Today’s post will be a little more personal. Kate and her sister, Christina, recently took a girl’s weekend getaway with a friend to visit Niagara Falls.  It’s a very popular and often talked about place in the wedding industry so we thought you might like to see some highlights from their trip.

“Niagara Falls. It’s an impressive sight with up 700,000 gallons of water flowing over three separate falls each second. The water is a lovely turquoise colour that contrasts beautifully against the rock face. I feel like a trip Niagara Falls is appropriate for almost any occasion. It may be commonly called the “honeymoon capital of the world”, but it was fantastic as a girls’ weekend getaway. Everything was new for all us of us and it felt like a great big adventure carpooling up there and discovering the falls for the first time. We bought an adventure pass that bundled the sights into one package and gave us two days worth of rides on the Wego buses that circle from attraction to attraction. Since lines were long, it saved us from needing to buy individual tickets and also cut down on the wait time.

These are the American Falls and the Bridal Veil Falls (the one on the right, slightly separated from the others). This picture was taken in Canada, of course, and to stand so near looking at my home country, but separated from it by falls and a river is a strange feeling.

Here is a view of the Horseshoe Canadian Falls from the pedestrian walkway.

While riding on the Hornblower Cruise, we came up to the base of the Falls. The mist was so thick, it was hard to even see the water flowing down past the precipice!

This is a view from the side of the Falls from the lower observation deck at the Journey Behind the Falls.

The water from behind the Falls is so thick it looks like a white sheet.

Going down the trail on the White Water Walk, I felt like I was just next to the rapids. These are level 5 and 6. It’s not even recommended to raft them. Sadly, my pictures don’t truly show how turbulent these waters are.

A ride on the Aerocar let us view the whirlpool basin from the air.

Isn’t that drip from the edge of the Falls incredible?

We enjoyed the butterfly conservatory included in our passes and saw so many different species.

The floral showroom was also a pretty place to visit and I was surprised to see many plants that are the same as what we have right here in Knoxville, despite a distance of about 750 miles.

Of course, there were new species I hadn’t seen as well.

The Falls are lit at night by huge spotlights. It’s a dramatic, striking effect. We were also quite fortunate to see fireworks from both the American and Canadian sides on our last night there.

Niagara Falls received the moniker of the Honeymoon Capital of the World, thanks to Aaron Burr’s daughter, Theodora, and Napoleon’s brother, Jerome Bonaparte, choosing to honeymoon there in the early 1800s. They set a trend and over 50,000 couples honeymoon at Niagara Falls each year according to Niagara Fall Tourism (see link above). The Falls themselves can provide a very romantic setting and there are many places to enjoy nature. I will add a word of caution: try to book a honeymoon when not on a holiday weekend or on peek weeks. Since it is very popular, lines can be long and walkways can be crowded.

There is so much to see in the area beyond the Falls, themselves. Niagara-on-the-Lake is a charming little town with lots of ambience. If touring wineries is up your alley, you’ll have your pick of dozens in this wine region.

There are also many good restaurants in the area. We chose to splurge by eating at Copacobana, a Brazilian steakhouse. The food was delicious and the style of food service was so much un and a new experience.

Overall, it was a delightful experience. It’s quite easy to get around and there is so much to see. It was well worth the drive to get there and the Falls are very refreshing.”

Thanks for stopping by today. We hope you enjoyed Kate’s overview of Niagara Falls. If you have questions or comments we’d love to hear from you. Are you planning your honeymoon? Check out this post for great tips and ideas! Or, contact us by e-mailing us at theweddingladies@alwaysyoursoccasions.com or call 865.771.7771 to see how we can help you!