We are so lucky to have unlimited access to all kinds of information and content on travel through social media, such as Instagram, Youtube and Mapify. What’s most influential about social media is that these accounts are mostly held by regular people like us. I’m not talking about celebrity pages of course. There is nothing more motivational than  to see other people’s travel photographs or videos, if we can relate to them even though we don’t know them personally. This is how I still motivate myself too! If they can do it, you can do it too!

Monterosso Al Mare

2. Start Reading Travel Blogs

This one is related to the previous point. Don’t just look at photographs or watch videos, start reading about the personal experiences of these travellers as well. You may find out very useful information for your next trip. You may even plan your next trip after reading a great post. There are plenty of travel blogs and I promise there is no way you wouldn’t find a post about a specific location that you’re looking for. You may even start your own blog one day.

Madrid Ghost Town, New Mexico

3. Start Making Research About Different Cuisines

Traveling doesn’t only bring the opportunity to walk in different streets or taking photographs of touristic monuments but it also brings the opportunity to taste different cuisines. There is a rich variety of cuisine around the globe. They differ not only in different countries but also in different regions of those countries. Wouldn’t you like to eat Chinese food in China, or sushi in Japan or Indian food in India?

Athens

4. Start Making Research About Different Cultures

While you’re making research about different cultures around the globe, why don’t you also try to find out about different cultures? Cuisine is definitely a big part of a country’s culture, but not all of it. People wear different clothes, have different traditions, listen to different music, they even treat their guests in different manners around the globe. Aren’t you excited to find out about all those varieties?

5. Start Telling Your Travel Stories

You can have your own travel stories to tell your friends instead of having to listen to theirs all the time. Listening to stories is nice but telling your own story is even better. Don’t forget that the best stories come from personal experiences. It’s time that you started living your life and sharing it with the others.

Vernazza, Cinque Terre

6. Start Saving Money Now

I can hear you saying “I don’t have enough money to travel” but I don’t accept it as an excuse. You may not have enough money right now but you can start saving and have enough money in the future. Plus, if you plan your trip in advance and make intelligent choices (low budget airline companies, hostels, etc.) trust me you won’t have to spend as much money as you fear.

7. Start Following Promotions of Airline Companies

This one is related to the intelligent choices I’ve talked about in the previous point. You wouldn’t believe how much I had paid for some airplane tickets that I had bought during promotions. I’m not even talking about low budget companies. Don’t underestimate the promotions and start chasing them. I’m sure you will find something for you.

We had been talking about getting married since the beginning of our relationship. So, all we had to do was to decide on a date, a venue and let our friends and family know.

We decided to get married on the 2nd of June. That was easy. Next step was to decide on the venue. We knew we didn’t want to have a classical wedding party in a hotel’s ballroom or in other classical wedding venues in Istanbul. I also knew that my mum always dreamt about having at least an engagement party in their backyard for my sister or me. When I said this to Mark, he was very excited and told me it was exactly what he wanted too. Luckily, my parents were more than happy when we asked them whether that would be ok.

The rule #1 to have a wedding that looks like a garden party:If it’s possible, organize it in your garden, or a family member’s or even a friend’s garden. If not, the alternative could be to book a  nice cosy restaurant with a backyard. Stay away from fancy hotels.

Another thing I was sure about was that I didn’t want to hide in a room until the official ceremony started, like a grounded child or someone so important that she could not be seen until the ceremony. I thought the normal and genuine behaviour would be to welcome the guests when they arrive instead of acting like a princess. We had to negotiate this with the event planners but finally we got what we wanted. They were worried that it would be difficult to gather the guests where the ceremony would take place, if we were already among them. But we were lucky to have a great DJ who had a solution to their concerns. You know, music is just magical. With the right music you can transmit the message you want to and that’s exactly what happened. All we did was to decide on a track that would change the mood and start to walk hand in hand.

The rule #2 to have a wedding like a regular party:Welcome your guests when they arrive and start drinking and chatting with them (mingling is the key). You will notice that way everyone will be more relaxed and the party will start without delay.

Talking about music, obviously the DJ is a crucial part of your party. Lots of people find a DJ at a good price but they had never heard of before. Since they don’t trust the DJ, they then give the list of all the songs that they want him/her to play. That doesn’t make sense to me. If I will prepare the list of the songs, why do I need a DJ?  I also think it is a profession like the others and having a good taste in music is not enough to make sure that you play the right kind of music at the right time during the party.

The rule #3: Find a good DJ who understands you and who you can trust. You can thank me later

I usually get bored at weddings when there is a sit-down dinner. It feels like an obligation that you need to fulfil before being allowed to party. And the worst is when you get stuck at a table where you don’t know anyone. Having said that, I don’t like weddings where there is not enough food and you can’t party because you’re starving either. What we did was to find the perfect catering company that happens also to be a culinary school (MSA). One of the many advantages to hire a culinary school as the caterer is that the young and keen students, who look like your friends, are serving your guests instead of normal waitresses who look as if they don’t even want to be there. As soon as the official ceremony was over, they started to serve the food. I must say one of the stars of the night was MSA (the others were Mark’s son Alex and our DJ/friend Turgay Temeroğlu), after the wedding everyone was talking about how delicious everything was.

The rule #4 for a cosy wedding:Don’t make your guests sit and get bored until the end of the dinner. Serve them ample delicious food but let them have fun at the same time.

Finally rule no#5: Just have fun! Don’t do anything that you don’t want to, just because the wedding planner or some people say so. Don’t forget this is your day to celebrate and be happy, so be yourself and have fun the way you would like to.