Honeymoon Highlights: El Morro Castle

Guarding the entrance to Havana Bay in Cuba, this amazing fortress structure was built by the Spanish in 1589 to defend the port city. It has also been used on and off as a prison and is now open to tourists.

A staircase linking two levels of the fortress

Spikes!

Looking in to Havana Bay

More stairs

Looking out across the ship graveyard and the entrance to the bay

A water jug

Entrance to an old prison chamber

The door to this cell is less than 1m tall

A well and cannons

The walls to the fortress are up to 6m thick in parts

An ornate cannon

It was a very cool place to explore, lots of stairs though! It is awesome to stand in a place that has such history about it.

Wedding Wednesday: In the nuthouse.

I know that I have mentioned before that we had most of our photos done before the ceremony (shock and horror, what about tradition?) but I haven't talked about the location. We had our photoshoot in the abandoned mental hospital at Gladesville.

Photography by Matthew Mead

Gladesville Mental Hospital is a really beautiful place on the Parramatta river, and since all inpatient treatment was stopped there and the hospital decomissioned in the 1990s it is largely abandoned and parts of it have run derelict. There are still a few NSW Health offices on site, but there are many buildings that have been left to ruins, and one area was developed in to high density housing.

People say that it is haunted and there are ghosts. Wouldn't surprise me! According to records there are over 1200 unmarked graves on the site. It started off as a horrible place to be when it was first established in the mid 1800s, however serious advances in the way people with mental illness and mental disability are treated were made at the hospital and treatment methods developed there form the basis for some therapies still in use today.

Despite the site's history it still made a beautiful backdrop for our photographs with some truly stunning buildings and views. There are some great spots for picnics and recreation; it is popular with dog walkers and joggers, including the one that tried to take a sneaky look at us being photographed and tripped face first! For the record, she was okay.

Honeymoon Highlights: Pretty in pink.

Cuba certainly is a colourful place! Here are some of the prettiest pink things that we saw while we were there.

A pink house undergoing repair work

Preserve the Perfection of Socialism

Ornate column

Bird in a cage

Pink taxi

For more information on where these shots were taken you can check out dearlittlehouse on Instagram.

Wedding Wednesday: We scrub up alright.

I think we scrub up alright! Not bad for a pair of people who sloth around in jeans and old t-shirts at every opportunity.

Photography by Matthew Mead

These are just some nice photos of us. It's not every day that you get all gussied up, is it?

Honeymoon Highlights: Doggy in the window.

While we were in Cuba we saw lots of pet dogs. Here are a couple of cute shots of doggies looking out their windows on to the street.

There were lots of 'sausage dogs' in Cuba! They are so cute, and it is rare to see them here. For more photos look up dearlittlehouse on instagram.

Wedding Wednesday: Fantastic footwear.

I just love this shot of our fantastic footwear! I'm a shoe fiend, but I have really stupid sized feet and it is just a nightmare trying to find shoes that fit me. I guess that's probably for the best, otherwise I would own a million of them.

Photography by Matthew Mead

People said I was crazy when I chose turquoise shoes to go with purple dresses. I think they looked fantastic! Who says bridesmaids have to be all matchy-matchy?

Honeymoon Highlights: Stanley Park.

Stanley Park in Vancouver is one of the largest urban parks in the world and it really is a beautiful place. We took the opportunity to do the touristy thing and take a carriage ride around the park to enjoy the view.

Flowering tulips

A gorgeous magnolia tree

Lord Stanley covered in bird poop

Horse and carriage ride

Our friendly transportation

Totem poles

Lovely sculpture on a park bench

I couldn't find any information on this sculpture just outside the park, but I thought she was lovely! Someone had picked some of the tulips from the nearby garden bed and put them in her handbag.

Wedding Wednesday: The Cast and Crew

Weddings are a wonderful opportunity to get together with your closest friends and family and have a bunch of fun. Our bridal party were awesome and we couldn't have had such a fantastic day without them!

Photography by Matthew Mead

The Boys: Michael's brother Simon, his best friend Adam, Michael (of course), and our dear friend Dave -who happens to be a wedding photographer- but was clearly too busy being in the bridal party to take that on for our big day. 

Photography by Matthew Mead

The "Girls": Bro'Maid Hugh; who even offered to wear a frock and high heels if required, Me, my besties Steph and Lauren. And little bottles of Moet with straws, to be classy.

They were all just amazing and helped out so much both on the day and leading up to it. My Bro'maid even travelled all the way from Tweed Heads to be a part of the day, leaving his wife and newborn baby behind because precious little Lee was too young to travel. The bridesmaids helped out with making a bunch of DIY stuff as well. Champions.

Honeymoon Highlights: English Bay.

Vancouver doesn't really have beaches like we do here. That's okay, they have mountains and other pretty things to make up for it. They call some bits of land near the water a 'beach' though...

Inukshuk with a seagull on his head

This is a busy part of the world, especially in the summer. Even in April the park and the seawall path were quite busy with dog walkers and roller bladers and joggers. I was freezing to death and watching people jog by in lycra shorts and singlet tops!

Wedding Wednesdays: Handsome husband.

I want to share a few pics of my most handsome husband getting ready for the wedding. He scrubs up alright, even if I am a little bias!

Photography by Matthew Mead

The boys got ready at the best man's house, and I think it is lucky that they did. Apparently, his mum ironed all their shirts and made them polish their shoes. Amongst the whole bunch of them there was not one who could tie a proper windsor knot, so the best man's dad had to teach them!