Just 3 weeks left.

OK so we are only 3 weeks away from the wedding. I hope that everybody is getting as excited as we are. Since neither of us has met everybody coming to the wedding we are looking forward to seeing old faces and meeting new ones. At this point I hope everyone has med arrangements for places to stay but it sounds like most everybody has. For those who haven't I do not recommend waiting until you get here to try and find a place to stay. Please let me know if you are having trouble since I do know of a few places that still have availability. Shawn and I will sit down with our coordinator at the country club on Tuesday to go over the plans for the evening and make any changes needed at that time and varify everything. We are so excited. See you in July.

Dress for the wedding

Several people have been asking about what to wear to the wedding.  I know that traditionaly evening weddings are considered formal but that is not necessary.  There are some people, mainly our parents, who are going a bit more on the formal side.  The country club requires at least country club attire so that is as casual as you may get.  I have told most people that they can think about what they might wear to church on Easter Sunday and that would be perfectly fine.  Dress comfortably for the occassion and keep in mind the country club's dress code.  

We have someone to perform the ceremony

Yesterday Shawn and I met with Pastor Ray Webb and he agreed to perform our wedding ceremony for us.  This is not just some pastor that we picked up from anywhere.  Pastor Ray is the pastor of Beach Road Baptist Church in Southport, NC.  This is the church that I grew up attending and my great grandmother was one of the charter members of the church.  Pastor Ray is the only pastor that the church has ever had and I as well as many others respect him and hold him in very high regards.  I told Shawn that I felt that this was who was ment to perform the ceremony and asked him if he minded and Shawn told me to go for it.  I am so accited that Pastor Ray agreed.  Now we are down to the last minute kinds of details.  It won't be long now.

Wedding Planning update

Ok so here is the state of all of the planning.  We have the location for the ceremony and reception, we have the DJ, florist, and photographer and they are all payed for.  We have set the menu and decided on the type of cake we want though we are still deciding on how to decorate it.  I have my dress though I still need to go get my veil and have the dress hemmed up because I'm short.  Shawn has to go to the tux shop and choose the style of tuxes for himself and the groomsmen.  I have ordered the guest book and pen set, the cake serving set, and the champaign glasses.  I have also ordered the cake topper which everyone should get a great chuckle out of (Shawn picked it out).  We are working on planning the honeymoon which is going to be absolutely awsome and we are so excited about it.  The wedding registry is on amazon.com and there is a link directly to it in an older post.  We are meeting the officient the Monday after Easter to get things set up the way would like them.  It appears that most everybody has made their arrangements for accomodations which is good because the few who haven't are having a hard time finding places.  Let me know if anybody needs any help.  I have helped to find accomodations and plan many family vacations in this area and would love to help if you need it.  If you are planning on attending and haven't let me know please let me know as soon as possible so I am sure that I have the correct numbers.  Overall it seems as though everything is falling into place wonderfully and a lot of the stress of trying to plan a wedding with all the people who would normally help in the planning process so far away is beginning to go away.  I'm getting to the point where I can just sit back and enjoy waiting on the big day to arrive and watching the two families meet each other and get to know each other.  There will be no seating arrangement at the reception since we want everybody to mingle and get to know each other.  Hope everybody is getting as excited as we are.  We'll see you in July. 

The menu for the wedding

We have set the menu for the reception.  We will be doing a buffet meal and hopefully there is something on it that everyone will like.  Shawn and I have taste tested the items and they are delicious.  The buffet will include Top Round Roast w/ a Cabernet glaze ( served on the side), Roasted Pork Loin w/ a Chutney Sauce ( served on the pork loin), Jasmine Rice, Garlic Mashed Potatos, Steamed Broccoli, Salad, Bread & Butter, and drinks (tea, water, coffee, & sodas).  There will be a champaigne punch for the wedding toast however there will be punch without the champaign for those under 21 or those who do not wish to drink any alcohol.  There will not be a cash bar available in the reception room however the Pin High Grill & Bar is just through a door if you would like to purchase an adult beverage.  The cake will be a vanilla cake with a rasberry filling topped with butter cream frosting.  I hope everyone will enjoy the meal.

If you haven't made your reservations for places to stay...

I have been trying to make sure that everybody knows that places to stay fill up quickly around here in the summer time.  If you haven't made your reservations for accomodations yet you need to look into that as soon as possibly because things are already filling up.  My grandmother is staying in Cherokee which is a bit further than I would like for my guests to stay.  She has tried to find other hotels that might be closer but hasn't had any luck so apparently hotels are filling up very fast.  Please do not wait until the last minute to make your reservations.  If you find yourself stuck in finding accomodations, let me know and I will see what can be found though it may not be as close as you would like for it to be.  Let me know if I can help.

