Weekend at Camp Argiro : A Forest Fairytale Wedding

Tucked between the trees, the bride and groom exchanged I Love You's & Promises to last a lifetime.

My beautiful friend from San Diego, Ruth, was tying the knot in Salamanca, NY, and I was fortunate enough to attend. It started with a road trip. Having been staying in Cazenovia, just south of Syracuse, I was able to hitch a ride with my friend Stephanie and her friend Caleb. I took a train into Rochester where they came and picked me up and we made our way down south.

Camp Turner, the location of the weekend festivities, is located in Allegany State Park, a decently sized forest that stretches down into Pennsylvania. Extremely beautiful, to say the least.

Camp Turner transformed into Camp Argiro as we spent Friday night getting situated in our cabins, followed by pizza and wings, drinking, games, and a bonfire, while breaking all of the camp rules in the process. I thought it was so neat that all of the guests were able to stay in cabins, all in one location. As a few sat around the fire, it was around 1am that it started the downpour. The weather had called for rain, but we all hoped it wouldn't come. First the lightening struck, then the wind picked up, then the clouds began to cry. I scurried into the cabin, bundled up, and fell asleep to the sound of steady rainfall.

When I awoke the next morning, I hoped, for the outdoor-ceremony's sake, that the storm had passed. Unfortunately, it was still coming down. Nothing too torrential, just a slight misting, but still coming. Each guest slowly but surely made their way into the mess hall where we were served fresh coffee, french toast, and lots of fruit. I was so impressed that both friends and family of the bride and groom came together to help cook and serve all of the meals over the course of the weekend. & Everything was delicious, at that!

Ruthie, the bride, could be spotted running to and fro, making sure the last bits and details were in order. When she asked Stephanie and I to help with the decorating, I was so happy to help. The actual wedding ceremony took place under a canopy of trees; it didn't need much of sprucing as it was already so naturally beautiful.

 It was an absolute fairytale wedding, but not of the traditional sort. It was much much more. Ruth was a stunning forest princess with flower fairies leading the way as she walked down the aisle encircled with trees. She wore a beautiful gown with a self-handmade headpiece that was absolutely incredible. Self hand-written vows were the highlight of the whole weekend. Flowing with tears, everyone listened as Ruthie made lifelong promises and Adam explained how much Ruth has positively effected his life. Both Ruth and Adam laid their hearts out in their vows and I was so touched by what they both said. The ceremony was finished with a Cherokee poem of love; more beautiful words could not have been spoken.

 These two best friends became one promise of love, adventure, and a lifetime of happiness.

During the cocktail hour, the sun began to set and lit up the camp. It was beautiful. We spent the rest of the night feasting, celebrating, and dancing away!




Ruth, thank you so much for inviting me to be a part of your special weekend. Everything was absolutely beautiful-the location, the ceremony, the words, the company. You looked beyond gorgeous and I'm so impressed with everything you did and all the hard work you put into this magical wedding! Sending lots of love to you newlyweds!!

xoxo

I Dare You To Move

I am the biggest advocate for change, honestly. Routine is monotony and monotony is death. Life without change, experience, or challenge, is a life I'd never want to live. I am a change-encourager. I will encourage anyone and everyone to get up, get out, and experience the world. I say "doooo it!" to almost everything.

There are a lot of popular articles floating around nowadays on reasons why young 20-somethings should travel. Most of the time they're titled something like: '10 Reasons Why You Should Quit Your Job and Buy a Plane Ticket' or '8 Life Lessons You Will Learn As A Young Traveler'. To be honest, I'm a sucker for these articles. Not just because they're talking about travel, all the benefits of it, and the surplus of amazing aspects to it, but also the fact that these articles are written by 20-something year olds who have actually gone out and done it. It's people of youth encouraging people of youth. They have passion and drive and want to share that with our generation.


Realizing how much I enjoy those articles, I thought I might make one of my own. Granted, I haven't been to nearly enough places to consider myself a travel expert, but I want to share with you what I have learned in my few travels and what drives me to keep traveling. Here are my top reasons why

"I Dare You To Move"

1. You'll Experience, You'll Respond, You'll Gain Perspective

 | Experience: An event or occurrence that leaves an impression on someone. |

When you travel, you're not just seeing a place, you're experiencing it. You're living it. Whether it be a good experience or a bad one, it leaves an impression, it makes a mark.

| Response: Act or behave in reaction to someone or something. |
With every situation, you'll have to respond in a certain manner. An experience might trigger a happy response, a nervous one, a scared one, a sad one, etc.

| Perspective: A particular attitude toward or way of regarding something; a point of view. |
With each experience and response, you'll gain a way of viewing it. Even a bad experience can give you a new perspective, and that's a good thing.

