Fashionably Late

Just in case anyone is waiting for the formal, official invitation to do any particular piece of flight/hotel/etc planning...please DON'T.

The invitations are gorgeous and, thanks to the wonderfully talented and industrious Mia (much love to Mia/Ian & Little City Designs!
http://littlecitydesigns.com), were completed as soon as we figured out the details, but they will not get out to everyone for a little while yet. (We were waiting to make sure we had the ceremony space set before we put it on the invitations, so they're just going to the printer now.)

We're doing RSVP cards, but considering the timing we're probably just going to bug everyone to see who's coming, when you're coming, etc. The painful process of keeping the group list small aside, one glory to a small wedding is that this type of follow up will - hopefully - be relatively simple. If you're reading this and we haven't talked about the wedding since you got the save the date, please email Colby or I and let us know whether you're going to be able to come and, if you are, when you're getting to town & where you're staying. Thanks!

Registerified

So, we've gotten some inquiries about the registry thing. At first we were tentative about the whole thing, then confused, then completely overwhelmed with options and now, finally, DONE!

For the record, there is ABSOLUTELY NO NEED to buy us a single thing. Anyone coming into town is already giving us a great present just by being here and anyone close by is being/has been fantastic help in putting the planning together.

That said, it was a tiny bit fun to put together the wish list. If you're curious to see what a dozen hours of online and in store houseware browsing led to, our lists are at:

Crate & Barrel
http://www.crateandbarrel.com/Gift-Registry/Guest/ViewRegistry.aspx?grid=4336762

and at Amazon.com
http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wedding/1CQP1P1P1BTDN

Making up for lost time...

For a quick catch up, only 2 days from closing on the house we were hoping for and after MUCH needed and appreciated help in checking it out from friends and family (THANK YOU Uncle Joe, Leroy & Josh!!!), we decided for a number of reasons that it wasn't for us. So, now that we're not focused on house hunting we noticed that we were a bit behind on the wedding plans and have jumped into Wedding Planning with both feet. There has been cake tasting (with complimentary ice tea - see right), venue vetting and registry pondering. Basically, around 3 months worth of planning in around 2 weeks. Luckily, we have very patient, very lovely friends and family who are helping us work through the pieces and we're catching up pretty quickly.

A word on lodging: If you're coming in from out of town and want to stay at the hotel we mentioned earlier, please call them and let them know which room you want. Formal invites will go out as soon as we get the 'where' nailed down (we're finalizing the ceremony spot next week), but please don't wait on that. We're going to need to release extra rooms next month, so this is a perfect time to book your room.

Also, it would be helpful to know when everyone will be coming and going, so please email your flight info whenever you have it. If you'd like us to post it here to help coordinate trips to and from the airport, just let us know.

House Update, part 2

It's been a while since the last posting so, just to keep everyone in the loop, we're still waiting to find out about the house. And, by 'the house', I mean the house and the next stage of wedding schemes. We're farther along with both processes, but the house is a short sale, so everything takes FORRRRREEEEEVVVVEEERRRRR.

In the meantime, we've started to get travel details for out of towners, which is REALLY helpful for a couple of reasons. We're still working out plans for Sunday, so it will be helpful to know how many people will be around for the afternoon. We'd like to do something relaxing once the big event is over, but we can plan that with an eye to when people will be leaving town.

Also, once we get more information we can post travel times for anyone interested in car/van pooling to/from the airport. If you're interested, just send your flight info and we'll start the list.

Thanks to everyone for all the support as we push through housing limbo. :)

House Update

Planning for August is mostly on hold right now while we wait to see whether we buy the house we want. We put in an offer last week - which has created both lots of excitement and brief periods of anxiety (such a big decision!) - and now we're waiting to see if the bank accepts the offer. If they do, then we have a few weeks to get an inspector, assessor, etc in to check out the place to make sure we know what we'd be getting and decide if we want to make the leap.

Anyway, the reason this is connected to August planning is that if we buy the house we will have the August 1st Big Event there, so we're crossing our fingers and waiting to see how the house thing pans out before we figure out the rest of the details.

In the mean time, we cruise by the 'new' house every few days on pretty much any excuse. Having the best tacos in Ventura just 3 blocks away and our friends Josh and Kim on the next street down have given us plenty of excuses so far...

Bella Maggiore Inn info

The Bella Maggiore doesn't have a website, so here's some basic information about the hotel and rooms.

We've blocked off all the rooms on the second floor (rooms 1-28, except one that was booked already) for Friday July 31st and Saturday August 1st. We'll check in a couple of months and free up unbooked rooms, but it will give everyone options for now. Feel free to book a room on the 3rd floor (or at another place, for that matter) - it was just simpler to stick with the 2nd floor because the number of rooms was right.

A quick notes on placement - keep in mind that rooms on California Street are noiser. There is a restaurant across the street that tends to go late and loud. Nothing crazy, but if you're a light sleeper, ask for a quiet room.

If you book a room here, let them know that you're coming in for the "Kallen" wedding for a 10% discount. Colby didn't go for an official two-way name change, but we did agree for the combo name for the wedding. :)

Planning Your Trip

If you're heading to Ventura from out of town, here are some suggestions and things to keep in mind:

We recommend staying at the Bella Maggiore (805) 652-0277. It's a great little local hotel in the middle of 'downtown' Ventura. Nothing fancy, but there are a range of rooms and breakfast is included. The Sunday brunch is actually going to be here, so one incentive would be only needing to roll out of bed on Sunday morning for a tasty breakfast with everyone. There are plenty of other hotels nearby as well. We're trying to plan the weekend with minimal need to drive, but if you stay outside of the main section of downtown there should be plenty of free parking available for when you come in.

If you're thinking about extending the trip for extra days to check out the area, Ventura is 30 minutes south of Santa Barbara, 30 minutes from Ojai (hot springs, hiking, new age-y-ness) and an hour north of LA (either by the 101 or the coast route).

Downtown Ventura is right next to the beach. There's surfing and hanging out on the beach, hanging out in the park, hanging out and having a drink...well, you get the picture. Don't expect a booming metropolis, but it's a super-accessible town with lots of beautiful nature all around.

We'll post more information about places we like around town a little closer to the August.

When & Where

Save the dates are going out soon, but if you're looking for more than a date to figure out plans, here's the general idea:

Ventura plans

07.31.09 (Friday)
Afternoon family get together; Friends settle in and roam around town
Evening: Dinner with out-of-town friends and family (details to come)

08.01.09 (Saturday)
Morning/Early afternoon: Everyone has breakfast on their own, with options of Farmer's Market wandering, sleeping in, wandering around, etc. (Colby, Tanya & co. set up ceremony and reception sites.)
Late afternoon to evening: Ceremony, then everyone walks downtown to the RECEPTION/PARTY!!!
Later in the evening: Intrepid party goers move through downtown looking for adventures...

08.02.09 (Sunday)
(Not too early) Morning: Breakfast/brunch at Bella Maggiore with friends and family (free for anyone staying at the hotel!)
Afternoon: No particular plans yet, but we're thinking something simple, relaxing and centrally located will be good before/as anyone leaving town takes off

We're working on the rest of the plans. If you have questions, feel free to email or call:

Colby
312.543.4127
tommasini@gmail.com

Tanya
312.404.6278
tanyakellam@yahoo.com