Snowshoeing on Xmas Eve!

Just wanted to share a couple of photos from our Christmas celebration! Above is Garth breaking a new trail, really testing out the snowshoes we got a few weeks back! Below is Jen enjoying the view from the White River West Trail.

Merry Christmas

Many of you have received our "Save the Date" coasters and typed in this funky address to see what's going on. Well, we're going to put updates on the wedding, tips and hints on what to expect, fun stuff to do in the Northwest and other useful information here. We don't have any schedule of posts, but we'll do our best to keep adding on a regular basis.

There are a couple of things that everybody should keep in mind:

1. Comments... we welcome them! After every post, for those who are not internet-savvy, you can click the comment link and give us some feedback or put some information you have that we don't. Or you can let everybody else know what your plans are in case you're willing to share ideas, trips, etc.

2. At the end of this blog is a subscribe link, which you can use to have an email sent to you when a new post is added. If you just can't get enough of us too quickly, this feature is for you.

We both hope you all have had a wonderful holiday and are really looking forward to getting everything rolling for April!

Sea-Tac or PDX?

I have been fielding questions about which airport people should be looking at flying in to... well, lets see that is a complicated question. Here is what I have:

First, are you coming in just for the wedding? If so, either airport is fine. Chehalis is halfway between Seattle and Portland. You can rent a car or take Amtrak into town!

If you are coming early or staying late, come into Portland... we'd love to show you around and enjoy all the fabulous food and drink that Portland has to offer!

Here is the site for Sea-Tac: http://www.portseattle.org/seatac/
Here is the site for PDX: http://www.flypdx.com/

We would recommend Jet Blue or Continental coming into Portland. However, if you are looking to see what deals are out there, we would recommend www.kayak.com I think they do the best job of aggregating the deals for you!

Sweet...we got the suite

For all of you wondering where the blushing bride and groom will be staying, I am happy to announce that we will be staying at the Holiday Inn, in the King Suite, you are all invited to swing by and hang out!

Checking in...

Looking for details on the lodging? Well, you have come to the right place. We have a room block at the Holiday Inn Express, glamorous I know... Anyhoo, if would like to check in with us, here is all the info that you should need.

You must reserve by April 1 to get the block rate, after that date the remaining rooms go back to general booking. You will want call up and use the code phrase "Young wedding and it is in a block" to gain access to our special deal.

There are 13 King bedrooms, 5 single queen rooms, and 7 double queen rooms you you best be getting while the gettin' is good!

The price including taxes is $108.76

There is an indoor pool and continental breakfast and if we are lucky there might even be an arcade room... but I make NO promises on the arcade room.

The link to the hotel is on the right of the page. I will try to update the status of the rooms sporadically (read as once if you are lucky!).

Now I lay me down to sleep...

Well, I had high hopes for the McMenamin's that is in the next town over, great ambiance, history and a fun meeting place.

http://www.mcmenamins.com/index.php?loc=58

However, when we went and toured the facility we learned what they meant by shared bathrooms... 6 bathrooms that the occupants of their 27 rooms share. AND only 4 of those 6 bathrooms have a shower! Yeah, nothing says chaos like 20-50 wedding guests trying to get ready for a wedding sharing 4 showers.

I would still recommend the hotel for local guests looking for a place to crash after the party. Rooms are affordable and comfy - as long as you are laid back around the whole bathroom thing.

As for the out of towners, we are blocking rooms at the Holiday Inn Express and Best Western hotels in the area. Yes, it is slim pickin in these parts. But lets be honest, how much time are you going to spend hanging out in the hotel? Yeah, I didn't think so... did you read any of the outings posts (that I am ambitiously planning on writing) about all the great things to go and see and do in the area!

We are blocking rooms at both of these options. Please call the hotels to get one of the rooms on hold. I will add the group rates when I have the blocks in place...

The Big Red Barn

We are getting married in a big red barn in Chehalis, Washington. The barn is owned by a couple who renovated it and use it as a photography studio. The venue is pretty much exactly what we wanted. It is in the countryside, rustic and heated. This was a challenging combination to come up with believe it or not. Anyway, Laurie and Jason keep a blog that talks about some of the events that they have hosted there (including their own wedding). Check it out, we think it is going to be a great place to get hitched... www.redbarnstudios.blogspot.net