2 #Weddings in 1 Weekend ~ #Travel #CT #NJ Mini #vacation

The scenery around The Pond House in CT was beautiful!

I love weddings, and not just because I'm a romance author.  A celebration of love and commitment is always a happy occasion, and I always do my best to attend any that I'm invited to.  After all, families and friends often gather from all over for sad occasions such as a funeral, so I try to give just as much weight to the opportunities to see loved ones for the joyous events like weddings and baptisms.  Last fall, I took quite a trip (car ride, train ride, another car ride) to get from Cape Cod, MA, to Staunton, Virginia, in the Shenandoah Valley, for my cousin's wedding, which took a total of about 12 hours...I could have made it to Hawaii in that time I think!  But I had a great time with my siblings, and my sister and I explored an abandoned sanatorium in MD along the way (I also write ghost stories, and we're both a fan of all things spooky), and we finished off the long weekend with my niece's baptism.

That was the last wedding I went to until this weekend, and when we initially received two "Save the Date" cards for weddings on the same weekend, we panicked for a moment.  One was for my side of the family--my step-brother--and the other was for my husband's side of the family--his cousin.  And they were BOTH out of town.

Wedding #1 in Jersey City, at the Liberty House
What a view, the Manhattan skyline in the
background!

But when we compared the two cards, we realized we might be able to swing attending both.  The first one was a Friday evening, although all the way in Jersey City, NJ.  The second one was on that Sunday morning, in West Hartford, CT...which would be on our way home from NJ and only 2 1/2 hours from our return home on Sunday evening.

I'm thrilled to say both weddings and receptions went off without a hitch (that I saw, anyway), and it was great fun to see both sides of the family in one weekend.  Since we had Saturday to ourselves, my hubby and I also got to spend some quality time together (our teen boys had work and sports commitments, so they stayed home and also watched and probably play a lot of Fortnight).  We had a relaxing morning in the hotel, got to CT by 4 pm, and then walked around the very cute downtown area of West Hartford.  A little shopping, dinner outside at Max's Oyster House, and drinks on the rooftop of the Elbow Room.  

Cute restaurants and stores in West Hartford!

Hmmm...

We didn't get to stop at any haunted locations, which is always something I like to do when I travel, but I did notice a few slightly creepy aspects involved with both weddings:  the first one was on Friday the 13th, which is pretty brave...here's more on Why People Fear Friday the 13th in one of my Superstitions posts.  And the second wedding was on Asylum Road.  I feel like there's a story there I need to investigate!

One last practical part of the weekend that made me happy:  I got to wear the same dress!

Same pose, same clothes, at Wedding #2