Marion and John

11:59 am: More Media!!
Hi there everybody, long time, no see!

I've been continuing to update the Flickr page as I can, with photos. You'll also see some of Marion's comic artwork up there.

Check it out!

Photos!

If anyone has any photos, would you mind emailing them to us, or send them on CD, or contact Marion so we can find a way to get a copy? We don't have that many candids of the ceremony and reception, strangely enough!!! Thanks so much!

09:22 am: Media!
Hey everybody!

I'm slowly getting photos and media up from the wedding, starting with bridal shower pictures. Here is the link to those:

Flickr account

Our dear friend Raina posted a nifty photo journal of her experience on our wedding weekend, with some nice photos. Take a look!

Raina's photo journal

And Dave, John's best man, gave a truly wonderful speech that day. He posted it, so in case you didn't hear him, now you can read it!
Dave's Best Man Speech

Lots more photos are on their way! Please pass any you might have onto us, ok? That way we can make sure everybody sees them!

Right now, John and I are planning our West Coast Friends Celebration, so we can celebrate our marriage with our dear friends on the Pacific side of the country, whom we weren't able to invite to the wedding! December 23rd guys, so mark your calendars!

04:50 pm: Happily Ever After
We're married!

Thank you, one and all!

For a million big things, like spending money and traveling a long way, and a million medium things like driving new friends into sisters to try cream puffs and maple bars, and a million little things like telling me I look elegant and beautiful when I have a cold and a sore throat. And, of course, all the million zillion things that John and I didn't anticipate or know about but folks stepped in to help out with, that we found out about afterward and can only pass on our most sincere gratitude.

It was the wedding of our dreams, surrounded by dear family members and lots of love. I hope you all had the fun we tried to make it, because we sure loved each and every second with you.

Love and family.
Let it rain, we don't even care!!

And because I was such a flutterby the whole weekend, I took so few photographs between Friday and Monday. Here are the two I did take:




The sky on Saturday, as Steph and I walked to breakfast at our parents cabin in the calm before the squall. (both figuratively and literally!)




John and I atop Laura's Tower, in Stockbridge, Mass. on Thursday, after I woke up from roughly 14 hours sleep getting over my cold and a 36-hour delay amid airports on the west and east coasts.

Next up:

Dave and Raina's Wedding!
West Coast Friends Celebration!
East Coast Friends Celebration!

And also: Day by day, moment by moment building of a marriage. See our future happen in real time before your very eyes!

love,
marion

P.S. Anyone have photographs they'd like to pass on to us? We'd love to see them & make them available to others! Thanks again!!

06:28 pm: Update! Oh so close to being done!
The dress has landed! We have Dress in the house people! WOO!

It is done, and done well. It looks lovely. It would look even better if I spontaneously developed well-defined deltoids...but hey. Wouldn't everything?

I love it! I also got shoes! Woo! No walking down the aisle barefoot!

I also did my makeup trial today! Woo! I am putting on my own makeup, so I will probably do another one tomorrow, just to clock myself and improve my long-lapsed eyelining technique. The things you lose after not using them for 10 years.

I came in at contacts and makeup in 39 minutes. I've given myself more time, so I could even stretch that out a bit. I think more moisturizer in the foundation would be a good idea. (audience: "BOOOooooring!")

Ahem, sorry. So I put on makeup for 40 minutes straight today and proceeded to dance around singing Right Said Fred's, "I'm too sexy". (audience: "YAY!")

Placecards are done! Menus are done! Nametags are done! Readings are prepared! Conversation starters are almost done! Certificate and License stuff are almost done! Photo Collage almost done! Wooooooooo!

John got back from his bachelor party at 4am and in one, rather sheepish, piece.

11:08 am: Greatest Challenge So Far
Nothing in my life, not years of Girl Scouting (planning, programing, community service) nor working in retail, customer service, tech support, or childcare has prepared me for the challenge that I face right now. I do believe I might crash upon its mighty walls like an undercooked cupcake, with no little paper thingy, dropped on the asphalt by a third grader during the school fair.

The Seating Chart.


Oh, it's not as though I've been leaving it to the last minute. I've actually been thinking about it for quite some time now. But sitting down to do it, once you realize who is and is not attending, is a different matter. Nobody wants to be stuck on the end! Keep the politically opposite people away from one another! Make sure there is an equal mix of people who don't know one another and people who do! So-and-so needs to sit next to this person because they want a bite of their food! heh heh heh...

Well, it's a challenge, to say the least. John and I did our first version today.

Just remember that by the time you sit down to dinner; we will have done several versions, trying to make it work for everyone. We will have given it the old college try, for sure! :)

Hey, how's the weather over there? It looks like it's getting down to below freezing at night...so folks, bring a warm jacket for when the sun starts to set!

