Below is the sum of emails sent to the weddinggoers dating back to Feb 2022. Going forward, each month will be archived here for your reference.
JAN 2023
Howdy everyone! Happy New Year! I hope you all had a safe and happy New Year. Amazingly, we are in 2023, and are only 6.5 months away from boarding a plane to Iceland! We can’t believe how quickly time is flying by…
General announcements: What’s super exciting?! You! Yes, all of you… we’re hearing from folks on a regular basis now that they are booking their flights, accommodations, you know, trains, planes, and automobiles! Listening to everyone’s plans post-wedding is super exciting! We’re so excited for you and the adventures you’re planning. It’s truly inspiring to hear your planning stories and how you’re navigating yourselves, virtually, around the globe with nothing more than keystrokes! We love the passion and enthusiasm you’re all taking to treat yourselves and your family to, for some of you, your first experience over the pond, and for others, new adventures you intend to take once you’re over there. Yes, the wedding gets us excited, selfishly, however, you and your plans rank right up there!
What’s happened since the last update: Well, quite a bit. Dozens of people have booked their flights at least all the way to Dublin and others beyond Dublin. Alison and I have done the same. We’ve made quite a few pivots along the way, post-Ireland. We’ve kinda been letting our hearts, and intuition guide us on our post-wedding plan journey. We locked in Croatia and Slovenia…we loved Croatia so much from our travels there last year, we just had to go back and see more of it. And I’ve wanted to visit Lake Bled in Slovenia for going on 15+ years, so while we’re so close, we’re going to check that off the bucket list. After that, we were going to head to Thailand and Vietnam…however, as natural as it was to book the Croatia/Slovenia trip, I couldn’t pull the trigger on Thailand – call it intuition or whatever, but it just didn’t sit right with me, and I’ve learned it’s best to listen to that little voice…Soooooo, big pivot. We’re flying to Prague after Slovenia. Another bucket list city that goes back years – ideally we would be going during the Christmas holiday – which we will at some point, but we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to see what many call the “gem” of all of the European cities while we’re that close! So, off we go…After that, we’re on to Greece and Santorini, where we’ll do a whole lot of nothing other than sit by the pool, the Aegean Sea, and have adult beverages, and eat Greek food!
The plan: Below is the plan –
7/29 – Boise -> Seattle -> Iceland
7/30 – Arrive in Iceland (lunch and dinner in Reykjavik)
8/31 – Caravan around Iceland (Brett and Steph, Brad and Traci, and Alison and I) those are the folks who responded (per the last email) who will be traveling around Iceland visiting all the beautiful sites Iceland has to offer. That doesn’t mean you still can’t join us, however, we’re going forward with booking our car(s) now. If you decide to join us, let us know, you’ll just need to book your transportation.
8/1 – Spa day at the blue lagoon. Dinner in Reykjavik
8/2 – Fishing trip! We are booked – thank you Brett for making this happen, much appreciated, and I can’t wait to go wade in the waters of Iceland and catch some fish! For those of you, not fishing, this is your day to go explore!
8/3 – The wedding party flies to Ireland. Everyone will need to rent a car (or take the train to Galway). There is a group of us heading to Galway after we land and will be staying near Galway the evening of 8/3 (and either getting fitted for our kilts on 8/3 or the morning of 8/4).
8/4 – We’re off to check in to the Castle!
8/5 – Decorations, wedding planning details, wedding party dinner, and walkthrough
8/6 – Sweating, no sleep, sweating, more deodorant, change shirts, more sweating, oooooh, sorry I got stuck in a loop! lol – it will be something like that tho! 🙂
The wedding ceremony will be at 4pm (or near that for now…we’ll know more when we get closer, it’s all about the weather). There’s a ton of stuff that will be going on this day, we’ll be locking down details in the coming months…
DEC 2022
Howdy, everyone! Merry Christmas! I hope you all had a great Christmas and got to spend it with your family and friends! I know we had a great time and it came and went in a blink of an eye. Next up New Year and we will be counting down to the wedding for the first time in the wedding year! Amazing, considering we’ve been talking it about for what seems like almost 2 years already…in nearly 7 months we’ll be boarding a plane for Iceland, single digits now!
General announcements: We’ve heard from a number of you that you are already booking and planning your excursions post-Ireland, which is awesome! We love hearing about all the adventures and plans you are making beyond the wedding. Here are some of the places we’ve heard people are headed.
Scotland – about 1/3 of the weddinggoers are headed here from Ireland, and why not!? It’s a 1-hour flight, costs about $40 or less to get there, and is amazing!
London – Big Ben, London eye, theater district, Westminster Abby, Buckingham Palace…tons of history!
France – City of lights and romance! One of my favorite places on the planet!
Italy – a few folks headed to the land of the best food on the planet!
Portugal – is beautiful, with great people, milder temps, and easy access to Spain and even Northern Africa. We know a great tour guide in Porto – if you end up going here, let us know and we’ll hook you up with him. He’ll pick you up at your Airbnb or hotel and take you anywhere you want to go, even to Spain, but we would highly recommend a day in the Douro Valley for wine and olive oil tasting.
Croatia – Alison and I are going to fly to Split and spend a few days there before driving north to Zagreb for a few days. Head into Slovenian and back to Zagreb before flying to Thailand.
What’s happened since the last update? We have booked and paid for our day at the Blue Lagoon. Everyone who wanted to go and sent the money, we are now officially booked for the world’s largest hot spring and spa! That’s super exciting. Remember, if you want to add spa amenities (facials, massage, etc) you can book those separately. Transportation to and from the Blue Lagoon is handled by the Spa. We are going to start booking our Airbnb’s and excursions starting this week. We’re keeping an eye on air fiars, and they are about as low as you’re going to get, so if you have the means, I would start considering booking planes, trains, and automobiles…hotels, Airbnb, B&Bs, and excursions so you get your first choices.
The Plan: Here is Alison and I’s plan for when we’re going to Iceland (and some pre-wedding plans in Iceland and Ireland) – you are welcome to follow, or do your own thing, entirely up to you.
We’re likely going to book our tickets from Boise, via Seattle, to Iceland on 7/29. This is a Saturday. Generally speaking, flying on Saturday is the cheapest day of the week to fly. Flying out of Seattle on 7/29 will include an overnight flight, landing early Sunday morning.
Sunday 7/30 – We’ll check into our Airbnb, and then walk around Reykjavik, grab lunch and dinner. Anyone can join us.
Monday 7/31, we’ll plan to caravan around Iceland, leave early, and come back late – hit as many sites as possible. If you are interested in joining us that day, let us know, so we can start planning transportation and start putting together an itinerary. Message us back using the email thread this link was sent in. Please respond by 1/15/2023 so we can book transportation and any other accommodations we’ll need for the day. Also, we can vote on where we want to go, maximizing our time for the day – we’ll send a survey after we know who wants to come along.
Tuesday 8/1 – Blue Lagoon. The bus leaves at 9:30am and arrives at 10am. The bus leaves to take us back to town at 2:15pm. That gives us 4hrs and 15 min at the Blue Lagoon. There’s a link so you can search around the Blue Lagoon for other activities while you’re there.
Weds 8/2 – There’s a group of us, 5, going fishing. For everyone else, this day is yours to go see more of Iceland!
Thursday 8/3 – The wedding party will need to fly to Dublin and head to Galway. Everyone will need to find accommodations in or near Galway. Time permitting, we’ll get measured for our kilts this day, if not then we’ll do it first thing in the morning on Friday. The bar will be set up at the Castle ahead of our arrival.
Friday 8/4 – The wedding party (guys) will need to get measured for their kilts in the morning when they open if we aren’t able to on 8/3. Then we head to the Castle/your accommodations to check in.
