight and I on the Road to Hana (one of the most treacherous roads to drive).

Mr. Knight and I in the ‘desert’ portion of the Hana Highway (this is way past the point where rental vehicles are prohibited from driving). Did you know there was a desert in Maui? Now you know. I told you Maui had some ridiculous climates.

Lots of shopping while eating:

Planning out our shopping attack while catching a bite to eat at the crazy-delicious Longhi’s.

Lots of water sports to partake in:

Mr. Knight tearin’ it up on a jet ski. He had sooo much fun. I, on the other hand, was terrified. I decided that being his personal photographer/videographer while he played in the water, was more fun. :-) I’m not even going to tell you how much jet ski rentals are in Maui, you might throw up on yourself.

Lots of silly-ness:

Actin’ a fool up at the Seven Sacared Pools of Hana.

Lei-making to be learned:

Mr. Knight showing off the plumeria lei he made.

Feeling snazzy with my lei and hair flower. Plumeria smell = AMAZING.

Massages to be received:

Mr. Knight getting a massage at our condo before his tattoo appointment. Later, we decided this was a bad idea, he should have had the massage AFTER the tattoo appointment. Oh wells, I still felt like I was on cloud 9 after his tattoo appointment. :-)

Lots* of tattoos to get:
*Maybe not ‘lots’ of tattoos, but one very important one.

Mr. Knight getting his honeymoon/wedding/we-love-each-other-so-dang-much tattoo at the Maui Tattoo Company. Every time I see it, my heart just goes a flutter. I love this man sooo much. :-)

Mr. Knight’s tattoo. A little math equation I came up with; our intials^squared = LOVE and our wedding date. I love it and so does Mr. Knight. It is soo US. Guess what makes it extra special? He got it in Maui, so it is a little reminder of the fabulous trip we had to that incredibly beautiful island.

Where are you going on your honeymoon? If you already went, where did you go? Was it everything you dreamed of? If your still on the search, I highly (HIGHLY) suggest Maui. :-)

Just Mauied :: Our Honeymoon Video

Mrs Gator — Mon, 31 May 2010 16:40:44 +0000

Mr. Knight and I had a fantastic time on our honeymoon. We had the time of our lives. We never held back, if we wanted to go do something, we did it (which I think is a state of mind everyone should try and be in on their honeymoon). I could just post a bunch of pictures from our honeymoon… but what’s the fun in that? Instead, my awesome husband made this cute little video to give you a better idea of the ‘feeling’ of our honeymoon. Enjoy!

Just Mauied :: Our Honeymoon from Mrs Gator on Vimeo.
If you would like to see the video larger, click the video link.
If you are viewing this post on a mobile device (via Android, iPhone, iPad, etc), please click here to view our honeymoon video mashup on youtube (a more mobile friendly site, but design-wise Vimeo beats it, like WOAH).

Mr. Knight made this video through a compilation of video and photos taken with a DSLR, a HD Camera, our iPhones, and a small Sanyo waterproof camera/videocamera. Yes, we looked crazy carrying around so much equipment everywhere we went. I often complained that I was tired of having the camera in my face or I was tired of having my picture taken, but now I understand why Mr. Knight was so persistant. I will try and remember this video the next time we go on vacation and he takes 20GB worth of video and photos. Love him♥

What do y’all plan to do on your honeymoon?

We ♥ Hotwire

Mrs Gator — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 18:46:09 +0000

If you haven’t heard of Hotwire and are planning a trip, it is the place for booking amazing hotels for cheap!

Mr. Knight and I first used Hotwire for Mr. Knight’s 23rd Birthday weekend in Orlando. We rented a 4 star hotel (the Rosen Shingle Creek) for $60 a night. Can you believe that? Just $60 a night… and the hotel was AMAZING!! The deal with Hotwire is, you select the general area you would like to stay and the amount of stars. They don’t tell you the name of the hotel till after you have booked. We had such a great experience the first time around that Mr. Knight and I decided to book our hotel night (before our big plane ride to Maui) in Jacksonville.

And look at this super chic and modern hotel we got near the airport for $70 a night:

Aloft: A Vision of W Hotels
Gorgeous!!!

