When we were choosing a wedding photographer, one of the first people we considered was Emilio Madrid-Kuser. He’s a frequent sight on opening nights and the theater community events as the in-house photographer for Broadway.com, and he’s photographed Scott and I on the red carpet a bunch of times.
Last October, Scott and I got married at the beautiful North Branch Inn up in the Catskill Mountains. We decided to have a small wedding — only forty friends and family — and knew we wanted to have it at a place where it would feel like a weekend retreat.
After our honeymoon, Scott and I jumped back into normal life in New York pretty quickly, replacing days on the beach with days in the office, and nights on the town with nights at home with our dog. By mid-January we were starting to get a bit of cabin fever and decided we needed a break to give our relationship that burst of excitement we’d grown so used to.
When we first started planning our honeymoon, the first thing we agreed on was that we wanted to meet elephants. We’d both had fantasies of seeing an elephant up close — and were pretty sure we would both burst into tears.
Visiting Thailand for the first time, we decided to stick pretty close to the tourist guidebook, but we wanted at least a couple days off the beaten path. Searching for some more remote destinations in addition to Phuket and Bangkok, we discovered the island of Koh Yao Noi, just east of Phuket, which remains mostly untouched by tourist operations.
After leaving the bustling metropolis of Bangkok, our first stop was the popular beachside island of Phuket. Phuket, Thailand’s largest island, is the rainforest-covered home to many of Thailand’s high-end seaside resorts. Our first stop was the Renaissance Phuket Resort and Spa.
Flying to Thailand from the United States is not for the faint of heart. Even with a nearly direct flight, it is a seriously long trip — about 23 hours door to door from New York City. Our biggest splurge of the entire honeymoon was booking business class seats on Philippine Airlines.
When Scott and I got engaged in the fall of 2017, we had our mind set on planning the wedding ceremony, but we were just as excited to plan the big trip we would take after. Scott and I love traveling — we always say that we’re happiest as a couple when we’re exploring a new place together.
For Pride this year, Scott and I did a little staycation in the city for the weekend. We stayed at the new Hilton Embassy Suites in midtown, just steps from the parade route. Hilton has been a long standing supporter of the LGBT community, making it a optimal place to stay for Pride events.
Cartagena, Spain is one of the oldest cities in the world. Founded more than two thousand years ago and home to some incredible historic sites and dizzying architecture, it’s the perfect city to explore on foot.
Our good friend Isaac had a milestone birthday this year, and to celebrate he invited some of his closets friends to one of his favorite places on earth — Ibiza, Spain!
