Wrap-up for the weekend

Well, finally got my summary of the weekend written up, here are the posts :

Part I - spending the day hanging out, and getting ready for the ceremony.
Part 2 - going through the ceremony, dinner, and nighttime reception
Part 3 - Sunday brunch, and hanging out some more, and the Finish.
Also, our thank you thank you cards are sent. And Bonnie's been hard at work putting photos together.
Once again, loved having everyone get together!

Pictures Online

As promised, here are links to some friends online albums, I believe some of them have the feature people can upload images as well. :

Big one started by Shane :
http://gallery.me.com/shanerh#100164

A collection from Tom G :
http://gallery.me.com/gilcup#100007

From Bonnie's SoCal family :
http://picasaweb.google.com/rayrad4d/JeffAndBonnie2008

The Bayleys, with their own trip pics

It was interesting to note how collections of photos seemed to centralize around the groups (Shane had the co-oppers, Tom's had ex-Tipp folk). Understandable, and we certainly saw all walks of life interacting, just thought it a notable phenomenon.

Any others have pics? Email em, upload em, or add the links into the comments.

After the Event

Well, we are here in the glow after the event - what an incredible day, thanks so much to everyone who could make it! From getting in Saturday morning, hanging out for lunch in the afternoon, to setting up chairs and tables, the ceremony itself, dinner afterward, and music and dancing up at the house - everything went flawlessly, especially the weather. Even the whole week, where we caught up with out of town friends, and family, it exceeded our expectations.

We're gathering up pictures from everyone, I'll put up links to online photo albums. Anyone with pics or online galleries, please share!

As requested, here are the words of our vows (for those who missed it or couldn't hear) :

B: I vow to listen to you
J: I vow to communicate with you

J: I vow to not take this life we have together for granted
B: I vow to not be careless with our resources

B: I vow to move beyond good intentions to pursue thoughtful actions
J: I vow to be sensitive to your fears and vulnerabilities

B: I vow to encourage creativity to flourish
J: I vow to encourage health and happiness, laughter and joy

J: I vow commitment
B: I vow faithfulness

J: I vow to be strong in times of adversity
B: I vow to be steadfast in times of poor circumstance and change

B: I vow to be open and true
J: I vow to share with you what's in my heart

J: I vow to honor your views and values
B: I vow to be a part of your ideas and passions

J: I vow to live life fully, not holding back on our dreams
B: I vow to trust, to share, to let go, to allow collaboration

J: I vow that the needs of our family come first
B: I vow to nurture our friendships and peace in our community

J: I vow to love, support, comfort, and cherish you
B: I vow to love, support, comfort, and cherish you

J: I know that you will always be my favorite thing at the eend of every day
B: I know that my heart will always dance at the site of you every morning


As a special bonus, here is the text of our exchange (Bonnie's poem, and the lyrics to my song, "Like No Other")

YOURS & MINE
You have
captivated me
captured me
You are holding me
and not letting go
I am holding you
and not letting go
I have taken fragile strings of trust
and tied them to you
There is no commitment stronger
than the one I have already made to you in my heart
I am wrapped up in this love
tethered, firmly fixed
you can count on this bond.
Alone, I am strong.
With you, I am stronger.
And able to be vulnerable
I am not letting go of me
I am getting you.
And I am giving you me.
You showed me
that’s the way it works
My beloved
You are holding me
and not letting go
I will hold you
and not let go.

LIKE NO OTHER
Like no other love
Lifts me up above, my own
Knows me best of all
With me through my ups and downs

When she shines on me
Each look makes it all OK

Makes perfect sense,
to heart and mind, the moment's fine

Would you?
Do you? I do.

Every day, surprise
See the world through your eyes
So I make my vows
With you I will always be

Love, laughs and tears
Through all our years, you and I

Like no other love

More pics & thoughts to come!

2 Weeks

Well, 2 weeks out and things are looking great. We have our final guest list, give or take a handful of flaky people (you know who you are!). Vendors contacted, orders placed, pickups arranged. Getting our final plans in order with our officiant and coordinator. We made a trip out there, to show them and take a last look-see on where to put everything and everyone, and check acoustics. Everything was in line, except for the cold cold weather (55 degrees, windy, foggy). It's not like that all the time! But it might be socked in on July 12, be prepared with layers, everyone. We took the chance to scout the path as well, you all should have maps, or a mapquest printout... a few tips : take the Marin Headlands 'tunnel' road (not the coastal road); watch out for the left turn to get to the tunnel (don't follow the Sausalito road too far); go about 1.9 miles after the tunnel, and it's a soft left (road bends but you want to veer off to the left). Parking is rather limited, we're asking people to carpool if possible.
Let us know if you're needing help w/ accommodations, but we're getting more excited about the day!

A few weeks out

We're getting the final preparations done for the big event! We have our stellar coordinator Vera, our officiant, our entertainment, our furniture, our catering. We've been getting a lot of RSVP's back, and we'll start following up on ones we haven't received yet (thanks to those who've sent in - we realized the postage rate went up after we sent the invites out, but many of the postcards have actually been getting back). Looks like both our families are coming out, which will be amazing to get them all together - some of my kin have never been out to visit California.

For those who are coming in from out of town, and you need help looking for accommodations or tips on site-seeing, please give us a shout out. Looking forward to having everyone out! We sent the card with a map to the place, but here's a satellite view to help clarify, including a look at the highway exit from the 101 as well :

A look at the Marin Suites Hotel

A few guests have expressed interest at staying at the Marin Suites Inn in Corte Madera. We stopped by there and checked out their renovations, and snagged some pics :

3 Months Out!

So, we're getting into the thick of the planning, & it's going well! Our invitations are in the works (thanks to my sister-in-law Allison, for the awesome calligraphy!) so those will be out in the next couple weeks, keep an eye peeled.