Saturday 8/5 – Wedding decorations, and set up. In the evening, the wedding party will do a walkthrough of what’s happening and when along with who will “own” what that day.
Sunday 8/6 – THE BIG DAY 🙂 – Wedding set up and prep (more details later as we know more). Weather permitting, this will be an outdoor wedding…even in August, expect rain and highs near the low 70’s… We’re going to look at having the ceremony between 3 – 5pm. We’ll stay flexible until we get closer so we can better understand the weather. We’ll have the ceremony, followed by dinner, and then the band will show up. That’s about as far as we’ve gotten. There will be cake and the first dance in there. The band will play for 3 hours…stay tuned for more details.
Monday 8/7 – Check out and head to Dublin. There’s a chance Alison and I fly out to Croatia on the evening of the 7th – the flight schedules are limited from Dublin to Split, so this might be our best option.
If anyone wants to do a zoom call to talk through any of the planning or ask any questions let us know and we’ll set it up. Happy to walk through any part of your trip or plan.
November 2022
UPDATED on 11/6 – the plan and details are starting to take shape!
Howdy, everyone! Hope you all enjoyed your October and Halloween! Not to mention, we went from summer to winter practically overnight! We have snow in the mountains here, and the deer are starting to come down into the lowlands again. It feels like mother nature wanted to skip fall and jump right into the cold stuff…my vote would be for a better transition, but since that’s not the case let it snow! I’m ready to hit the slopes! This year has just flown by and these next two months are going to come and go in a blink of an eye, which means we are that much closer to blasting off for Europe altogether!! 🙂
General announcements: In case you weren’t aware Thanksgiving is in 22 days! Black Friday is in 23 days, my birthday, dare I say…in 14 days…I don’t celebrate those anymore, however, my body does a good enough job of giving me daily reminders of my age! LOL Christmas in 43 days (if I did the math right in my head) and six days later it’s 2023! Whoa! I need a nap just writing that all out! 🤣 We’re excited to hear how groups of folks are getting together and starting to plan their trips – sharing cars, Airbnbs, and plans before and after Ireland. That awesome! You all are so organized and planning ahead makes all the difference in the world! So, super excited to hear how you all are teaming up and working together to talk through the details! Callout to the folks in Portland and Seattle who have already started and from what I hear are solidifying their plans! That’s awesome!
As it stands today, we have 26 confirmed for Iceland and 41 confirmed for Ireland! I know we’ve said this before, but WHOA!!! 😳 those numbers are about 4x what we thought when we proposed this remote wedding back in Feb this year! We’re so grateful and thankful for you all! This has been very humbling for us.
What’s happened since the last update? We have found a caterer! Break out the champagne and bonbons! We’re just working through the menu and pricing. Sorry to disappoint all of you folks who we were going to voluntold 😜 to make the wedding dinner, you’re off the hook! lol, That was the last major hurdle to get over. Band ☑️, caterer ☑️, cake ☑️, decorator ☑️, bar ☑️, dress ☑️, kilts ☑️, venue ☑️, photographer ☑️ and all of you, which is our biggest win!! ☑️ One box remains and that’s the wedding officiant. We’re hoping to find an older Irish gentleman with a strong Irish accent, wearing traditional Irish garb to officiate for us! Stay tuned, we are on the hunt 🙂
The Plan: Okay, let’s talk about the plan. For those of you coming to Iceland…Generally speaking, it’s cheapest to fly on a Saturday. With that in mind, we’re likely going to fly to Iceland on July 29th, a Saturday, with an arrival time of early morning on July 30th (group dinner for all those who are there will take place this day). We then plan to fly out to Ireland on August 3rd. That gives us 4 days in Iceland. There will be a Blue Lagoon spa day, which is 100% happening. For those of you who have specified you want to go as a group, we will be sending an email to you all by the end of this weekend with details. Regarding the fishing trip, Brett (best man) has tentatively booked the trip for either August 1st or 2nd (as soon as we have pricing information we’ll pass that information along) – which means the Blue Lagoon will be one of those two days (8/1 or 8/2). As soon as we have clarification on the fishing day, we will propose dates for the group caravan for anyone wanting to come along as a group to see the sights together! This is going to take some coordination, so expect an email before the end of the year to hammer out the details.
Next, we fly to Ireland on Augusts 3rd. We’ll drive and stay in Galway that evening, we need to meet with wedding contractors and go and have the final kilt fitting. The plan on the 4th is to do the final kilt fitting (guys, if you are wearing a kilt, you must be at the kilt shop before they close on 8/4 in Galway for final fittings), and meet with the Castle folks, caterer, and bar set-up folks! Alison and I will be pretty much at the Castle 90% (minus dinners/lunches/meetings) until August 7th. You all are welcome to stop by and hang out anytime you want! Otherwise, this is YOUR vacation, go see Ireland!!! The west coast is beautiful and so amazing many things to see! (Make sure to check out the references tab on this website for more details). And then we will see you all Sunday, August 6th at the Castle where we will be getting hitched in front of all of YOU!! 🙂 We checkout out of the Castle on August 7th, drive back to Dublin for the evening, and then blast off on our honeymoon adventure!
October 2022
Howdy, everyone! Welcome to October, one month closer to Ireland 🇨🇮, Thanksgiving 🦃, Christmas 🎄, and New Year 🥂! Oh, and don’t forget, Amazon created yet another shopping holiday “black Friday” October version 10/11 – 10/12 🙄…as promised, we have finally created a website dedicated to our Wedding plans for Ireland and in the future, our world travels :). Going forward, instead sending you an announcement via email, we’ll simply send you the link to this site with the updated announcement, which you will find on the homepage; the previous month’s announcement will move over to “archive”.
Wedding Date: 8/6/2023
General announcements: Feel free to navigate through the site, consider it a work in progress at this point. We will continue to build out the Resources content… “coming soon” so check back periodically. T-minus 10 months and counting! Oh, btw, some folks have already started looking at reserving their accommodations, rentals cars and such. In their search, some places they were considering are already booked up for that time. So, if you have the means, and want your first choice, might be worth starting to do your research and booking sooner rather than later!
What’s happened since the last update? Well, Alison found and said, “Yes to the dress”! Yes indeed, after a weekend in Seattle, wining and dining at fancy (not like Applebees 😂) restaurants, with her mom, ‘aunt’ and my mom, she found the wedding “dress of her dreams”! To everyone’s delight, the bride and groom now have an outfit to wear on the day of the wedding…otherwise…😳 LOL!! It would have been interesting walking out in our birthday suits 🫣!
The Plan: Not much has changed here. As of today, the idea for Alison and me, is to fly to Iceland on Saturday July 29th, and fly out to Ireland on the morning of August 3rd and spend the evening in Dublin before heading off to the castle the morning of the 4th. Obviously you are welcome to match our itinerary, or you can do whatever makes sense for you and your traveling companions 🙂 Once we fine tune the plan and details we’ll post a calendar of events under the “Resources” tab.
September 2022
Howdy, Everyone! If you are receiving this email then you have either fully committed to coming to Ireland, or you expressed that you are strongly considering it 😊 First of all, I want to thank you all on this email thread for your willingness to join Alison and me in Ireland. You know, when we first started talking about Ireland and setting a date, we figured MAYBE we could torture (lol) at least 12 people to come help us celebrate! As of right now, we have 37 people who are 100% coming and other 6-8 people who really leaning in. How amazing is that?!! Potentially 43 people, willing to take time away from their crazy life’s schedule, budgeting, and planning to fly halfway around the world (okay, more like a 1/3 – hahaha) to come to share this amazing day with us! There aren’t words to express how grateful and thankful we are to have such an amazing group of family of friends! We can’t wait to share this experience with each and every one of you! And hear about your experiences during this time as well!
