HARKNESS HOTEL HONEYMOON WEEKEND

I have been struggling to start this blog post. My husband and I started talking about getting married for a few months before we talked to any of our family about it. I guess we just wanted to be sure before we started getting people’s hopes up. My sister and her family were moving to North Carolina this summer, and in order for them to attend, we had to get married a month after we officially made the decision! That sounds insane right? Somehow, we pulled it off (with the help of so many amazing friends and family). I want to do a more in-depth wedding blog post once our photos are finished, but I just felt like a brief explanation for the quick changes would help this post make more sense.

HARKNESS HOTEL

Wyatt and I both have internships that we started prior to getting married, so we knew that our honeymoon would be a short one. We finally decided that Lava Hot Springs would be a great place because my sister and brother in law had enjoyed their trip there just a few months prior to ours. I am not much of a trip planner, so I was happy to have all the recommendations my sister could give me!

When my sister started telling me that a historic building had been restored into a gorgeous, modern hotel, I knew that we had to stay there! I was so excited, and looked online to pick a room. The rooms were priced really well, and I immediately decided on the one that I wanted Wyatt and me to stay in—the Indigo room.

The wall color was gorgeous, and the fireplace looked so pretty and romantic. Honestly, the thing that caught my attention and sealed my decision was the gorgeous bathtub. Everything about the room was gorgeous, so the decision was EASY.

Even the lobby of the hotel was amazing. I couldn’t stop telling Wyatt how gorgeous the hotel was. I took a picture at pretty much every angle I could think of to capture the space, but pictures just can’t really capture the way that really beautiful things glow in real life (I tried my best, so hopefully it will suffice ;).

The Indigo room was warm and inviting, and the natural light brilliantly spread over the whole space. That might have been my favorite part (along with 1,000 other things). Wyatt was really drawn to the big wood frame around the headboard and the natural light. It was the perfect space to spend time together after a busy, tiring, amazing, magical wedding day. We laid in bed eating peanut butter M&Ms and watched two movies before finally deciding to go explore the actual town. The room was almost too gorgeous to leave. Even the door knob was beautiful!

The bathroom really was the star of the room with the dramatic bathtub, the sparkling light fixtures, and the double headed shower. I just love when you walk into a hotel room, and you can immediately tell that it was cleaned really well. This was one of those times. Most of the messages I received on instagram were after I posted a picture of the gorgeous tub. It really is the star of the décor.

I wish everybody could marry Wyatt Christensen. Obviously, they can’t because I already caught him, but he really is the best. If you can’t marry Wyatt, then hopefully you can at least try to marry somebody who will stop what they’re doing to open the blinds so you can get the shot you want. I mean seriously. He’s the best.

Being the nerd that I am, I love history. I love old things being turned into beautiful things again. It inspires me. I think restoring something that people think is lost sends so much good into the universe. Maybe it’s hope, positivity, or just the belief that things can always get better. Whatever it is, I could feel it when I was looking at the pictures that had been taken prior to the hotel’s restoration. Honestly, there is nothing I love more than a lost treasure… well maybe just Wyatt. 

SUNKEN GARDENS

When we were finally out and about on our last day in Lava Hot Springs, we decided to walk through the sunken gardens. I am such a flower lover. I realize it could be because of my English ancestry, or the freshness that they bring to every space, but when I read about them online, I really wanted to go see for myself. However, the actual garden wasn’t very big, but it was so whimsical. It added a special touch to our trip. Haley + holding hands with Wyatt + flowers = perfect day. I mean, it just makes sense! There was even a moss game of tic tac toe that made me want to get more imaginative while gardening.

I hope you all get a chance to go see this gorgeous hotel. You can follow a link to their website here! Wyatt and I will definitely be back because we had so much fun. I hope you enjoy the photos, and I can’t wait to show you some from our wedding!!

xx, Haley