Back in 2012, while studying in Spain,  I went on a guided tour to Morocco. One stop on the tour was a Moroccan magic carpet shop. A group of Moroccan men casually circled 100 foreign exchange students around a rug man who tried to sell us on the black market  us Moroccan carpets. While this man spread nearly 200 rugs on the floor in a salesman representation, we were encouraged to say "yes" and "no" in the arabic language. As fellow students in my tour shouted their praises "Lah" or "Waja", the men would pile these carpets at their sides. I kept silent; I was uncomfortable. At the end of the presentation, the students with rugs were taken by a salesman into separate cubicles and told, in broken english, to "make an offer". This whole process did not end well. Many of my friends felt pressured into making purchases. I saw buyer's remorse the very second after cards were swiped. One girl tried to instantly return her 300 euro rug, with no avail. She left the rug behind and told them she was going to dispute the charge to her credit card company. Come a couple hours later, the rug showed up at our hotel, with a notice that they reduced the charge to 150 euro. She couldn't escape the purchase she had made. After this stop, we stopped at many more open markets and shops along the way. With each place we went we were asked to "make an offer".

This experience is one that I will never forget. My response to it was discomfort. It was the first time I ever dealt with a barter/bargain like market. This was the first time I ever experienced real culture shock. I gained a new perspective. I realized that many markets work in this manner and it just wasn't something I was used to, or comfortable with. Looking back, I don't hate Morocco or my experience there because I learned a great deal from it.

2. You'll Learn A Lot About Other People

As a person who got a degree in European Studies, you could say I value culture, a lot. I find it to be the most vital aspect in understanding others. When you travel, you get to see firsthand how other people live. Those raised with different customs, values, languages, and traditions. Our social norms are extremely different than most places in the world. Going to a bar everyday in the US means you're an alcoholic. In Spain, it means you're social.

3. You'll Learn Even More About Yourself
"Find yourself." Cliche, I know. But any less true? Not one bit. I personally believe that life is not meant to be lived in one place. There is a big world out there for a reason. Explore it.

4. You'll Be Challenged
You might be forced to communicate in another language, figure out a public transit route, eat a type of food you never thought you would, live on a budget, etc. Challenges make you learn and make you grow. If you're not in fear of something, and facing it, you're not growing. Do what scares you.

5. You'll Make Mistakes..Again...and Again & They'll Make a Great Story
On multiple occasions, I was extremely close to sleeping on the street, in the bus stations, and in the  subway stations. Once in Madrid, Once in Barcelona, Once in Paris. Well, in Madrid, it wasn't close, it happened. Sort of. Many of these occurrences could have been avoided, but time and time again, they continued happening. Mistakes are okay, and often times repeated. What do you do with a mistake? Make it a story & laugh about it.

6. You'll Realize You Don't Just Fall in Love with People, but with Places
Near and dear to my heart. Salamanca was my first love. Then Barcelona. Then London. Love isn't just for people, it's for places. They, like people, make you feel something. Sometimes sad, sometimes happy, excited, you name it. They're emotive and can tug at the heart strings. When you're separated, you feel a longing and feel detached from something that once made you feel comfort. Traveling makes you fall in love all over the world.

7. You'll Learn Bicycles are the BEST Method of Transportation
They just are. Honestly. Some of my best memories while traveling through Europe are the days I rode bicycles. Buzzed bike riding in Valencia for "Las Fallas". Pedaling up the Champs-Élysées, past the Arc de Triomphe and the Louvre, with a final swing under the Eiffel Tower at 2am. Rushing past traffic while biking on "the wrong side of the road" in London, in hopes to make it in time for the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace. My most recent bicycle ride, around Central Park, included passing by street artists, performers, and horse drawn carriages.

 

8. When If You Come Back, You'll Never Be the Same
Traveling changes you. Not the resort style "I laid back and sat at a pool" type traveling, but the kind I explained above. You bring all of the experiences, the challenges, the lessons, the mistakes, the feelings, and the discoveries back with you. Going back to where you once started is not the same as never leaving.

I'm so excited, I have 17 days left and I will be back in Europe! Can't wait to have new experiences to contribute to why I travel, and why you should too. 

Safe travels ;) xoxo