Last month we sent out a survey, and here are the results:
- 37 (people) – 100% confirmed attending in Ireland
- 8 – more, strongly leaning in
- 26 – confirmed coming to Iceland ahead of the wedding – WOW!!!
- 15 – attending the Blue Lagoon Spa Day
- 7 – going on the fishing trip
- 35 – meatasaurus’
- 2 – veggiesaurus’
Wedding Date: August 6th, 2023.
General announcements: Attached is the “Save this email” we sent back in July. If you lost it, here it is again…keep it for future reference. On that note, you can now book flights, Airbnb’s, hotels, B&B’s, rental cars, etc as far out as next August. Why is this important? Because, everyone is going to start having sales this fall and through the winter hoping to fill seats, rooms, etc. Keep an eye out for deals! If you know you’re coming, and can make it work, jump on a deal when you see it!
Tips: Alaska airlines is offering 50k miles for anyone who signs up and gets approved for a credit card – https://www.alaskaair.com/content/credit-card/visa-signature?semid=Google-SEMBoACCC-&gclid=Cj0KCQjwj7CZBhDHARIsAPPWv3c3LKdwun1oZZ4OUeEenlgarXasCvrXYD0SYC-H96P2xIOksKn8zcYaAqEqEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds. Alaska airlines partners with many other airlines, including Iceland Air, Aer Lingus (Ireland’s national carrier), British Airlines, and American https://www.alaskaair.com/content/mileage-plan/how-to-earn-miles/airline-partners. All who fly to Dublin and other parts of Europe (you can use your Alaska points to book on their airlines directly from Alaska’s website https://www.alaskaair.com/). From what I can tell, at first glance, is that you can get an RT ticket for 45k miles to Iceland or Dublin…might be something to take a look at to get at least one of your tickets for points only.
The USD is currently $1.02 to the Euro (never happened before) – the Euro is used in Iceland and Ireland, just not the UK, which uses the pound. All of the other EU countries use the Euro as well. Keep that in mind as you think about exchanging USD for Euros. Now might be a good time. Just go to your local bank and they will take care of it for you.
COVID – there are no Covid requirements you need to be concerned about at this time for Iceland or Dublin – really anywhere in Europe. Business as usual!
What’s happened since the last update? We keep plugging away at our “to-do” list! We did fly over to Portugal at the beginning of September and had a great time! Beautiful country to visit if you are considering jumping off somewhere after Ireland – remember, Scotland is <1 hr flight away and you can fly for around $30 on Ryanair https://www.ryanair.com/us/en. If you want or need any help with planning, or deciding where to go after Ireland feel free to reach out, happy to help you plan, or at least provide an opinion on places to go and visit.
The Plan: Now that we have a very close final list of folks who will be attending in both Iceland and Ireland, we will begin working out the finer details of the plan. In future emails, look for dates, and then later activities for both Iceland and Ireland. Reminder, this is your vacation! So, please don’t feel at all obligated to spend your and your family’s time hanging around with us during your trip! We only ask you to show up on Sunday, August 6th! 😊 We will send you our itinerary and then it’s up to you to decide if you want to come to hang out or do your own thing.
What to expect next: Starting next month we will be introducing the wedding party – one member on the bride’s and groom’s side each month, so you can get to know who is going to be in the wedding party with highlights of who they are to each of us, so you can get to know them before you actually get to know them! 😊 You can also expect to see a more detailed plan. As we find airline deals or other good-to-know information we will forward that to you – which may come as a random email, especially if there are time constraints around the deal.
Oh, before I forget, next email we will be putting everyone’s email in the “To:” line. If for any reason you don’t want your email exposed to everyone let me know and I will continue to put it in the BCC line. The reason for showing emails is so that people who are traveling can connect with each other and perhaps make plans on sharing a rental car, flight schedule, sharing an Airbnb together, or other things like that while you’re planning your adventure!
Have a great weekend!
A2Z
August 2022
Howdy, everyone! One year from today (August 6th), we (and hopefully as many of you on this thread as possible), will be standing in front of the Cloghan Castle and all of you getting ready to say our vows! Time has flown by, and the next 12 months will fly by equally as fast! It’s amazing that as of tomorrow we’ll be under a year a counting!
General announcements: I was able to trade in American dollars for euros at Chase bank for our upcoming Portugal trip next month. Super easy to do, and costs about $10 for every $100 – based on the current exchange rate. It took a day to get the euro – something to consider if you’re going to travel to the EU. Remember if you’re traveling to the UK, they use the Pound, not the euro. Next month we’re going to be asking all of you who is for sure coming as we need to start locking down numbers for costs, food, planning, and everything else….Soooooooo, if you are still a “maybe” in Sept, that’s okay too. Just let us know when you will likely know for sure – we’ll be asking for the number of folks in your party at that point, and home addresses as well. If you know you are a “no” – that’s okay too, again let us know so we can plan accordingly. After we have our Yes’, nos’, and maybe’s – the format of the email will change a little. We’ll begin introducing the wedding party, and connect those of you who are looking for carpool, house, or travel buddies, so you can start planning with each other. We’ll also start sharing more detailed plans (now that we have numbers), including who, what, when, where, and costs so you have more visibility into those details. Starting next early Spring, we’ll do a regular zoom call (once a month?) with all of the confirmed folks – this will allow you to meet the folks coming, allow us to get to talk “in-person” to you, and talk through details, questions you might have and we’ll walk people through getting to Europe from the States, what to do when you get there, how to get from Dublin to the Castle, and then a slide show of the different day trips around Ireland and the points of interest – these zoom calls will be interactive – they are for you, to make you as comfortable about traveling as possible! This will be your time, so come with questions and hopefully, we’ll provide the answers! Lol
What’s happened since the last update? We’re moving into the next level of detail. Wedding announcement designs, RSVP designs, wedding colors…. Alison has doubled down on the dress search and is going to begin scheduling times to go try on dresses…you, know, the shit’s getting real stuff! Lol
Wedding Date: August 6th, 2023.
The Plan: Last month we sent a calendar of events pre-, during, and post-wedding…Consider that a work-in-progress calendar. Here is what I know for sure is happening, we are going to Iceland ahead of the wedding – there will be a guys’ and gals’ day out as well as a group adventure before we blast off to Ireland. The wedding will be on August 6th, and it will be in Ireland at Cloghan Castle. Alison and I will be in Ireland from 8/4 – 8/8 and we have the Castle for that entire time. After 8/8, it’s currently a mystery. Lots of ideas floating around. Nothing is set in stone – a likely scenario is that everyone goes their own way on 8/8 (or sooner) to spend time with their own peeps and Alison and I bounce off on our honeymoon, which we’re pretty close to locking down our destinations 😊
Mailbag (answering your questions):
No pressing questions this last time around, so I will conclude here! Enjoy your summer, fall is on the horizon, as is football!!! Yay!!
Again, if you have any questions at all feel free to shoot us an email, text or call. If we don’t have the answer, I’m confident we can find it for you! We want to make this trip as easy as going to your favorite local destination where you don’t have to think about how you get there and what to do once you’re there! If you want to stop receiving these emails at any time let me know and I’ll stop clogging up your inbox. Also, if you know folks who want to be added and either want to come or at least want to be informed let me know.
Cheers,
A-2-Z
August 2022
Howdy, everyone! Almost through July already, only one week left if you can believe it! And yes, Costco already has Halloween and Christmas stuff for sale!!! (I literally just rolled my eyes so hard I saw my own ass!! I need a tan!! LOL)! It was snowing the first time we sent one of these emails, and now it’s 100 degrees! I hope everyone is enjoying their summer – certainly zero complaints here! We’ve been spending as much time in the mountains on the lake, or star gazing as possible. I love this time of year when the weather isn’t something you have to predict or schedule around in order to make plans…simply walk out the door and prepare for the heat!
