Search

A hangover suggests a great night, jet lag suggests a great adventure. Well, this is it. This is our final blog before we are all in Italy! This is insane. As this blog publishes, Taylor and I will be less than 4 sleeps from boarding our flight! WE ARE SO EXCITED! Tips on beating jet lag | Tips on packing | Do's & Don'ts | Guest Photos & Videos If you didn't know, I have been quite the world traveler over the past few weeks. On one of my many flights, I had the pleasure of sitting next to a Pilot and a Flight Attendant who have been flying international routes for a combined 50+ years. And yes, you guessed it - we chatted the entire flight. Shocking, I know. Meet Captain Darin & Lead Flight Attendant Shelly: But during our flight, I asked a TON of questions (again, I know you're surprised) below are some final tips on how to beat jet lag, packing, and travel tips in general. *Quick reminder: If you are in the Wedding Party, please put your suit or dress in your CARRYON luggage. Please DO NOT check your Wedding Party suit, dress, or other accessories you might need!* Tips on beating Jet Lag Drink lots of water, stay hydrated! Try to sleep whenever you can, including on the plane Only think about the timeline you’re traveling to (it’s a mental game), the minute we step on the plane you're in a new time zone Skip the booze (it’s a quick way to feel dehydrated quickly), plus plane booze generally is just not good When you land take a quick nap, then force yourself to get up and go outside. Once you feel the fresh air, you’ll be ready to go! Try to make it until 7-8 PM in the time zone, your next day self will thank you More than one glass of wine will not help you sleep Don’t take Zanex or Ambien with any alcohol (I heard a lot of stories about passengers coming out of the bathroom naked...it was wild) Melatonin is your friend Dress in layers - the crew likes to keep it chilly, and no, they won't change the temperature for you Tips on packing Wedding Party: Pack your wedding party attire (dress, suit, shoes, etc.) in your carry-on. Please DO NOT check it in your bag. If you do, it will inevitably get lost. Pack a water reusable water bottle. Pack an external battery - you'll want this as you wander around. Ladies, pack dual-voltage hair tools. If you can get away with ones that are mini or travel-sized, even better. Always use a converter with your dual-voltage hair tools. I use one with a surge protector, 100/10 recommend. Keep one or two converters and adapters in your carry-on. Put Airtags in your luggage! These are a godsend, they will also give you peace of mind about where your luggage is at any given time. If you are connecting anywhere in Europe (especially London Heathrow), make sure anything that is not a solid is in a liter-sized bag and can close securely. I (and countless others) have had several things (mascara, foundation, toothpaste, concealer, lipstick, RX creams, anything that is not 100% solid) thrown away in connection because they didn't fit in my single zip-lock bag. EU airports are notoriously strict about this. Lay out all your clothes and capsulize your wardrobe. Lay everything out and ensure you can mix and match. Pack comfortable walking shoes. If they are waterproof, even better! Packing cubes are your friend! They will help you stay organized and give you a way to keep the dirty clothes separate from the clean ones. Pack a raincoat and/or an umbrella. Depending on where you go in Europe, it does tend to rain a lot. While it may not rain every day, you'll be glad you have something more sturdy than a plastic poncho. Pack TSA-approved luggage locks. These are great for securing your luggage if you plan to store it somewhere while you tour around. Pack a lightweight bag or backpack that you can use while you explore. You'll want something less bulky and collapsable. If you plan on purchasing a lot of souvenirs, consider packing a small duffle or something to alleviate the packing room. If you plan on spending time outside, pack bug spray. The bugs can be bad in the heat near waterlogged areas. Pack a day or two of clothes in your carryon. IF your checked bag gets lost, you'll have a change of clothes handy. Plus, it's always nice to have a change of clothes in case you spill something, or just feel grungy and want to change. This tip comes from the wonderful Liz Oster! Now, I've never done this, but as a fellow seasoned travel (who's father is an orthopedic surgeon), she recommends purchasing Medjet travel insurance. You can learn more here. For a more detailed packing list, check out this blog. Do's and Don'ts Some of these may seem self-explanatory, but unfortunately, they need to be said. Don't take photos in the customs line. My mother did this last year and almost got pulled out of the line to be questioned. Customs is NOT the place to make memories, just blend in and get through. Be kind, and courteous to the flight and train crews. Something happened during covid and people forgot how to act like civil human beings. Grace costs you nothing. They are just trying to do their jobs, don't be an asshole. Flight crews are very quick to kick people off flights these days, and don't give them a reason to turn that plane around. (I experienced this two weeks ago, it was insane. No, I wasn't kicked off, but I witnessed someone else...long story, tell you later.) Read up on tipping at restaurants. In a lot of areas, it's seen as an insult. Do your research, but a general rule of thumb is tipping isn't "a thing" in Italy. Plan your tours early. Since late September / early October is considered "off-season" they may cancel unfilled slots. Don't go cashless. While most places will take (and even prefer) credit cards, most will accept cash. It's good to keep a few Euros on you just in case. Get to the airport and train stations early! The Rome (FCO) airport was WILD when we flew back last year. We got there with two and a half hours until boarding and BARELY made it. You will have to go through passport control before you are cleared to board, and it was a mess. Take lots of photos and videos. As many of you know, I create annual photo books for us. We love looking at them, but it wouldn't be possible without all the memories! Don't mistake this advice, we want you to be present and in the moment, but remember to snap some images to look back on later! Be prepared for something to go wrong. If your flight gets delayed, or you miss your train - or one of the other millions of things that can happen. It's okay, it happens to all of us at some point. While we hope everyone has seamless and stress-free travel, shit happens. Please let us know if there is anything we can do to help. And, for the love of God, PLEASE, Wedding Party, PLEASE DO NOT put your suit or dress in your checked luggage. Guest Photos, Videos, & Messages Speaking of photos and videos...we want to encourage all of you to take as many and all the photos and videos as your hearts desire! But, we want to see them, too! We have a shared album where we kindly ask all guests to upload photos and videos to the shared album. **Our only caveat to this is that we have FANTASTIC photography and videography teams covering all wedding events. Please be mindful of their shots and adjust/move as they request. For example, we love that you want a photo of us coming down the aisle, but we don't want your arm in our photos. Don't get us wrong your arm is beautiful, stunning even! But it won't look right over our fireplace (or the other theoretical place we will hang these photos one day).** This shared album also acts as our virtual guest book! Please feel free to submit messages that we will be able to download and reference every day. (That's what you do with guestbooks, right? You look at them every day? Seems right.) Following the wedding, we will send out a link via email where everyone can view, download, and share all the photos and videos from all wedding events. You can use the QR code below to get started in sharing the love (and memories). Disposable Cameras One more thing, we will have disposable cameras out and around during all wedding events. These are for you to use!! Please use them and snap all the fun candid memories! They do have some "instructions"...if you went to summer camp in the 90s/early 2000s, or you lived through the 80s, you should be familiar. Take a scroll through their "instructions" below. *Quick reminder, again: If you are in the Wedding Party, please please PLEASE put your suit or dress in your CARRYON luggage. Please, we beg of you, DO NOT check your Wedding Party suit, dress, or other accessories you might need!* We are so eternally grateful. Thank you all so much for being willing to come on this adventure with us! If you have any questions, please reach out. We are here and we cannot wait to SEE YOU IN ITALY! Arrivederci! Courtney & Taylor

