Several have asked why we were married in New Zealand since we had never been there before, nor did we have any family connections there. Actually, it was our second choice. We talked about getting married in Fiji on the way to New Zealand, but found it was not allowed. Evidently Fiji is plagued with a lot of spontaneous marriages, so the Fijian authorities instituted a two week waiting period after arriving on the island to be qualified to apply for a marriage license. So we pre-applied at the NZ consulate in Los Angeles and were officially sanctioned for civil matrimony upon arrival and went straight to Russell, NZ for the ceremony.
We had a week to ourselves prior to our friends arriving for the NZ hiking trip we had planned. Diane, Kevin and Pam showed up with bright red tee shirts for us and the 14 other hikers to wear. The legend printed on their shirts said “I slept with Susan and Mike on their honeymoon”. On our shirts it said “I slept with 14 strangers on my honeymoon”.
Everyone accepted the shirts with good humor until one night we decided to wear them as a group on a dinner cruise. In the dining room, we got looks of amazement, offense and disgust from the other dinners. One mother with two pre teen boys is quietly explaining what the wording on the shirts mean. I think this is a conversation she would have chosen to avoid for few years.
Why New Zealand? We think the people who were offended by the tee shirts will have forgotten us after 15 years.
Hope your having an awesome time. Can't wait for more post. It's cold here...
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