General announcements: In about 5 weeks we’ll be headed back to Europe with Alison’s parents. Yes, we just came back, but we got such a great deal on airfare back in May that we simply couldn’t pass up the chance to get back on the plane. This time we’re headed to Portugal where we’ll spend the majority of our time, minus a day trip to Santiago de Compostela, Spain. Alison and I, and her parents, are seriously considering making the move to Portugal. This will be somewhat of a scouting things out trip…my best man at the wedding and his significant other, as well as a good college buddy of mine (also part of the wedding crew) and his family, are also considering making the move…we love the US, but I think we’re all searching for a simpler way of life as we wind our careers down. Time will tell, but it’s a scenario we are all taking into consideration…
What’s happened since the last update? Let’s see, Alison found and bought her shoes! Guys are probably rolling their eyes right now, but this is a big piece of the puzzle for the ladies! 😊 We have settled on the cake (flavors) and how it will be decorated, a footnote in the grand scheme of things, but an important detail nonetheless! Another checkbox for me!! 😊 See below “The Plan” this is important, and really the primary update here. Not that the other “stuff” here isn’t important – lol, but the information below pertains to all of you!
Wedding Date: August 6th, 2023.
Mailbag (answering your questions):
Q: Is now a good time to buy Euros? YES! The dollar has never been as strong as it is right now against the Euro! If you can afford to swap a couple hundred US dollars for Euros do it!
Again, if you have any questions at all feel free to shoot us an email, text or call. If we don’t have the answer, I’m confident we can find it for you! We want to make this trip as easy as going to your favorite local destination where you don’t have to think about how you get there and what to do once you’re there! If you want to stop receiving these emails at any time let me know and I’ll stop clogging up your inbox. Also, if you know folks who want to be added and either want to come or at least want to be informed let me know.
Cheers,
A-2-Z
July 2022
Howdy, everyone! Happy 4th of July!!! I hope you all enjoy the holiday and stay safe! Keep all your fingers, you’re going to need them in Ireland to hold your Guinness!! 😊 We’re 14 months away now from standing in front of all of you, our honored guests, with who we hope to get to spend an unforgettable trip together in Ireland!
General announcements: We just got back from Europe for those of you who weren’t inundated with pictures in your Facebook feed from us, assuming you didn’t unfriend us by now! Lol, We’ve added a few more folks to the thread here. There’s a total of 32 emails on this thread, which represents at least 64 people who have either confirmed they’re coming or are interested, but uncommitted. To reiterate, everyone is welcome, you all have minimally expressed to be on the email thread. In August, once we hit the 12-month mark, we’re going to have to start getting actual numbers and definite yes/no’s so we can make sure we can pass numbers on to the caterers, and such, also we need to know what kind of budget we’re dealing with. So, you have about 8 weeks before we take a poll of yes/no’s. That doesn’t mean you can’t change your mind later tho! 😊 One more thing, once we do the poll, we’ll want to know what kind of dietary restrictions you and your family have, so we can make sure we work that out for you 😊
What’s happened since the last update? We spent 3 weeks in Europe, one of those weeks in Ireland. We visited and toured The Castle, and met with, or at least had phone conversations with most of the wedding team. We identified where on the property the ceremony will take place, which will be plan A – outside, with a view of the castle in the backdrop. Plan B, if the weather doesn’t cooperate, will be inside, still, a beautiful setting, but outside would be preferred! We picked out the kilts the guys will wear – we’re all set there. If you want to wear a kilt on the wedding day, let me know, and I’ll get your information and send it on to the kilt shop. We will need final measurements by the end of next April (2023), sooooooo you have some time to drop a few pounds before having to squeeze into it – like me! Lol Email me at any point between now and the end of the year if you want to wear a kilt and I’ll make sure we get one reserved for you. We did day trips from the castle all 7 days we were there, so we can recommend day trips and points of interest anywhere from 1hr to 10 hrs from near where you would be staying. Most of these day trips will include at least one castle for you to visit – no matter what it is you want to see, I can create an itinerary that maximizes your time, so if you want suggestions or recommendations let me know and I’ll be happy to design a custom itinerary for you based on your interests. Further, I’ve driven that entire Island, North-South, and East-West, on nearly every highway, and the country road you can imagine, so if you have any questions at all on things to do, where to go, what to see, or if you just send me a list of things that are ‘musts’ for you, I will talk you through how to get there and the best route to take 😊
Wedding Date: August 6th, 2023.
The Plan: Still fuzzy at this point, but here is what’s happening next. September, once we have an idea of the headcount for the wedding, we’ll take another poll to see who is going to join us in Iceland ahead of the wedding. Reminder, this side trip will include the ‘bachelor and bachelorette’ agenda… the guys will be going on a fishing trip, while the ladies spend the day at the Blue Lagoon (spa). The next day the plan is to caravan, as a group, around Iceland taking in the sites (sometime next year I’ll get a list of everyone’s ‘must-sees’ while we’re there, so we can create an agenda that hits most of everyone’s wish list). The tentative plan for Alison and I, at least, will be to spend 3 days in Iceland before continuing on to Ireland to make preparations for the wedding. As mentioned, we get the keys to the castle on 8/4, and the wedding is on 8/6. We check out of the castle on 8/7. As we get closer to the wedding date, we’ll have a very detailed agenda, but for now, that is the rough plan.
Mailbag (answering your questions):
Q: What did you learn on your recent trip to Europe? Great question. Travel is a mess everywhere! Hopefully, by next year some of these issues will resolve themselves. There are labor shortages everywhere, which is causing significant delays, cancellations and just headaches all over the globe. All the hot button issues we have here in the States, Europe and the UK has as well and in some cases they are worse off than we are – including gas prices (~$8/gal), inflation and labor issues – being at the top of the list. We didn’t have any of our flights cancelled, but we only had 4 of the 11 flights leave on time…luckily, none of the delays impacted any of our plans, mostly because we built in time buffers. The shortest turn-around time we had was our layover in Vienna. We flew from Edinburgh to Vienna, had an 1hr 20 min layover before continuing on to Croatia on Ryanair. This was my own fault, because it was not a connection, but two different flights I booked separately to avoid long layovers. We made it, but don’t know if I would do it again! If at all possible, limit your number of connecting flights and if it’s unavoidable, give yourself at least 2hrs between flights. Also, of the 11 flights we took, only 4 of them had a skybridge to the plane. The rest, you had to either be bussed out to your plane, or you could walk out to it. Either way, both of these things take time, and were the primary reasons for our flight delays. In Dublin for example, there aren’t enough bus drivers, so we waited 2 hours before there was someone who could drive us out just to get on the plane. The plane was there, we could see it, but no bus driver, no takeoff! Super frustrating!!
Q: How long is the flight to Edinburgh? 1hr – on a prop plan. Easy quick flight. Small overhead compartments though, so either pack light, or check your bag. Ryanair, which is an economy airline had flights for $11 round trip to Edinburgh. We flew Aer Lingus, and paid $34, but were able to pick our seats and they are a partner airline with Alaska, so we got the air miles.
Q: How far is it from Edinburgh to Glasgow? 1hr by train, and there are several daily.
Q: Can I take the train from Edinburgh to London? Yes
Q: What did you use for luggage? We each used a 40L duffel and backpack for our 3 week trip, which worked out great! We had room to bring back our goodies too. We never checked a bag, which saved a ton of time. If you do check a bag, get yourself an “air-tag” and attach it, you can track your bag from your smartphone. So many people had misplaced baggage issues because of flight delays etc. The air-tag will tell you exactly where your bag is, highly recommended, if you decide to check a bag!