Can’t wait to chill out here with Mr. Knight, the night before our big Maui flight. :-)

All images taken from the Aloft: A Vision of W Hotels website

Wow… I feel incredibly hip right now.

I went to the Aloft: A Vision of W Hotels and checked the price they were offering for the same room and the same timeframe. They are offering the room for $112 a night, while we got a deal of $70 a night via Hotwire. Saving $42 a night on a super sweet hotel? That’s what is called “awesome” in our book. :-)

Let the Honeymoon Shopping Begin!

Mrs Gator — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 17:36:19 +0000

I picked up my first dress for our honeymoon next May in Maui, HI! I know it’s early… but what can I say… when you find something you love, you just have to get it (plus, it helps having Gator Mom and Gator Dad there to give the okay too and provide the $$. Thank you!). We picked up this lovely little dress at Rochelle’s Clothing in St. Augustine (located right before the Bridge of Lions on the Beach side). Super cute shop with lots of unique dresses (they also carry name brands like Citizen for Humanity and Hard Tail).

Love this!
source

source

Tropical dress from Rochelle’s Clothing, $88.
Wearing the dress to Momma’s Fish House in Maui with your new Husband, Priceless.

When did/will you all start shopping for your honeymoon?

A Honeymoon to Remember: Maui Here We Come!

Mrs Gator — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 00:36:14 +0000

Aloha Gator Bride-ers! {hmm… that has a nice ring to it.} :-)

You may want to sit down for this… it is probably going to be one of my longest posts ever. When it comes to honeymoons, I have a lot to say on the subject.

Originally, Mr. Knight and I had grand ideas of honeymooning in Europe. You know… the whole Paris (city of love), Rome, England sha-bang. That idea ended rather quickly when we realized:

We would be staying in rather un-luxurious accommodations, since European suites were expensive and small (umm hello… shouldn’t we be pampered on our honeymoon?)
Taking about a million trains, planes and automobiles everywhere (no thank you)
The whole Euro and not speaking the language thing
We couldn’t possibly afford it (our 10 day adventure was turning into an $8k nightmare)

So, off to Plan B (not that type of Plan B, ladies): HAWAII

Immediately we knew we wanted to honeymoon on the island of Maui. My parents had just been there and had a fabulous time (plus they had some excellent tips for us). I quickly got on the internet looking for condos for us to rent for our 10 day love-vacation. We knew condos would be the right choice because:

They have a kitchen, so I can make Mr. Knight breakfast in the morning and sandwiches for lunch (aka save money on eating out)
Oceanview for ½ the price of most resorts in Maui

Yes, I like to make lists. Have you noticed?

I’m sure glad we looked early because seriously… every condo we looked at was booked till next April! Most of the condos were old and went with the whole wicker-themed interiors (ick). Totally not our style. I managed to find one condo available over at the Kihei Surfside Resort and booked it immediately. Check out our sweet hawaiian love nest ↓

Awesome Bamboo Kitchen with granite counter-tops

Spacious living room with flat panel TV (for Mr. Knight… because I know he can’t go without his History and Discovery Channel)

Oh… and the view from our room… breathtaking! I can’t wait to relax on our porch and look out at this beautiful view with Mr. Knight

We booked our Honeymoon digs for $120 a night plus Hawaiian tax (agh… 12%). I have to give a BIG SHOUT OUT to my future mother-in-law and her husband for taking care of our flight for us. Our 1^st wedding gift! Hooray! :-)

…and might I add, probably the best wedding gift ever. Our other guests have a lot to live up to (just kidding!).

Speaking of gifts, Mr. Knight and I have created a Honeymoon Registry over at HoneymoonWishes↓

Mr. Knight and Miss Gator’s Honeymoon Registry

When Mr. Knight and I moved in together we had 2 of everything because we each had our own apartment. Granted, some of our items could use an upgrade (plastic serving spoons, ripped towels, cat-induced holes in sheets/duvets, plates we both like, etc). But we felt that an experience was worth more to us then material objects. It was incredibly easy to set up and you can even create a wedding website through it too (although we already have an excellent wedding website Mr. Knight made us, what a lover face ♥).

I’m incredibly excited for our honeymoon. There are so many incredible things to experience in Maui and I can’t wait to experience them with Mr. Knight as his Mrs ♥.

I told you it was going to be a long post. :-)