Saltamonte,
Congrats on your upcoming wedding.
Steve is right, poor choice of words on my part using saltwater "proof' instead of "resistant". All my rods and reels get a thorough freshwater dousing from a hose after every outing, and reels are periodically stripped and lubed, though not after every trip. Never heard of anyone using a trough for rod sections or a 7 day soak for reels, but to each their own.
One thing you can do now, even without a new SW outfit, is to start working on your double haul with your 5 weight (if you haven't already gotten it down). You'll use it a lot in SW.