Final Details!

We have planned a weekend designed to celebrate friends, love and summer. Here are some things that will hopefully make your planning easier:

Schedule of Events
Friday
7:00 pm  Welcome dinner* (causal dress, buffet-style, stop by when you get in, BYOLiquor (we'll provide beer and wine))
8:30 pm  Opening remarks (Bree and Chris)
9:00 pm  Movie under the stars! Outdoor screening of "My Girl" (1991) (PG)
*ALL MEALS WILL HAVE A VEGETARIAN OPTION. PLEASE LET US KNOW IF YOU ARE VEGAN!

Saturday (approximate times)
9:00 am  Breakfast by Award-Winning Chef, Ricky Patty begins (buffet-style, stop by when you can)
11:00 am  Leisure sporting!** (Croquet, volleyball, kubb, frisbee (ultimate or golf), and more!
1:45 pm  Opening remarks by POC (Ponderosa Olympiad Committee) Chairman, Christian Hansen
2:00 pm Ponderosa Olympiad (friendly field day competition)

**Lunch, lemonade, sunshine will be provided throughout the day!

Saturday Night
After a break to shower off and clean up....

6:00 pm "Metaphorical wedding" (renewal of vows) presided by legendary matchmaker, Robin Lake
("classy casual" dress: linens and summer dresses etc.)
6:30 pm  Dinner (BBQ!)
8:00 pm  Film presentation, live music performances and dancing!

Midnight snack for those still standing!

Sunday morning
9:00 am  Continental breakfast
11:00 am Check out :(

Don't forget to pack:

-Sunblock
-Water bottle
-Towel
-Bathing suit
-Active shoes
-Blanket/lawn chair or optional beach umbrella/sun hat
-Insect repellent
-Layers of clothing (in case it gets chilly at night)
-Any beverages that you want besides water, grape drink, lemonade, iced tea, wine/beer
-Any special snacks you like
-"Classy casual" attire for Saturday night

Location

All activities will be held at the Ponderosa Lodge in the Mountain Springs Lodge Resort in Plain, WA.
 - Link to Mountain Springs Lodge Resort - http://www.mtsprings.com/
 - Phone number for Mountain Springs Lodge Resort 509.763.2713

Summer Party in the Mountains, July 22-24, 2011!

Chris and Bree would like to invite you to the mountains for a weekend of wedding revelry!

** We will update this blog regularly; check back often or become a follower! **

Now that our wedding ceremony is complete, the celebrations can begin! We are planning a weekend of fun and play in the Leavenworth area of the Cascade Mountains. We'll be renting a large lodge at the Mountain Springs Lodge Resort, where all of the festivities will be held. Leavenworth and the lodge are about a 2-hour drive outside of Seattle.

Nearby Lake Wenatchee

Our wedding party philosophy

We would like this weekend to embody the values of love, family, friendship, community, relaxation, and sharing. Meals and events will be low-key, and we hope everyone simply gets to know one another and have a good time together. Many friends and family will be pitching in to help out, and our field day events should help bring together relative strangers for a little family-friendly competition and revelry. We will renew our vows Saturday evening and celebrate music, dancing, and (we hope) a beautiful sunset that night. We hope you can come.

Schedule of Events 

All events take place at the Ponderosa Lodge, Mountain Springs Lodge Resort (19115 Chiwawa Loop Road
Leavenworth, WA 98826)

Friday, July 22

Opening Dinner, 7 pm

Family-style dinner; BYOB

Saturday, July 23

Leisure Sports and Field Day Olympiad, 12 - 4 pm

Metaphorical Wedding, Toasts and Dinner, 6 pm

Musical performances and after-party, 8 pm
Moonlight video premiere, 10:30 pm
Midnight snacks for those still standing, 12 am
Simple lunch
Barbecue and vegetarian cook-out dinner

Sunday, July 24

Farewell breakfast, 10 am

Lodging

The "Log Cabin" at Mountains Springs

There are many lodging options available in the region. The closest place to stay is The Mountain Springs Lodge, which hosts several cabins and private suites within walking distance to the party. If you stay at Mountain Springs, you will be within walking distance to the activities.

We have rented the Ponderosa Lodge at Mountain Springs, which sleeps 30 people in a combination of private rooms and loft-style open sleeping. If you're interested in bunking with us there, shoot us an email at CrispAndBreezy@gmail.com. 