Q: Was it easy to get around Europe? Yes. Minus the labor issues, it’s super easy to get around Europe once you’re there and it’s fairly inexpensive to travel. Once you’re in Europe the high-speed train is another great option to get around.
Q: How does currency work? The UK uses the Pound (no, you can’t use the Euro in the UK anymore). The EU uses the Euro. Croatia will use the Euro next year if you are planning on going there. Montenegro also uses the Euro, but is not part of the EU. We primarily used our debit/credit cards everywhere we went. The few exceptions were in the open markets, which only accepted cash.
Q: How was the weather? We got lucky in Ireland and Scotland. ½ day of rain in Ireland and no rain in Scotland, that is not normal! Temps were in the mid-60’s. I wore shorts and a t-shirt and was plenty warm. Alison wore pants and long-sleeved shirt and was plenty warm. We did take a light water proof jacket, but only wore them once. Down south, it was in the 90’s and low 100’s…HOT! For the wedding in Ireland in August, it’s still fairly mild temps, in the low 70’s and rain is hit or miss.
Again, if you have any questions at all feel free to shoot us an email, text or call. If we don’t have the answer, I’m confident we can find it for you! We want to make this trip as easy as going to your favorite local destination where you don’t have to think about how you get there and what to do once you’re there! If you want to stop receiving these emails at any time let me know and I’ll stop clogging up your inbox. Also, if you know folks who want to be added and either want to come or at least want to be informed let me know.
Cheers,
A-2-Z
May – June 2022
Howdy, everyone! Welcome to the “late” May edition! May, was quite the month, lots going on….this entire year has flown by – can you believe we are just as close to Christmas 2022 as we are away from last Christmas 2021!! Let that sink in! You’re welcome! 😊 Costco will have Christmas decorations up in 8 weeks! Lol
Btw, everyone is welcome to join us. We consistently add 2-3 people to this thread each month – some folks have always wanted to visit Ireland and are taking this opportunity to do so. Others, when they hear about it were already planning a Europe trip and are going to make an effort to make it to Ireland while they are over in Europe. This isn’t meant to be exclusive at all, by all means, everyone is welcome, we just didn’t want to put any unnecessary pressure on folks to come if their circumstance doesn’t allow for it! So, if you hear of anyone who wants to come, or is even a ‘maybe’ and wants to learn more…shoot me a note with their email and I’ll add them to this tread…minimally, they will have some night time reading each month to put them sleep – lol!!
General announcements: Happy Mother’s Day (late) to all the moms here! We had a birthday (Alison’s on 5/28), and also high school graduation (Alison’s youngest), also on 5/28. We had family visiting for a couple weeks…it’s been a great month, and it went by in a blink of an eye…now, it’s already June!! I can’t believe we’re only 15 months away now…I remember sending the first e-mail and we were close to 20 months away and Alison thought I was crazy for starting sending these emails then! Perhaps, just maybe, I was a little over-exuberant – lol – but now, things are starting to creep up fast!
What’s happened since the last update? Well, all of the above, and we are t-minus 11 days until we blast off to Europe (Ireland, Scotland, Croatia, Bosnia, and Montenegro). We have a busy schedule lined up for Ireland. We’re finally going to put some faces with names. We’re meeting with the curator of the castle, the decorator, the photographer, the band, and the hair/makeup folks. We’re hoping to get some time in there somewhere to do a little sightseeing and have a Guinness or two! Ohhhhh, and we’re going visit the kilt store…and bribe someone to do the catering as this has been the most elusive party to lock down! If nothing else, we’ll have Irish whiskey and Guinness for dinner/dessert! If that’s the case, it will definitely make the decision to wear kilts a REALLY bad idea – lol
Wedding Date: August 6th, 2023.
The Plan: Nothing of significance to update here – last month’s tentative plan is still on target.
Mailbag (answering your questions):
Q: When do we need our star card or passport to fly domestically?
A: Beginning May 3, 2023, every air traveler 18 years of age and older will need a REAL ID-compliant driver’s license, state-issued enhanced driver’s license, or another acceptable form of ID to fly within the United States.
Q: What’s going on with COVID-19 restrictions?
A: As of today, 6/2, Ireland and the other countries we’re visiting above have no travel restrictions! We will continue to monitor COVID and any other travel/health issues as they arise and let you all know. Also, we’ll give you all an update on how things went when we return from Europe. I’m sure we’ll encounter some unexpected surprises along the way!
Q: When should we really start considering booking our accommodations, travel, etc?
A: That is going to vary from person to person; however, after not booking some of our accommodations back in March, for our trip to Europe this June…I wish I would have booked no later than April because prices have skyrocketed now that we are officially into the summer months. Lesson learned, even though it’s a long way out, booking in later winter, or early-mid spring makes a significant difference in price, and choices/availability of your first choices! Next year, we’ll likely book all of our travel no later than late March; I’ll keep you posted as we monitor prices – as we see them creep up, we’ll pull the trigger and let you all know!
Q: I want to start looking for accommodations, what do you recommend?
A: Below is a list of Hotels and B&Bs, by city, near, or within a short driving distance of the wedding venue. I did my best to find an array of options, from distance, to price, to size, accommodations, etc. Feel free to click through and take a look at some of the options. Alternatively, you can search through Airbnb for other options, booking.com, priceline.com, tripadvisor.com, expedia.com, kayak.com, or your favorite travel website for other options.
Accommodations to consider:
Hotels/Spas by city:
Loughrea
http://white-house-manor.irelandhotel24.com/en/
Athenry:
http://doonard-manor-bb.ireland-hotels.net/en/
https://www.raheenwoodshotel.ie/index.html
Oranmore:
Home
Galway:
https://www.thegalmont.com/en/
Ardvarna:
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/1478749/photos?source_impression_id=p3_1646696628_TTkjuVMZ0M%2BmbX0q
Around the area:
http://www.clareviewhouse.com/aboutus.html
https://www.kinvaraguesthouse.ie/en/
Airbnbs:
Again, if you have any questions at all feel free to shoot us an email, text or call. If we don’t have the answer, I’m confident we can find it for you! We want to make this trip as easy as going to your favorite local destination where you don’t have to think about how you get there and what to do once you’re there!
Cheers,
A-2-Z
April 2022
Happy Easter everyone! Another month in the books….here is your April edition of the countdown to Ireland. Apologies if you get this email >1x
Dia dhuit (Hello in Gaelic)! Funny thing, as I write that…when you get outside of some of the bigger cities in Ireland and stop into one of the local pubs, out in the country annnnnnd, all of a sudden you can’t understand a DAMN word anyone is saying! Lol! And I couldn’t tell if it was because of their strong Irish accent, or they were speaking in Gaelic, or just so damn drunk they couldn’t speak straight! Lol! I just nodded A LOT and laughed while trying not to choke on my own beer listening to their very animated conversations! I tried speaking back to them in Spanish to get a reaction…all of a sudden they got super quiet like I was the drunk one! LOL – Hilarious! It’s that kind of crazy stuff you remember!
Wedding Date: August 6th, 2023.
