The Hagens and their First Crusade

Essauira, Morocco- sea breeze, camels, grilling meat, endless maze of shops with silks, spices, wood carvings, carpets, lanterns. It took a while to get to the quaint little beach town for our honeymoon but it was worth it. We had a day layover in Spain and visited Toledo on the celebratory day of the patron saint of Toledo. We drank the holy water, entered the cathedral, and got interviewed by a news team about our views on kissing the statue of the virgin and spreading swine flu.

Getting to morocco was quite the adventure in itself; Royal Air Maroc only had one plane going from Spain which we discovered is notoriously late. We arrived in the mystical, magical land- the air was warm, new spells were in the air, Arabic writing was everywhere. Walking out of the airport there was a large crowd of people in veils and draped clothing that we had to walk through. We arrived for the President’s feast day celebrated with food and concerts, and left during Ramadan making it difficult to find food during daylight hours. Our hotel in Casablanca had marble floors, beautiful chandeliers, and detailed design. We slept in and with some difficulty, (no one spoke English) found a guy to drive us to Essauira the next day. It was an interesting drive with changing landscapes. The “4 hr drive” turned in to 8, and we eventually arrived at our destination.

Our hotel, the Sofetil, was beautiful. Right next to a beach, with a beautiful pool that had outdoor couches and beds to lounge on. The town was exotic and charming; it felt like a mix between Aladdin and Indiana Jones. Plenty of shopping from craftsmen and fishermen in the markets that wound through the maze-like streets of the medina. Yummy grilled meats and delicious magnum doble ice cream. Lovely mild temperatures.

When we didn’t want to relax and just soak it all in, there was always adventure waiting around the corner. One day we rode camels that seemed to start in the middle of nowhere desert, then after coming around a large dune ended up on the beach. The wind was blowing like crazy and I had no idea I’d be up so high and bouncing back and forth so much. It was crazy and fun. We spent our last couple nights in Marrakech, a larger, more famous town in the desert. It was hot, but our hotel was amazing and had little pools by all the rooms that you could jump in and cool off. The trip went by too fast and before we knew it we were on a sweaty train ride back to Casablanca, no more snake charmers or camel rides, back to real life.

Seal the Deal!

We were engaged for 3 months which sometimes seemed like forever, but actually flew by pretty fast. I was living at home in Bountiful, Brad was living an hour away in Provo. He was busy with work and I was busy in my first semester of nursing school. I’m pretty sure I wasn’t too crazy of a bridezilla, but am still glad Brad and my family were understanding during a few stressful moments. Somehow we found time to plan a wedding, buy a house, and continue to help our relationship grow as we prepared for marriage. Luckily our family and friends were supportive and helpful. My brother-in-law Adam designed our invitations, my sister-in-law Wendy made my wedding dress, my parents and family all worked on our backyard and all the reception details to get ready for the reception. One morning I woke up and realized that evening was our wedding dinner and we were getting married the next day! It snuck up so fast. The dinner at Magleby’s was delicious and so fun to share with close friends and family. The next morning I had my hair done and met brad at the temple. It was an incredible experience, there were some butterflies and some of it is kind of a daze now, but it was the best day of my life. A spiritual high in the temple being sealed to my best friend, a big party afterwards with all our friends and family, and everything turned out perfect. It was such a fun day, I wish we could do it all over again. (The memories will do!)

Say Yes

Brad invited me to visit him in New York while he was there on business. He originally had no other intentions so I had no reason to suspect anything. While golfing the day before he left, he decided he wanted to propose and ran to the ring shop with his brother (who thought he was crazy) to get a ring. I flew out, still completely clueless (we had never even discussed marriage). Our second night there we went for a walk on the Brooklyn bridge, the sun was setting along the city skyline, the weather was perfect. We ate at Grimaldi’s pizza then went for a walk on the pier. We walked over to a little park and sat alone on some rocks right by the water. There was a perfect view of the Brooklyn bridge with the city in the background, all reflected in the water. In the middle of a nice conversation brad got down on his knee and proposed to me. I had no idea it was coming until he was getting on his knee pulling something out of his pocket. I was shocked, and for some unknown reason began to shake uncontrollably, but managed to say “yes” without hesitating. It was sudden, but felt right. Everything seemed to come together in that moment and made sense. In my book it was straight out of a scene from an old classic movie, so don’t cringe if it’s too cheesy for you- Brad's just that smooth. :) We called our parents, mine were expecting a call because Brad called and talked to them the night before. Brad’s parents were also shocked, and it was pretty hard to convince them it wasn’t a joke.