Rome. I will cherish my visit here in memory as long as I live. We are two weeks out! Can you believe it!? We are so excited to see you all IN ITALY! AHHH! Packing list images | Packing list PDF | Over the next week... As promised, here is a suggested packing list for those of you who asked. This list is just a guideline. If something doesn't apply to you, please feel free to ignore it. If we left something off (it's a bit hectic around here right now), please comment below so others can be reminded as well! You can either download the images or the PDF version below. If you have questions about the attire for any and all wedding events, please check out the Wedding Information section of the website. Or, just text us! *Remember: The venue is mostly soft grass and gravel. Pack your shoes accordingly.* Packing List Images Packing List PDF If you have any questions or just want to chat through your packing, please don't hesitate to reach out! We are here for you. We hope you all are as excited as we are! Lastly... Over the next week, you can expect one more blog and one more email. The blog will be some final suggestions before we all depart overseas. The email will be your arrival and departure shuttle confirmations with available payment methods. Please keep an eye out for this email, we will need a response with a confirmation. Shuttle pickup will be shared via the WhatsApp group. You can join the link in via this blog. We love you all, and cannot wait to celebrate with you! Arrivederci! Courtney & Taylor

You bring in a sous chef from an Italian restaurant and I'm the one in therapy? Taylor and I leave for Italy in three weeks. That's insane. It's real. And we CANNOT wait!! The quote above is from Big Night written, starring, and created by Stanley Tucci (clearly, some of you didn't read the Suggested Watching blog....). If you haven't read his book Taste: My Life Through Food, I highly recommend it. You can find it at your library or your preferred local book vendor. #ShopSmall He does narrate the audiobook if that's your thing. Also, since we are talking about Stanley Tucci, be sure to watch Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy on Max. You'll thank us later. Downloadable Schedule | Communication | Facilities at the Borgo | Confirmation Emails & Paying for Tours We wanted to provide you all with an estimated "run of show" (if you will) of the wedding events among other things. The image below you should be able to save and download to your phone or tablet for easy access. Communication While in Italy, we will use this WhatsApp group to communicate changes, details, exact pick-up spots, etc. You can find the link the join the group here or via the QR code. Facilities at Borgo Casa Bianca Pool Tennis court Restaurant Open for breakfast from 8:00 AM - 10:30 AM Open for lunch from 12:30 PM - 2:30 PM Open for dinner from 7:30 PM - 9:30 PM Bar by the restaurant Open from 12:00 PM - 7:00 PM Poolside bar Open from 3:00 PM - 6:00 PM Laundry service provided by the venue Self-Service Laundry A quick note on the restaurant and bars: All guests are responsible for their own meals, bar tabs, snacks, etc. purchased during their stay. Breakfast is included in your room rate. Restaurant and bar opening times are subject to change based on that day's wedding events. Dani was able to negotiate a slightly later check-out for us on Saturday. Woohoo! As you'll see on the schedule above, instead of their normal 9 AM check-out, our check-out is at 10 AM. The shuttle leaves for Florence at 10:15 AM. We know many of you will have trains booked, so please be ready to go if you are taking the shuttle. Over the next few days, you will receive an email with the confirmation of your RSVPs and instructions on how to pay for your tours. Please respond to those emails within 48 hours. If you have any questions, please let us know! Arrivederci! Courtney & Taylor

To see this working, head to your live site. Categories All Posts My Posts Forum Welcome! Ask questions, join a discussion, and get ready for the wedding! Create New Post General Discussion Share stories, ideas, pictures and more! subcategory-list-item.views subcategory-list-item.posts 2 Follow Questions & Answers Get answers and share knowledge. subcategory-list-item.views subcategory-list-item.posts 1 Follow Forum - Frameless