This link will take you to cabins that sleep anywhere from 3 to 20 people within close distance to the Ponderosa lodge.

There are similar lodges nearby in Plain, WA.

- Heaven Can Wait Lodge

- Natapoc Lodging

- Featherwinds Lodging

- Brunners Lodge

There is camping nearby at Lake Wenatchee State Park.

There are also many hotel and bed and breakfast options in Leavenworth, WA,  a Bavarian-themed town that is about a 20-minute drive away. This link will take you to a long list of options of varying price ranges.

The lovely Leavenworth

Map and Directions to Mountain Springs Lodge

19115 Chiwawa Loop Road;  Leavenworth, WA 98826
tele: 800 858-2276 or 509 763-2713

From Seattle 
take U.S. Hwy. 2 east to State Hwy. 207 at Cole's Corner (about mile marker 85).
Turn left on Hwy. 207. Go 3.7 miles then turn right on Beaver Valley Road.
Take Beaver Valley Road 5 miles to Chiwawa Loop Road then turn left.
We are a short distance up Chiwawa Loop Rd. on the right. Watch for our signs.
Check into Beaver Creek Lodge (the first building on the left after entering the parking lot).

From Leavenworth Travel north on Chumstick Hwy. (located at the traffic light at the East end of town)
Continue on the Chumstick for about 14 miles over Beaver Hill and through Plain.
½ mile beyond Plain turn right on Chiwawa Loop Rd.
We are a short distance up Chiwawa Loop Rd. Watch for our signs.
Check into Beaver Creek Lodge (the first building on the left).

the ceremony

We're official!

We were married on December 30, 2010, at 2:45 pm at Panama City Beach, in a small ceremony with close family. The officiant was Gloria Pipkin, the Maid of Honor was Belle Dusseault, and the Best Man was Bradley Eide.

the wedding

On December 30, 2010, Bree and Chris will marry themselves and their families together in a small family ceremony on a beach in Panama City, Florida.  Presiding over the ceremony will be the Honorable Gloria Pipkin, who was Bree's legendary 6th grade English teacher and lifelong mentor. The best man will be the dashing Bradley Eide and the Maid of Honor will be the smashing Belle Dusseault.

There will be three wedding receptions with friends and extended family to follow throughout the upcoming year.  The first will be in Panama City in February; followed by Seattle-area in July, and in New York this fall. Please stay tuned for actual dates.

Bree is just so excited, she wanted me to say. I am too.

registries

We would like to stress that we do not expect gifts from family or friends, and for those friends who will be attending our Florida, Seattle, or New York wedding parties we've already gotten the best gift of all - your presence! However, we have also had requests for traditional registries, so we have signed up for a few different options.

Our honeymoon will be to the islands off of the coast of Brazil, to the place where I bought Bree's pendant (see "story of the rings part 1"), and we've been saving up for it. If you'd like to support any portion of this pilgrimage, check out: http://www.travelersjoy.com/crispnbreezy

We have also registered at Macy's and Bed, Bath, and Beyond for the rest of the things that we actually need:

www1.macys.com/registry/wedding/guest/?registryId=327086

http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/regGiftRegistry.asp?wrn=%2D1891371921&

the story of the rings (part 2)

There is a man who lives with his wife and four dogs in a gingerbread house in the Central District of Seattle who makes fine jewelery in his backyard yurt. Through the gate and through the house, we stepped into the yurt and took a spot on the floor. Amused by his personality and extensive record collection, we told him our story. A month later, we have a perfect replica of my great-grandmother's wedding ring made from gold and diamonds from the rings of our grandparents.  My band is also made of that admixture and gold from Bree's grandmother's wedding ring is in a band that curls around the inside of the ring. The goal was to wed our two families as well as ourselves and Joel Olsen was able to perform that feat in his yurt.

the story of the rings (part 1)

Before I met Bree, I was on an island off of the coast of Brazil where I met a local artisan and struck up a deal. He had an old Brazilian coin with the face of Aphrodite on it, which he cut out and made into a pendant. I made a pledge then that the woman who would wear that pendant bearing the goddess of love would be the woman that I would marry, and we would one day return to that island.