Since we live in New England now, we decided to take advantage with a mini-moon at a cozy inn in Maine! Immediately following the ceremony, we took off for the Portsmouth Harbor Inn & Spa in Kittery, where a gorgeous bouquet from my parents and step-parents was already waiting.

First order of business was a duet massage, which was GLORIOUS, especially since I think I left my body while getting married and needed a few minutes/hours/years to fully comprehend wtf I had just done.

We followed up the massage with some technology time to get a few “errrrr, we just got married” announcements out of the way.

And to enjoy the complimentary tea and molasses cookies.

Dinner was yummy but OMGSOSPICY Indian food at Tulsi. If you ever eat there, please do yourself a favor and order it mild!

Dessert was our complimentary prosecco … that took about 45 minutes to figure out how to open.

Day 2 involved a stunning yet freezing and wet cliff walk in Ogunquit, ME in the morning …

… and an unpictured, very necessary two hours in the outdoor hot tub at the inn to thaw our bones.

Saturday night, we ventured across the river to Portsmouth, NH.

Dinner was at The Friendly Toast, which had better ambience than food.

I think we were supposed to be posing with our rings here … though I clearly did not do a very good job.

After dinner, we took the famous Christmas Stroll at Strawberry Banke.

Highlight #1 = Irish music, molasses cookies, and hot cider in the old barn!

Highlight #2 = live pottery!

Highlight #3 = Bonfire!!

Sunday morning, we took one last stroll through Portsmouth …

  

… before embarking on our on-the-way-home “wine and cheese” tour.

Our first stop was Hickory Nut Farm for goat cheese and much more.

I’m not sure it gets sweeter than this:

We let ourselves into the most charming stall store ever …

… and loaded up on cheeses and soaps before setting out for our next stop, Flag Hill Winery.

We availed ourselves of the free tasting and then took a walk around the grounds.

Off-season vineyards are so dramatic. I was ready to pitch a tent and live here.

Stop 2 was Windroc Vineyard:

Our third and final stop was Zorvino Vineyards.

We saw this poor, cold girl in a wedding dress walking up and down and up and down and up and down the rows of grape vines while three photographers shouted orders at her. And I was so glad to have eloped.

We bought one bottle of wine from each vineyard, and they were all delicious. Who knew New Hampshire could make wine? Granted, they were mostly non-grape fruit wines … but that’s even better as far as I’m concerned. And we barely scratched the surface! We probably could have spent weeks covering all the vineyards, dairy farms, and chocolatiers that were in the area.

We returned home exhausted and full of New England pride … and totally ready for a week lying on a beach in a tropical locale. Too bad we were back to work the next day.

Thank goodness for amazing coworkers that kept the celebrating alive with a decorated office chair, gifts, and a real, live wedding cake!

We even got to take the top layer home to freeze for next year. I’m such a lucky girl 🙂