Getting there

We sent out the invites and included a map. If you've lost it or just like to have fun with Google Maps, here's the online version:


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Don't forget: September 5 deadlines!

Just wanted to remind everyone that this Friday, September 5, is the deadline for RSVPs. It is also the last day we're guaranteed our reserved room block at the discounted rates. So if you haven't made your hotel reservation at Country Inn & Suites yet or haven't mailed back your RSVP card, please do so before Friday!

Thanks!

Lindsey

Almost to the month mark!

Hi again! I trust you've all received your invites; the RSVPs are beginning to pour in, and we're so excited! We hope you all love the invites, and we'd like to especially thank my cousin Dani for her help with the design. We're really pleased with how they turned out! We were so lucky to have her creative touch; please visit her shop and check out some of her amazing work! http://thistlefarm.etsy.com/

Speaking of thanks, I had the most amazing time at my bridal shower on Saturday! I know many people were involved in the planning and preparation, including my sister/maid of honor, Jillian; my mom; Dani; and many other friends and family members, including several of my many aunts, so I'd like to thank all of you who helped make it happen! The whole day was absolutely beautiful, and I couldn't have planned it better myself. Please send me your photos (her@lindseyplusjohn.com), and I'll have John help me post some in a gallery on here.

I was truly overwhelmed by all the love and support I felt on Saturday. I have to admit I was a little sad on Sunday to realize that such a major milestone was behind me, but I have beautiful memories to look back on. Thank you all so much for your generosity!

With only four more weekends until the wedding day, I'm sure John and I will be plenty busy over the next month. We'll keep you updated, and can't wait to see you all in a few weeks!

Lindsey

Popping in

Hi everybody! I know we've been a little quiet lately, but we are BUSY, BUSY! I wanted to give you a quick update that we've expanded our registries, so now we're at Target, Kohl's, and Bed, Bath & Beyond.

I can't believe we have less than two months till the big day! The summer is flying by now. We have a lot of exciting activities leading up to the wedding. This Sunday our families are getting together for the first time! It will be great for everyone to get acquainted before the actual wedding weekend!

I hope everyone's having a great summer. Don't forget to book your hotel rooms! :-)

Lindsey

Yet another reason to book early!

Thanks to my wonderfully inquisitive friend Celia, I've found out the Ithaca Apple Harvest Festival is scheduled for the weekend of the wedding! While this is GREAT news for those of you looking for other activities throughout the weekend, this could potentially affect room reservations. The dates of Apple Fest haven't been publicized yet, so we should be fine, but this is another good reason to book your rooms early. I've posted information on room reservations in previous posts and on the special information page, so you should find all the info you need there. Remember, you can cancel your reservation up to 72 hours in advance with no penalties, so you may want to book a room even if you're not sure you'll need it.

The concurrency of the wedding and the Apple Fest is a good thing! There's plenty of delicious food and lively activities down on The Commons all weekend long. If you've never experienced it, or you're an alumnus revisiting one of the main attractions in Ithaca, I'm sure you'll enjoy it. Famous kettle corn, homemade Purity ice cream apple crisp sundaes, fresh local apples and cider...mmm, I hope John and I will have a chance to scarf some kettle corn at some point during the weekend!

The Apple Harvest Festival is truly one of the most wonderful weekends in Ithaca. I do hope you'll have a chance to visit downtown Ithaca during your stay--just remember to book your room soon!

Book your room early!

I hope you all love your save-the-date cards! I'm so happy we got those out in the mail, and I love the way they came out.

I am writing a quick update to encourage you to book your hotel room at Country Inn & Suites EARLY, if you haven't done so yet. The hotel has 58 rooms, and I estimate that is about the number of rooms our overnight guests will need. It's a brand-new hotel and they just recently opened for reservations, but I still encourage you to book at our group rate as soon as you think you will need a room for Friday and/or Saturday night. I compiled some information on the hotel and our room block here.

The rooms are suites, so keep that in mind in case you might like to share a suite and split the cost with a friend or family member.

We had to start with a small room block, which we can expand once a significant number of reservations are made. That's why I encourage you to book your rooms as soon as possible. It is likely we will take up the entire hotel (fun!), but we can't block all the rooms until a number of people have made reservations--at that point we can expand our room block and take over the hotel. :-)

Remember, you need to provide a valid credit card number when you reserve your room, but you will not be charged until check-in (and at check-in time, a different card or cash may be used). And there is no penalty for canceling, up until 72 hours prior to your arrival date. So what do you have to lose?

Also keep in mind that you must book directly with the hotel (607-256-1100) to receive the group rate. Online reservations and reservations made via the toll-free number will not be eligible for our group rate. When you call, remember to mention you are reserving a room for the Lewis/White room block.

Please let John or me know if you have any questions. We would love to have everyone under the same roof, so book your rooms now!

And I just can't hide it!

I'm SO excited! Not that I haven't been excited since the day John and I got engaged, but now it's starting to seem REAL. And I know it's going to be over before we know it, so I'm really trying to cherish all this build-up time. (I know a year from now I'm going to read back over this and get teary eyed. Hi, future Lindsey! Don't be sad! Your wedding was awesome!) I emailed a ton of our friends yesterday for their addresses, and once the responses started rolling in, I couldn't stop smiling. John and I have many mutual friends and we are so thrilled and looking forward to having everyone we love gathered around us. I think he's great, he thinks I'm great, and we've attracted a lot of great friends over the years (yay, years!)---great, great, great.

We're already receiving a great outpouring of well wishes and excitement from our friends and family, which continues to stoke our excitement.

I started assembling our save-the-date cards last night and they look awesome! We'll definitely start sending those out next week, so keep checking those mailboxes! Who doesn't love some good old-fashioned snail mail?

Time is flying!

It's hard to believe that we have just over five months to go before our wedding! How exciting!! Now that things are really rolling and plans are coming together, I hope John and I will update this blog more often. We want this to be a great communication tool between us and our family and friends.

Our save-the-date cards will be going out in the next few weeks, so be on the lookout!

I started a Frequently Asked Questions section on the website; check it out! It should answer many of your questions leading up to the big day. If I've left off something you'd like to see covered, please let me know.

I also added a page with information on the brand-new Country Inn & Suites, which is where we've reserved a block of rooms for our guests.

Well, I think that's about all for now. Stay tuned for more!

Less than eight months? Really?

As expected, the time seems to be flying more and more as we draw ever closer to the big day. I feel as though we're on the cusp of crossing over from "the wedding is way, way in the distance" to "oh my gosh, we REALLY need to get moving." John and I are pretty well on track with the wedding planning. We have some of the big to-dos settled (church, reception, band) but there are certainly many more important tasks still to accomplish. I'm trying not to let the anxiety of "we still have this, this, and this to do" keep me up at night by taking comfort in the fact that the all-knowing wedding checklist from The Knot tells us we're on target, but the list of overdue items with purple exclamation points is starting to freak me out--just a little. I'm the type of over-achiever who would rather be ambitious and have everything done ahead of schedule--as if there were some wedding-planning-judging committee who would award me (I mean us! Ha!) an extra gold star (or a cash prize!) for doing so.

But, really, we do have time, and I am so glad we're planning the wedding ourselves rather than hiring a professional. It means a lot to us to have everything hand-picked, handmade (when possible), and personalized just for us. Because although we (I mean I! Ha!) may get anxious at times, when it's all over, we'll look back over every detail and know everything turned out the way we wanted because we had a hand in it all.

--Lindsey

P.S. We're perfecting the save-the-date prototype and hope to have those out soon!