Five Years of Marriage

Celebrating our 5th Anniversary ?

By the Numbers: 1826 Days · 5 continents · 35 countries · 1 home* · 1 pup 

This year has been such a whirlwind. When we got married, I remember thinking that our five-year anniversary celebration would be absolutely epic. Five years deserves that, doesn’t it? It’s a big milestone for those of us that have graduated from newlywed status into the realm of just kind of being married. This year took us by surprise though and brought us unexpected adventures that had us jetting around the globe more than we normally would. When mid-June rolled around I think we were both caught off guard by it. When did time start moving so quickly? Our anniversary was in a couple of weeks’ time and we hadn’t really planned anything. We originally planned on staying in Anguilla but decided that we needed to take a couple of days away to acknowledge the day and where we’ve come in that five year span. For as quickly as it’s gone by, we’ve managed to cram in so many memories and experiences that it kind of astounds me.

This year was a rather challenging one losing our house in Hurricane Irma, having to reconstruct said house (and hotel!), and then being faced with the newfound journey of starting IVF. We’ve basically spent the year camping and bouncing around from house to house and room to room as we finish up the final stages of construction on our home. We still haven’t regained any sense of normalcy because it’s just not there yet. It’s a funny thing though. Despite how major those things are to contend with – any one of these challenges alone could be a strain on a relationship – they’ve never had a negative impact on our marriage. There are times we’ve been a bit stressed or overwhelmed but we’ve dealt with it together and all of the challenges really just became opportunities to make our marriage stronger.

So, I sit here now, waking up in St. Barths as we celebrate five years of marriage, and I feel incredibly thankful. I know that not all marriages are created equal, and I’m extremely grateful to have found the right person to do life with.

You can see images and a post from last year when we celebrated four years of marriage! In keeping with tradition, I’m sharing photos from our adventures from the past year of marriage:

07.05.2017 – 07.05.2018

Sankaty Head Light, Nantucket
Celebrating our 4th anniversary with three days in Nantucket
Using the Salzburg Card, Salzburg Catacombs
Exploring Salzburg, Austria
Shonbrunn Palace, 5 Things to Do in Vienna
Getting cultured at the Shonbrunn Palace in Vienna
Dubrovnik City Walls Walk
Exploring Dubrovnik, right around the time we were discovering the hurricane had hit AXA
Fortica Spanjola: One Day in Hvar
Exploring the Dalmatian islands during our week in Hvar
Croatia: Two Days in Split
Enjoying two days in Split
Ljubljana, Slovenia
Exploring the Slovenian capital during a food tour through Ljubljana 
Magical vibes at Lake Bled
5 Photos to Take in Rovinj
Exploring Rovinj, plus truffle hunting in Istria and exploring Plitvice Falls
2 Days in Venice, Italy
Spending two days in Venice and wishing we could never leave! 
Sightseeing from Venice to Milan
Randomly road tripping from Venice to Milan for a few days in Northern Italy
Anguilla After Hurricane Irma
Coming home to find out we’d lost our house in Hurricane Irma 🙁
Frangipani Beach Resort, Anguilla Post-Hurricane Irma
…not to mention the hotel, which we somehow managed to restore by the end of December. ??
Christmas in Tallinn, Estonia
Spending Christmas in Tallinn, Estonia
Traveling to Zihuatanejo, Mexico
Celebrating a destination wedding in Zihuatanejo, Mexico 
One Day in Helsinki
Trying not to freeze in Helsinki!
Kau Manor, Estonia
Returning to Estonia to begin our international IVF journey 
Cesis Castle, Latvia: 3 Days in Riga
Road tripping through Latvia + my perfect day in Old Town Riga
GREECE: Two Days in Symi
Spending two days in Symi during our 10 days in Greece with my fam
Acropolis of Lindos, Rhodes
 Plus two days in Lindos, and time exploring Rhodes Old Town
Brussels, Belgiu
Quickie daylong layover in Belgium to celebrate my 50th country with moules frites!
Tallinn, Estonia
Then back to Tallinn for IVF Round Two 

Honestly, until I go through these images and take a step back to remember what this year has brought us, it’s hard to imagine that two people can cram this much into a single year on top of working some crazy hours to bring Frangipani back after the hurricane. Despite the obstacles, this year has been the ultimate year of marriage strengthening and for that I say, cheers to five strong years! ?

More about Shannon Kircher

Shannon Kircher is the founder and editor of The Wanderlust Effect. Founded in 2009, she has continued to document her international escapes as an expat in Europe and the Caribbean. Additionally, Shannon is the founder of Compass & Vine, a luxury boutique travel design firm, and is the Director of Marketing for the Frangipani Beach Resort. Shannon holds an MSc in Social Policy and Development from the London School of Economics and is a current candidate for WSET Level 3 in Wines & Spirits.