The Plan: The details are still vague, intentionally, but here is a rough timeline of events. 7/29’ish Fly to Iceland (this is the pre-wedding crew who wants to do the fishing trip (guys) and blue lagoon spa (ladies), followed by a day of caravanning and exploring the Island together – hot springs, waterfalls, rainbows, rivers, countryside). Land in Iceland on 7/30 (overnight flight). Fishing and Spa on 8/1, Island touring on 8/2, fly to Ireland on 8/3 (spend the day and evening in Dublin), and then drive to Galway and the Cloghan Castle on 8/4 and check-in. Alison and I will hang out at the Castle and welcome any and all visitors who want to stop by. As for the rest of you, this is as much of your time as it is ours – the only time we ask of you and yours would be on the day of the wedding 8/6 – otherwise, go explore Ireland, it’s a truly magical place to visit; make sure you stop to talk to the locals on your journey, they’re great and love to talk!! Alison and I, other than eating, will likely be hanging out at the Castle for the 4 days leading up to the wedding, so we’ll be around if you want to stop and say hi on your adventures! We check out of the Castle on the morning of 8/7 and will head back to Dublin that day. The plan is to stay the night in Dublin and then blast off on the honeymoon on 8/8 (the honeymoon destination is TBD at this point, but we are starting to lean in on a few ideas 😊)…I know there are a number of you who are planning to blast off on your own adventure somewhere else in Europe or beyond. We’re excited to hear where you all end up after bouncing from Ireland – I plan to set up a website for all of you to share where you went and photos of your adventures with us and everyone else! In case it’s not coming across in these emails, we are just as excited for each of you and the experiences you take away from this journey as our own. We can’t wait to hear from all of you and how this experience changed your life, your mind, your inner peace, or your perspectives. I’m a strong believer that traveling is one of the greatest ways to grow your mind, heart, and soul.
What’s happened since the last email? Alison has begun dress shopping! We also found a kilt shop in Galway, yes…the groomsmen WILL BE wearing kilts for the wedding! Undergarments are optional though…JK…NO ONE wants a peep show, so we have to figure that part out! LOL! Anyone and everyone are welcome to wear a kilt…when in Rome, minus the Mediterranean climate, beautiful sandy beaches, pasta, Tuscany, wine…pause for effect…well, minus all of the really cool Italian stuff! Did I mention Ireland has Castles!?! LOL, Please don’t go changing your plans to Italy until AFTER the wedding! Ireland has different cool stuff!! Lol
Mail Bag:
How do I get Euros? Most places take credit/debit. Ideally, take a card with no foreign exchange fee – that is your best bet. There will be money exchange locations in the major cities, Dublin and Galway. Always check what the exchange rate is before exchanging USD. I would advise against exchanging money at the airport, as they have some of the highest surcharges. You can withdraw euros from an ATM – you’ll likely get hit with a bank surcharge (withdraw fee) and then with an exchange fee, double taxation… There isn’t a perfect solution honestly once you’re over in Europe to exchange money, you’ll always end up paying, it’s just a matter of how much. Your local bank here in the States might be able to exchange USD for euros for little to no fee. Depends on the bank and often times they don’t have euros on hand, so you’ll need to get your euros a week or more in advance. Personally, I either find a foreign money exchange location with rates I’m comfortable with, or use an ATM in a pinch.
How much money (euros) should I get? Obviously, this depends on many factors, shopaholic?…you’ll want more, penny pinchers? not so much – lol. I typically will get between $300 – $500 in cash (euros) for the trip. I like to bring euros home with me, usually, $100, so that I have euros on hand when I go back, and don’t have to make it a priority to go get cash right away. You can always exchange the euros for USD before you head home.
Can I get my VAT taxes back? Foreigners can get their VAT tax (value-added tax – which is applied to products and services) refunded. The VAT tax is typically applied to products and/or services and can be up to 20% of the total cost, which is refundable to you as long as you have your receipt. You can get your VAT tax refund back at the airport (typically) before you return to the States. Some airports have ATM-like machines to you can add your receipts and they will spit out your refund. Others, there will be a person who will help you with the refund. If you spend a lot on your trip it’s worth it to get your VAT taxes back…if you’re not a spender, then it might not be worth the effort for a few bucks.
What should I have on my travel checklist? Make sure you have a valid passport! Also make sure your passport won’t expire while you’re gone, or that it is close to expiring before you leave. Some countries require that your passport have at least 6 months of life left on it, so make sure your passport is current. Ireland doesn’t require a Visa. Check the Covid regs based on your final destination both going and returning to the States (as of this writing, the States are more stringent than many other countries, so definitely check the return to State regs).
Do Ireland and Iceland use the same power plugs as the US? Unfortunately no,… Ireland and Iceland don’t even share the same power adapters. Ireland, like the rest of the UK, uses these very bulky power adaptors, think of your dryer/stove baby brother, they’re not small! Iceland uses the standard European adaptor, still big compared to the States, but not like how the UK is compromising for something…hmmmmm – lol. So, if you are planning to travel to any other part of Europe before or after Ireland you’re going to need two different adaptors. You can find both on Amazon, and they’re not super expensive ($20), and some adaptors have both styles in one called a universal plug adaptor – find one with multiple USB ports if you can for your cell phone and other devices you bring.
Do you have any packing tips? I’m a basic necessity traveler, typically I take a small bag and backpack, both carry-ons. I bring lightweight clothes and get vacuum seal travel bags (on Amazon) that I put my clothes in and then evacuate all the air out of them…doing this saves you soooooooo much space, which is awesome, so you have more room to bring home all those travel goodies!! I’m a guy, so I’m probably the wrong person to be giving packing advice here, but on a two-week trip, I’ll take 4 changes of clothes, wash them, and then mix and match. I also only take one pair of shoes, the ones I wear on the plane, good comfortable walking shoes…pretty low maintenance here. And if we do end up going somewhere fancy, I’ll buy a nice shirt there and find a good enough pair of shoes to “fake” fancy it (“like a date night at Applebee’s” – google it, it’s a song – annnnnnnnd you’re welcome – lol) 😊! Between Alison and I, we usually end of taking one bag/suitcase that is mostly empty, consolidating our stuff in 3 bags (all carry-ons), and then have a nearly empty bag so that we have room to bring home all the amazing “stuff” we can’t live without – lol! Remember, most of what you take, you can find in Europe so don’t overthink and overpack…and if you’re a clothes shopper, take fewer clothes than the days you’re staying, because you can supplement your outfits during your travels.
What kind of food can I expect? Generally speaking, meat and potatoes in Ireland. Some must-tries, Shepherd’s pie, Guinness-based Irish Stew, Colcannon and Champ, and Boxty. If you’re really adventurous, then you must try black or white pudding – also known as blood pudding – don’t watch the video on how they make it, or you will most certainly never try it! The first time I had it, yes, there was a second…lol, it took about 3 Guinness before I could get my mouth open to take a bite. The waitress kept stopping by and asking me what I thought…I told her I thought I was going to need another beer before I put that in my mouth! LOL…When I finally got up enough courage, I took a bite that required a microscope to see if it was on the fork…the second bite was more robust, and believe it or not, by the end of my meal I had eaten the whole thing. Not at all what you would expect from the flavor or texture, so don’t be afraid of your imagination, it’s far scarier than the pudding! 😊 Of course you have to get a Guinness and what better place than in Dublin at the Guinness brewery, which is must visit! Also, don’t forget the Jamison Irish Whisky distillery! There are two locations, one outside of Cork (Southeast), and one in Dublin.
If you made it this far, congratulations, I didn’t put you to sleep! Lol Send us your questions, comments, or any concerns you have with the trip…not just any concerns, trust me, you need better counseling than I can provide! Lol
Cheers,
A2Z
March 2022
Howdy, everyone! Happy St Patrick’s Day! Seems like a fitting day to send the monthly update as we count down to August 2023 and Ireland. Last month’s email included a brief on “Flying to Dublin” for folks in Portland, Seattle, Boise, Alabama, and Phoenix. We talked briefly about driving in Ireland, and currency, and highlighted places of interest on the north and south loops of the island. We also talked briefly about accessing Europe beyond Ireland. In this edition, we answer some of your questions.
