Barcelona - Destination Wedding

Late September we were off again.. this time for a destination wedding in Barcelona! My cousin was getting married and family members from all across the globe for flying in for the celebration. 

I don't feel comfortable sharing other people's pictures without their consent so while I have 100's of photos I will try to stick to pictures of us.

We took a red eye on Tuesday night hoping to sleep through the flight (I did not) because bright and early on Wednesday morning was the first event. 

We landed at 7am and headed to the hotel. The room was of course not available so we dumped all our stuff in my parents room and then went down to grab some breakfast and meet the family. 

Present were my great aunt and uncle, four sets of aunts and uncles and seven first cousins, two kids of a cousin and most importantly my parents whom I hadn't seen in almost a year.

The first event was at 10am at a beach restaurant. The theme was yellow. This was the haldi ritual. Haldi mean turmeric. A milk and turmeric paste is made and applied on the bride and groom to enhance beauty. Songs are sung and blessings are bestowed. 

Back at the hotel we finally got our room and after a very quick break it was time to get ready again for the next event. They had arranged for buses to take us to a Spanish Villa an hour away. And then it started to rain, two of the buses were delayed and we had to take shelter.. it was an experience to say the least. Thankfully the venue hadn't experienced any rain and things continued as planned. 

This was the welcome dinner and the theme was pastels.

The bride and groom made their entrance on the balcony.. they did an adorable little dance and gave a speech.

 

Once we were done with appetizers we proceeded to the lower level to take our seats. Each of us received a handwritten, personalized note from the groom, bride or parent. The gesture was very touching. 

Then the planned dances began. The friends, the aunts, the parents, everyone had something prepared. Our family did a little something as well.. followed by speeches and then dinner. We were just starting to take our first bites when the sky opened up and there was a downpour! FYI - Barcelona has been going through a drought. We hustled for cover.. We have a saying that if you lick the bottoms of bowl.. like cake batter or whatever it'll rain on your wedding day. 

Eventually the rain died down and the music pumped and the party started again. 

The night ended with fireworks.. more rain and the couple dancing in the rain. 

Day two.. yes this was all accomplished in one day, jet lagged. I slept on every bus ride we took. Hair be damned.. the rain took care of that anyway. lol

Anyway.. day two was a break day. Buses had been arranged so we could do some sightseeing.

First stop Basílica de la Sagrada Família. This Antoni Gaudi creaton is famous for still being unfinished. Construction started in 1882 and they hope to finally have it finished by 2026.

 

This basilica is beautiful beyond words. It reminded me of a forest, the pillars like talls trees the light filtering in. Nature was one of Gaudi's inspirations and you could feel the magic.

Our next stop was Park Guell another one of Gaudi's masterpieces. Unfortunately it had begun to rain again. While the rain did not last long it did make everything wet and muddy. M and I had visited Guell Parc many years ago and it used to be free. Now there was a price to enter different sections of the park. Sad.

We ate our packed lunches at the park and then explored a bit. Of course the sun came out just in time. 

It was late September, you'd think it would be the off season and there would be less travellers.. not true. Still a lot of people. 

Back to the hotel and after another short break we got ready for the next adventure.. a boat trip. 

While the first half of the trip was fun I felt super nauseous during the second half. Tip - you are supposed to stare at the horizon, staring at something still helps your stomach calm down. I was happy to finally get on to solid land.

Day three was the last day of the wedding. The first event was the actual wedding and it was held in a Spanish castle. We again took a bus to get to the destination.. it was a great way to catch up on some sleep. lol.

The theme was no red so that fact that we ended up dressed like emeralds and sapphires was purely coincidental.

 

and I'll give you one guess as to what the weather was like.. rainy! We were soaked through. it was starting to get funny. 

my parents

Once the bride made her appearance the rain wisely disappeared and the sun came out to stay. The rest of the event was thankfully rain free.

After a nap in the bus and a quick refresh it was time for the final event, the reception.

and that my friends is a wrap! It was a beautiful wedding. They thought of every little detail. I wish I had captured more of it.. the food, the freebies.. but I was still jet lagged.. and the wedding events kept us very very busy. I am so happy we able to reconnect with so many family members. There were a few cousins I hadn't met in over a decade. My kids got to meet so much of their family. There were five cousins who couldn't make it as well as my brother and his family. And they were missed. 

I made a reel as a quick wedding recap.. feel free to check it out here

    

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