Three years ago today, I was preparing to walk down the aisle to meet my soon-to-be husband. It had been the same handsome face I’d spent the last nine years admiring and adoring, but that didn’t make it any less exciting when the time came. Up until that moment, the day flew by in a flash (as any married person will tell you) and I tried my best to take it all in, slow down and relish the experience. I was extremely nervous; not at all about the marriage, but at the thought of being the center of attention for the rest of the evening. Walking slowly to the altar, reading our private hand-written vows, putting our love on display in a way we’d never done before – and in front of an audience of 125 people! In the end, our wedding was a truly magical day. There were a million things that could have gone wrong, considering it was the dead of winter and I had handled nearly all of the finalizing of arrangements and details myself. We were amazingly lucky to have the fun, stress-free and smooth sailing day that we had. From the gorgeous 40-degree, bright sunny day that Mother Nature blessed us with, to my precise timeline that moved along like clockwork, everything seemed to fall perfectly into place.
The beautiful weather today was the perfect anniversary gift and made me so joyfully reminiscent. We celebrated in a wonderful way this year that was relaxing and fun and yet still close to home. We rented the Devonshire junior suite at the Inn by the Bandstand in Exeter, NH for three nights, and thoroughly enjoyed the plush furnishings, in-room fireplace and amazingly delicious breakfasts each morning. It is run by a sweet and friendly woman named Susan and her old and gentle canine companion, Zach. As our Facebook and Instagram feeds will tell you, we fully took advantage of the Trivial Pursuit that was available for borrowing and gorged ourselves on delicious cheeses and local wines from nearby shops. We visited Zorvino Winery and got a great solo tour of the place complete with tasting, took a bitterly cold walk around Portsmouth, and did some respectable damage to our credit card during an afternoon trip to the outlets in Kittery, Maine. All in all we had a wonderful weekend and I topped it off with a much-needed nap with Ruby when we got home. Even now, three years later I’m considering myself the luckiest bride on earth. Who else has a husband that will offer to run to the grocery store after a weekend away, then slave over a hot stove for several hours, first making dinner and then following it with the most delicious Boston Cream pie from scratch? I have no doubt in my mind that I snagged the best!
I couldn’t resist grabbing a few shots our very charming and cozy suite of the B&B. If you’re in the Boston area, I definitely recommend a visit to the Inn by the Bandstand. Tell Susan I sent you, give Zach a good scratch, and then ask for a taste of her to-die-for bread pudding!