RSVP date is coming up

We are now into march and as of today, March 3rd, I am still waiting on 35 RSVPs to get back. I must have them back by March 15th so that I can let Maggie Valley Club know how many people we will have attending our wedding. If by March 15th, I have not recieved an RSVP from you I will have to assume that you will not be attending. I hope you all can attend. Please get those RSVPs back. If you can't find your invitation and RSVP to send back you can RSVP here by leaving a comment. I will be looking for RSVPs in posts that talk about RSVP.

wedding planning update

It's amazing how things seem to fall together sometimes so quickly.  We pretty much only have four and a half months until the wedding.  Luckily, we have a lot done.  We have a location for the ceremony and the reception.  We have an officient that we will be meeting with over my Easter vacation.  We have catering at the country club as well as them doing the wedding cake.  A friend is going to DJ the reception for us which is saving a lot of money which is always nice.  I have my dress and shoes and hair stylist.  My bridesmaids have ordered their dresses.  The invitations have been sent out and the RSVPs are coming back.  Thank you to those who have already sent them back.  March 15th is the taste testing at the country club and we will then narrow down the buffet choices and the cake.  The only major things that we have left to handle is photography and florists.  The florist won't be that big of a deal since I don't need a whole lot of flowers.  Shawn and his best man and groomsman need to get their tuxes rented which Shawn tells me will be done at the end of March.  Things are coming along very nicely.  I hope everyone is looking forward to coming out and celebrating with us.  We look forward to seeing you there.

Just a few reminders

This is just a friendly reminder to everyone to send in their RSVPs by March 15th. I have heard from word of mouth about some people but I would really like to have the RSVP to confirm what I have heard so that I can give the most accurate count to the country club so they know how much food to order. Also be sure that you make your reservations for places to stay as soon as you know you are coming so that you are sure that you have a place to stay. If you want to stay at the Country Club be sure to give me a call so that I can send you the form that you need to send with your deposit to be able to get the discount on the condo.

If you want to book a condo at the country club

Hey everyone, some people are thinking about bookeing a condo at the country club to stay when you come in for the wedding in July.  There is a discounted rate if you are staying there from $299 a night with a 2 night minimum to a $250 a night with a 2 night minimum.  To be able to get this discounted rate though there is a registration form to fill out and send in with your deposit.  You can call into the country club and reserve your condo but then you need to call me so I can send you this registration form.  Give me a call here at home, 1-828-497-9642.  I will send out the form the very next day after you call me and tell me you need it.  Please make sure you make your reservations as soon as possible.  See you in July.

Buffet or Hor'Deurves

Shawn and I have been toying with a couple different food options for the wedding reception.  The wedding won't be until about 7:30 pm eastern time which means that people won't be making their way to the reception until about 8:00.  We are trying to get some opinions on whether or not to serve a buffet dinner or hor'deurves.  Both options cost about the same except with a buffet we will probably get more for the money.  A buffet would also elliminate guest from having to eat out before the wedding in the middle of the mountains' busy tourist season when wait times can get long.  Hor'deurves would have 2 or 3 options floating around the room for guests and would mainly be finger foods.  The buffet would offer 2 meat options, 2 vegitable options, 2 starch options, and house salad.  Please give us your feedback on what you think.

The Wedding Registry

Shawn and I have finally set up our wedding registry.  We decided that in the interest of making things easiest for everyone that we would set up our registry with Amazon.com.  With very few exceptions, everyone has access to the internet and the majority of the world shops online anyways.  If you don't like the idea of shopping online you can still look at what is on the registry and some items it will tell you if you can buy it a regular store like Target or Macy's.  Below is the link for the wedding registry.

Wedding Registry

You can also reach the registry by going to Amazon.com, clicking on wedding registries and search for Parsons/Winn Wedding Registry

The Guest List

OK, so this is what everyboy has been waiting for.  Here is the guest list.  Yes invitations will still be going out but this gives everybody a heads up here.  You can even RSVP here by posting a comment.  