What’s happened since the last email: We were happy to hear from so many of you regarding the excitement the last email created! Since then, we secured the wedding venue, Cloghan Castle (we actually did that a while back), but we do have the Castle reserved from 8/4 – 8/7; we will have the Castle all to ourselves, they give us the skeleton keys and it’s all ours! We’re looking forward to sharing this unique experience with you! We secured our photographer, a big win for us, and we have reserved the band (“Redwood”) for the evening of the wedding, hair, and makeup are also locked down as is the decorator! Surprisingly, we’re finding a lot of our first choice are already booked out this far in advance – apparently a backlog of weddings due to Covid, folks are booked out for >24 months – wow! Good thing we started booking folks now, or you all would be playing in the band, doing hair and makeup, and taking Tik-Tok videos! LOL! We also booked our flight to Ireland this June to meet with the folks we have on retainer for the wedding, as well as, ideally, lock down the rest of the wedding support team (flowers (needed still), and catering (needed still…this one’s going to be challenging it looks like – be prepared to cook if we can’t get this locked down! Lol).
Wedding Date: August 6th, 2023.
The Plan: The overall plan is starting to take a bit more shape…although the details still need to be worked out. There will be a group of us flying into Iceland before the wedding (this will be the bachelor and bachelorette “party” event) – guys will go on a guided fishing trip for the day while the ladies have a blue lagoon spa day. The next day we’ll caravan, as a group, around the island to see some of the sights (waterfalls, canyons, rainbows, rivers and visit some of the natural hot springs). The current thinking is we’ll spend 3 nights in Iceland (2 days of activities and 2 days for travel in and out of Iceland). If you want to partake in this part of the journey please let me know…we’re going to need secure spots on the boat and spa day passes – as things are booking up >1.5 years in advance, let me know as soon as you know). From Iceland, we’ll continue on to Ireland (a little over a 2hr flight). The wedding day is August 6th…Alison and I will be arriving in Ireland on 8/3, staying in Dublin for the evening, and then heading on to Cloghan Castle on the morning of 8/4 to get the keys and check in.
Mailbag – (answering your questions):
How far is it from Dublin to Cloghan Castle (near Galway)? It’s about 2.5 hours on a state highway (M4) if you drive.
Is driving the only option? Nope, you can get there by train or bus as well. The train takes about 2hr 15 min and there are 9 departures a day, costs about $30 euro (we’ll provide links in the future to the train schedule and ticketing). The bus is roughly $12 euros and takes about 2.5 hrs. If you prefer to take the train or bus, we can make arrangements to pick you up in Galway. Or, you could rent a car in Galway once you get there as well.
How far is Galway from the Castle? It’s 44 min southeast of Galway on the N67.
Where can we stay? Ireland is very unique when it comes to accommodations given how friendly, open, and welcoming the Irish are to their guests. They LOVE their Bed and Breakfasts! There are over 700 Bed & Breakfasts (B&Bs) on the Island and for many tourists is their favorite accommodation by far – why? Because you stay with a local who will be the friendliest people you’ve ever met, they treat you like family, and they feed you! Per night, near the Castle, it will cost between $30-$80 euro/night to stay at a B&B (https://www.bandbireland.com/), so for a 5-night stay, you’re looking between $150 – $400 euro total. Many of the B&Bs are OLD country houses, cottages, or rustic farmhouses. Other options are Hotels, some of which are castles themselves. There are also spa hotels nearby. Prices range between $80/night (euro) and up. You also have Airbnb options, anything from a private room to an entire house. We’ll be sending links to hotels and Airbnb’s in the area in a future email.
How are you getting to Ireland this June and how much did it cost? The best option we found, flying out of Boise, was to fly to Seattle and then direct to Dublin. We narrowed it down to two airlines (Iceland Air https://www.icelandair.com/ and Air Lingus https://www.aerlingus.com/html/en-US/home.html). The price difference was about $130 dollars (total). Iceland air was a little cheaper (6.5hrs from Seattle and then another 2+ hrs from Iceland to Dublin), but does require a 1hr 20min layover in Reykjavik. Air Lingus is direct (9hrs). We opted to pay a little more for the direct flight since we weren’t planning a stayover in Iceland on this trip. The cost was $1000/person – which included advanced seat selection (yes, you have to pay to choose your own seat ahead of the flight…); it also includes one 50lb checked bag per person, plus your two carry-ons.
Where can I fly to from Dublin? Anywhere! Once you’re in Dublin all of eastern and western Europe is available to you. Let’s take one of the further destinations from Dublin as an example: Dublin to Greece is a 4hr flight and costs $142 round trip was the cheapest I’ve found during August.
Other popular destinations in Europe:
- Dublin to Berlin (Germany): $65
- Dublin to Paris (France): $92
- Dublin to Milan (Italy): $53
- Dublin to London (England): $71
- Dublin to Prague (Czech): $90
- Dublin to Madrid (Spain): $43
- Dublin to Brussels (Belgium): $23
- Dublin to Porto (Portugal): $83
- Dublin to Zurich (Switzerland): $159
- Dublin to Dubrovnik (Croatia): $104
I want to see Normandy, how do I get there? From Paris, you have multiple options. You can rent a car and drive; it’s a 3hr drive. You can take a tour bus as well; there are daily departures. Once there, plan on spending an entire day. Might be worth staying at least one night at a local hotel, B&B, or Airbnb to get the full experience and not feel rushed.
I want to see Versailles, how do I get there? Versailles is about 45 min west of Paris. You can easily get there by train (the best option). You can also drive, but the train is so convenient it’s not really worth driving. The train costs about $8 euro round trip and you can catch an “RER C” train from central Paris which follows the Seine (river) until you get out of town – super easy to do – you can buy your ticket, same day, from any of the local train kiosks, which are located all over Paris. Once you arrive and depart the train station it’s about a 15 min walk to Versailles (turn right out of the train station and follow the crowd!). Don’t go on Monday – it’s closed. The gardens are free, to see inside the palace it’s $40 euros (buy your tickets in advance, to avoid the lines!).
When should I buy tickets to see an event? This is easy. Buy online, and never buy the same day if you can avoid it. Always get your tickets in advance…for some of the popular events you can stand in line for hours (out in the hot sun) to get in the same day, buying at the ticket booth. Skip those lines and buy online! While everyone else is sweating, cussing, and miserable, you’ll be bypassing all those miserable folks and headed into an air-conditioned room and starting your tour! This is true for museums, or anything touristy….
Where do I learn more about the places I want to visit? Books are good (usually outdated, unless you want to read history), but the best way to learn about your favorite destination is YouTube. Go to YouTube, type in your destination, and watch video blogs (vblogs). These are excellent resources to see the areas, learn about the food and culture and create a list of things you want to do and see while you’re watching. You can literally find a vblog for every destination you can think of…enjoy!
How much is this trip going to cost me? Obviously, costs are going to vary based on your own personal preferences, but we can give you a baseline (the costs below are per person).
- Plane ticket from the States to Ireland: ~$1000 (you can find cheaper flights – all depends on the type of ticket you buy (premium, refundable, economy, extra leg room…etc). Iceland Air has sales, might be worth signing up to get their emails.
- Accommodations: ~$30/night at a B&B (low end) range $30 – $80 euro/night. Airbnb $80 euro and up… a great option if you want to share with friends and family (share costs, which could end up being cheaper than the B&B).
- Food (we typically eat one big meal a day and snack the rest of the day – if you stay at a B&B breakfast is free with your stay): lunch – ~$10 euro; dinner ~$25 euro.
- Car rental: ~$30/euro/day – carpooling/car-sharing can significantly keep these costs down.
- Entertainment: Most of the castles are free to walk around. Some you have to pay to go inside (a few euros). Cliffs of Mohr, one of the most popular destinations are also free ($6 euro to park) and about 1.5hrs from Galway and a beautiful drive!!