09:21 am: Breweries in Bend!
I know John Parkinson (As opposed to John Green...) is interested in checking out some of the nifty breweries in the area. John, I hope this helps you out!

List taken from Ratebeer.com Be sure to look at their Portland Breweries, if you want to pick up some of that McTarnahan's stout and sock it away for winter! :)

Bend Brewing Company (541) 383-1599

Cascade Lakes Lodge (541) 338-4998

Deschutes Brewery & Public House (541) 382-9242

McMenamins Old St. Francis School (541) 382-5174

Silver Moon Brewing (541) 388-8331
This place is actually a Homebrew shop that also brews. Their webpage isn't much to look at, but it gets good reviews at ratebeer.com, so any microbrews curios may find it worthwhile!

24 NW Greenwood Ave
Bend, Oregon 97701-2027 [map]
(541) 388-8331

John and I finished the programs, comic and favor today! I'll try to get a picture up as a sneaky peek of what's to come.

In other, completely unrelated news, I invented a new tea blend today which I dubbed "War". It's a mix equal parts English Breakfast and Irish Breakfast, because John and I are woefully out of tea. :) John thought it so funny he said I should post it. You can all go back to your regularly scheduled programs now! heh.

09:14 pm: The Guestbook is done!!
The Guestbook is done!

Yay!




It was a pleasure to do, for the most part. ( If you want to see the step-by-step process, click here! )

02:36 pm: TSA allows some toiletries
Hi everyone!

This is some good news for folks flying over for the wedding: TSA is now allowing toiletry liquids up to 3 ounces to be transported, provided they are all kept in a quart-size ziploc bag.

Here's the article:

www.tsa.gov

Whew! I think this will make a few things easier for folks traveling for just a few days.

Links:

Weather at Black Butte

Smartertravel.com

10:21 pm: Things are really happening around here!
Wow guys! My dress arrived yesterday. I took it to be altered today. The rings also arrived today. Tomorrow I take the shoes to get dyed, stop by Bra-Tenders for a light undergarment re-adjustment, and then John and I are going to get some carry-on luggage because I just don't trust airlines not to loose anything vital anymore. After my experiences this summer, if it's something I need within 3 days upon landing, then it comes with me on the airplane. :)

I have some revisions to make to the timeline before I email it out to the wedding party, and a few more people to contact again: Photographer, Childcare, Hair/Makeup people, Catering person.

And the guest book. I've been ever so slowly working on the guestbook over the past week. When it's done, I'll be sure to post pictures about how I created it, similar to the invites.

John has been working on the programs, the favors, placecards, labels & nametags. And he's been my personal therapist.

Come to think of it, a lot of people are filling that description right now. :)

Want to know what the weather's like at Black Butte right now? Click here!

This weekend, a high of 78 degrees, a low of 37 degrees. That's almost below freezing after dark. We've got to remember that though there are trees, Black Butte Ranch is in the desert part of Oregon, so when the sun goes down so does the temperature!

11:28 am: Discount Travel Website
Some things you just don't find out about until the last minute. Well, I just found this mighty nifty website that has advice, comparisons, sales, and last-minute pricing available for airfares.

Smartertravel.com

It's hard to say whether or not this would be useful for anyone, but I did find a last-minute flight from Philadelphia, PA to Medford, OR for $307! Wow! Last minute in terms of September 16th, of course, but you never know, maybe October will bring some nice deals as well!

Here are a few other links you might find useful:

Having problems emailing us your rsvp?

What's the weather like?


And that's all the important news right now!
Gosh, it feels like things are happening every moment!

( Want to see what I did yesterday? )

12:52 pm: How's the weather over there??
Hi everybody!

We've got merely 31 days! Can you believe it???

I've been working on John's sweater, contacting the Wedding Planner and the Catering director, talking to the florist. I've got to call the Photographer, the childcare person, the hair person, the musicians and the officiant. We've got to apply for a license, and make the guestbook, the programs and the favors.

whew. How's the weather? Well, let's find out!

Black Butte Golf Course Weather

I'll keep this link up so we can all periodically check back.

If you have a question about how to RSVP, please scroll down a bit!

08:10 pm: How to RSVP
Hi there folks,

We've had some confusion about how to rsvp.

rsvp@marionandjohn.com is an email address.

All you have to do is send an email from whatever email program you use... be that Eudora, Outlook, or the internet (like yahoo, aol, hotmail, gmail, etc.) and address it to rsvp@marionandjohn.com.

I should point out that rsvp@marionandjohn.com is not a web page. If you type it into the address bar of your browser, you will find an error.