The Guest List

Jane,       Miss Jessica Blair & Guest,       Miss Pamela Parsons,       Miss Savannah Johnson,       Miss Wendy Gerbrands,       Mr. & Mrs Peter Miller,       Mr. & Mrs. Ben Lurie & family,       Mr. & Mrs. Bob Gerbrands,       Mr. & Mrs. Brian Johnson,       Mr. & Mrs. Carlos Cerrato & family,       Mr. & Mrs. Chris Curtin & family,       Mr. & Mrs. Chuck Gerbrands,       Mr. & Mrs. Dan Verbonitz,       Mr. & Mrs. Dana Parsons,       Mr. & Mrs. David Hernand,       Mr. & Mrs. David Huestess & family,       Mr. & Mrs. David Quinn,       Mr. & Mrs. Fred Walker,       Mr. & Mrs. James Fitzgerald III,       Mr. & Mrs. James Huestess,       Mr. & Mrs. Jeff Gullion & family,       Mr. & Mrs. Jeff Parent,       Mr. & Mrs. Jerry Fitsgerald,       Mr. & Mrs. Kennith Conover,        Mr. & Mrs. Kirk Shuman & family,       Mr. & Mrs. LaMar Johnston & family,       Mr. & Mrs. Larry Batson,       Mr. & Mrs. Larry Weir,       Mr. & Mrs. Michael Frank,       Mr. & Mrs. Michael Parsons,       Mr. & Mrs. Mike May & family,       Mr. & Mrs. Pat Szuch & family,       Mr. & Mrs. Paul Solorio & family,       Mr. & Mrs. Peter Gayton,       Mr. & Mrs. Randy Wirt & family,          Mr. & Mrs. RL Sattlemyre,       Mr. & Mrs. Steve DeCrosta,       Mr. & Mrs. Steven Parsons & family,       Mr. & Mrs. Tim Brown & family,       Mr. Anthony Malaquias & Guest,       Mr. Bill Hedges & Angel,       Mr. Chris Phillips,       Mr. Chris Russell & Guest,       Mr. Eric Amaker,       Mr. Joey Bryant & family,       Mr. John Hoyt,       Mr. Jonathon Blair & Guest,       Mr. Lehman Springs,       Mr. Mrs Rich Starr & family,       Mr. Mrs. Jim Huestess,       Mr. &  Mrs. Keith Johnson,       Mr. Nathan Dawson,       Mr. Peter Parsons,       Mr. Robert Ellingsworth & Guest,       Mr. Robert Frank,       Mr. Roberto Robles,       Mr.& Mrs. Jeffery Parsons & family,                Ms. Amy O'Dea & family,       Ms. Catherine Bloodworth,       Ms. Dale King,       Ms. Dee Hansen,       Ms. Faye Peterson,       Ms. Laurel Lamb,       Ms. Linda Fitzgerald,       Ms. Lucy Parsons,       Ms. Nikki Clayton,       Ms. Trina Thomason,       Ms. Violet Winn,       SSG. Kevin Ames

If you are going to RSVP here please indicate whether you will or will not be attending as well as how many of the people on your invitation will be attending.  So if the invitation is to you and a guest but only you will be attending you would say just 1 attending.  This provides me with a head count to give to the country club for the food and knowing how many seats to have.

Posting Comments

Many of you may have noticed if you tried to post a comment to a post that it didn't allow you to unless you had a blogger account.  We have fixed that problem so that anyone can post.  Instead of using a blogger account you need to click on the circle besid Name/URL.  You can put your name there and not worry about the blogger account.  The URL part is optional.  Hopefully that will be less confusing in the future.

Wedding Invitations & Accomodations Information

Hey everybody.  It's been a while since I have been able to update the blog and since there has been anything new to include.  Wedding invitations should be going out by the end of this month.  In another post I will include a list of everyone who will be invited and you may RSVP here or on the RSVP cards that go out with the invitations.  Many of you will want to begin looking at and booking your accomadations as soon as possible since there is an Arts and Crafts Festival in town that weekend as well as other festivals and events in the immediately surrounding areas.  The Maggie Valley Country Club has condos available to rent if you would like.  If you decide to go with this option let them know that you are coming for the Parsons/Winn wedding and they should give you a discount.  The phone number for the country club is 1-828-926-1616.  This will give you the front desk and they will tansfer you to the appropriate person within the country club.  If you do not wish to stay at the county club or when you call there is no longer any vacancies you don't have to worry just yet.  Maggie Valley has a large variety of hotels, motels, cabins, cottages, bed&breakfasts, campgrounds, and resorts.  the website for the Maggie Valley Chamber of Commerce has a large list of local accomodations.  I am attempting to keep everybody within the Maggie Valley city limits.  If you are looking for someplace that is very easy to get to, you may choose to look for someplace on Soco Road/HWY 19 since this is the main strip through town.  To get to the website, go to www.maggievalley.org and click on places to stay.  If you are looking to fly into the area, you will most likely want to fly into Asheville, NC.  This is a small airport which means you will most likely have to make a connecting flight somewhere between where you are traveling from to here.  I can get you easy directions from Asheville to Maggie Valley which is about a 45 min to an hour drive depending on the traffic.  I hope that this helps everyone with their plans and I looking foward to hearing from you soon.