The math: $1000 + $30 + $35 + $30 + $6 = ~$1,111. Minus the plane ticket, it will cost you about $111 per day. For a 5-day trip, you’re looking at ~$1,555 as an individual roughly. If you’re traveling with folks then this number will go down as you can share costs (car, accommodations). It’s actually a little more than that because the US dollar to Euro exchange rate is currently $0.92 dollar to 1 euro, which is really good. I’ve been to Europe in the past where it was $0.65 dollars to $1 euro.
Saving for the trip: From the time you read this email there are 18 months until “hitched” 😊… based on the math above that’s roughly $86/month one would need to save.
Again, if you have any questions at all feel free to shoot us an email, text, or call. If we don’t have the answer, I’m confident we can find it for you! We want to make this trip as easy as going to your favorite local destination where you don’t have to think about how you get there and what to do once you’re there!
Cheers,
A-2-Z
Feb 2022
Howdy, everyone! I know we’re still 17 months from Ireland (seems like a long time, but…wasn’t it just Christmas??!!), but wanted to start providing you all with some information to help you think through your options and plans for getting to and around Ireland and then options you have while you’re over in Europe. I know some of you haven’t committed either, so we thought it would be good for you to have some of this info to make an informed decision. Zero expectations! You’re all welcome to come, but completely understand if you don’t/can’t. No pressure here! We’re trying to get the message out now, so those who do want to come can plan.
Below are some travel tips to think about. I’ve been to Ireland 3 times myself and we’re planning another trip this June to meet with the wedding planner, caterer, photographer, etc…so happy to answer any questions you have!
Wedding Date: August 6th, 2023.
Flying to Dublin:
Portland and Seattle Folks: Iceland Air is a good option. You have one layover in Iceland (usually about 1hr 20min layover – you go through customs – plenty of time to get your passport stamped and get to your gate – plus Iceland is part Europe, so you don’t have to go through customs again when you land in Ireland). If you do fly Iceland Air, you can choose to “stayover” in Iceland for up to 5 days on the same itinerary – it’s essentially a long layover). There are direct flight options too – Air Lingues (Ireland’s international airline); Delta and American Airlines.
Boise Folks: There are no direct flight options. Minimally, you need to fly to one of these destinations first to catch a ride to Ireland. Boise -> Chicago; Boise -> San Fran; Boise -> Portland; Boise -> Seattle, Boise -> LA. Prices vary, sometimes by up to $400. It’s worth looking at all those options to see which one provides the best layover and price options.
Phoenix Folks: British Air and American are your best options with one layover.
Alabama Folks: Do they even have planes there??! I’m not sure if a donkey can get you there in time, better start walking now! LOL. You’re a million-miler, I’m sure they will send a helicopter to take you to your fancy Learjet to get you there!
Arriving in Dublin: You’ll land outside of Dublin, about a 20+ min drive/ride. They do have Uber there, but they are Taxi drivers. Only Taxi drivers are allowed to be Uber drivers, I know, weird, but your Uber app works the same way, you’re just riding in a cab. You can also rent a car at the airport – for the drive to Galway, you’ll want your own ride. If you do rent one at the airport you’ll have to go outside and across to the parking garage to get your car. NOTE: The Irish drive on the opposite side of the road, and the opposite side of the car. Also, most of their cars are manual transmissions. You can request an automatic, but it usually costs more. Diesel cars get better MPGs. The good news, the foot pedals are the same as in the States. Gas on the right, break on the left (middle if you’re driving a manual).
Driving in Dublin: As mentioned, driving is completely backward and they LOVE their roundabouts – remember it’s clockwise…otherwise, it’s a change of shorts, a lot of screaming, and a dodge-car – LOL. The roads, outside of the highways, are narrow (seriously narrow!), not like our SUV-sized roads here. Once you get out of town and off the highway, their roads are about as wide as 1.5 of our narrowest roads here in the States – and two cars fit on them…It’s tight! You’re going to be white-knuckling it until you get used to it – there will be an on-coming car on one side of you (and not the side you’re used to) and a rock wall just off the pavement on the other side of you! Bring your anxiety meds and clinch those butt cheeks!! LOL. Oh, and sometimes you have to stop and back up down the road to find a place you can squeeze off the road (into the bushes) to let the giant tour buses go by on those narrow roads…cause you both aren’t fitting! Truth!
Getting from Dublin (East coast) to Galway: The wedding is on the West Coast, which is about a 3+ hr drive (don’t worry, it’s all on their state highway (M4) which is a lot like ours in the States – consider this your driving warm up lesson, before the shallow breathing, eyes closed, and “oh my god are we going to fit” driving). The highway to Galway cuts Ireland in half (North and South). We’ll send directions and other details as we get closer and also coordinate carpooling, where to stay/accommodations, and all those other details. I’ll also be sending more emails with things to do in Dublin and Galway along with some of the other highlights around where we’ll be staying.
Wedding location: Cloughan Castle this is where we’ll be getting hitched; the castle was built in 1239 – It’s old, almost 100 years older than I feel every morning! 😊 It’s southwest of Galway about 30 min. We have the Castle to ourselves for 4 days (August 4th – 7th)…they give us the Skelton key it’s all ours – there’s a pond and I think we have access to a boat)! The wedding party will be staying with us at the castle – we’re going to put them all to work! 😉
Money: Ireland is part of the EU, and its currency is the Euro. Most places take credit/debit, so you really don’t have to carry cash. I usually carry $200 in euros just in case I find a market or street vendor who doesn’t take a card.
Sight Seeing: If you’re planning to see more of Ireland while you’re there and want to drive one of the loops (Northern or Southern), below are some of the highlights. You honestly can’t go wrong with either loop – I’ve done them both. It takes about 4 days (3 nights) to drive either loop (back to Dublin from Galway) and see all the sights. I’m happy to answer any questions you have.
Northern Loop highlights – Giants Causeway, Northern Coast (steep cliffs + Castles), Belfast (N. Ireland – if you like history, especially the conflict between N. Ireland and S. Ireland you’ll want to visit here), The Dark Hedges, Londonderry (“Derry”), Ashford Castle.
Southern Looper highlights – Cliffs of Moher, Ring of Kerry, Ring of Beara (Beautiful!, and lesser known of the two “rings”), Cork (English Market and Jameson Distillery Experience (Irish Whiskey!!), Blarney Castle, Kilkenny Castle.
Access to Europe: You’ve come this far…take advantage of it if you can!! Flights to Scotland from Dublin, are $24. Flights to London, are $58. Want to see Paris, $65. Want to go have pasta in Rome, $65… Barcelona and beaches, $60! Portugal? $58. Greece, $75. Seriously, book a separate flight out of Dublin to one or more of your bucket list countries and go – travel time varies, Scotland is about a 25 min flight, or you can drive, or take a boat! Once you’re in your bucket list country you can take a highspeed train to a neighboring country for the price of 2-3 Starbucks coffees…I’ve visited all of western Europe, happy to answer any questions you have – where to stay, what to see, and how much time to spend while you’re there. Happy to help!
Look for more updates in the future: If you want me to highlight anything in the next email let me know. Also, send me your questions and I’ll add/answer them. So far, we have 30 people who are planning on coming and then some who are still considering (all are on this email thread, just BCC’ed). Everyone who wants to come is welcome – this is a once a in a lifetime opportunity for us and the more people we can share it with the better! For those of you who don’t know if you’re coming yet, let me know as soon as you know for sure that would be super helpful as we plan. For those of you who are coming for sure, email Alison and I and let us know how many we should expect.
I’ll include COVID updates as we get closer to next year….things are trending in the right direction on that front!
Oh, and if you don’t want to receive more of these emails from me – let me know – I can make that happen! Lol
Cheers,
A-2-Z
a2z Ireland Wedding 2023 