All it is is an email address, the same way xxxxxx@yahoo.com is an email address.

Address an email to rsvp@marionandjohn.com with the number attending and your meal choices, and that is all you need to do to rsvp.

If you've read the above and you're still having trouble, then please contact John or I through whichever way you feel most comfortable!

02:37 pm: Lodging Update and Apologies...

As it turns out there is some important information regarding lodging at Black Butte Ranch that we just found out about now: if you want to reserve accomodations at Black Butte, you must contact Jenine Kramer at 541-595-1245 (or 1-800 452 7455). All reservations have to go through her, so if you call and don't speak to her, the person you get may not have the right information. We were unaware that she was the only one who would be able to help any of our guests.
We are so sorry for the inconvenience and any misunderstandings.

Also, it may not have been clear on the info card that you should send an e-mail as your R.S.V.P. to rsvp@marionandjohn.com . Or call Marion (917-543-9095) or John (212-987-6755) and let us know how many will attend and what each would like for dinner.

Again, sorry for any confusion!


Incidentally, if anyone wants help coordinating with folks who have/need extra room, Marion's mom has volunteered to help with that. Her name is MarSi, and her number is on the info card.

09:44 am: We have liftoff!!!
Folks, all invitations are in the mail. Yay! A week late, but this was due to arriving back from Seattle the day we were supposed to mail them without having done info cards or envelopes. As you may recall, we had finished printing a mere 5 hours before we got on a plane for the west coast. So now they are in the mail to you, we can share photos of our printing experience!

Please note, all invites shipped with an information card. If you somehow did not get said card, or have a question that isn't answered on said card, or the info card just plain bothers you and you don't want to read it; then please read it anyway (it's short) then email John and I with your question:

wedding@marionandjohn.com

We'll answer with verve and precision!

( And now, click for pictures! )

12:00 am: 'Bout time for an update...
Hey. How's it going? eh, I've had better months. Really.

It's hard to think about wedding stuff right now, but as it turns out decisions keep needing to be made. So here are some photos about what I did in July in Oregon. They are behind the cut.

A quicky mention about the website: Now our registry for Down to Earth is online. Link available through our website if you're interested:
marionandjohn.com

And now, photos! Madness! Mayhem! MARION'S HUGE FACE!
( Click for photos! )

09:24 pm: Appointments galore!
Hi there everyone,


Just to update what's going on wedding wise, I spent the past three days in Black Butte. I met with the: catering/events director at the Ranch, the potential childcare provider, the planner, the photographer, the florist, the hair stylist, and I was about to meet with the lead musician when I was called back to Eugene on a family emergancy.

I must say that over the course of those meetings, I was able to gather a firm grasp of the breakdown of the wedding day, including what I will be doing every 15 minutes. That's not to say the day will be stressful, just that I know what will be happening when; and provided I have prepared myself appropriately I will find it all just as enjoyable as any guest. I'm afraid I don't have any photos to post right now, but in a few days I will have photos and a breakdown of each meeting. I hope this will provide insight to other brides as well as some interesting anectdotes for family.

I should add that I did a trial run of my hair, and it will look awesome!
:)

05:24 pm: Housing Block Expires...
This is just a note to let everyone know that this week (tomorrow, actually) the block of accomodations we reserved at Black Butte Ranch expires.

This does not mean that after tomorrow you will not be able to make reservations at the ranch, just that the remaining houses that we had blocked will become available to anyone who wants to stay at the ranch.

So, if you were thinking of staying at one of the places on our list but have yet to make your deposit, now's the time, before some off-season golfer snatches it up!

Info is still up on our site (www.marionandjohn.com) and if you have any questions just e-mail us!

07:13 pm: THE DRESS!!!!




( Ok, this is not actually the dress. Click here )

04:48 pm: Feeling good!
Hello folks!

I shall be updating with some pictures of my dress-ordering bonanza the other night, but I just found a nifty link I need to update our site with:


Central Oregon Visitors Association!

Click to find out why Central Oregon is so darn awesome. :)

11:39 am: WEDDING DRESS ALERT!!!


Hey ladies that I know and love in NYC, I've lost 10 lbs and my dress designer is closing her NY studio. That means I've got to go in for a re-measuring and place an order this coming Monday or Tuesday a bit after 5:30! Anyone want to come with? She's also got a different dress for me to try on, just in case I like it better. (cripes, she knows I'm a Libra! Options are the end of me! :)

Yoooooo know you wanna! :)

thanks in advance,

Marion

P.S. Here's her website, she's awesome: Elon Michelle

EDIT: We are totally confirmed for 6pm Monday! Can I treat you guys to dinner after? This appt shouldn't take more than 45 minutes or so. And you know, you gals gotta eat. :)