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Friday, June 11, 2004
All packed up and everywhere to go
Okay, so, we're on the road as of early Saturday morning. We're looking forward to seeing you all - it's going to be a great time. A couple of things to remember:
1. Allergy medication - if you're at all allergic, the north Georgia mountains in summer are not your friends. You'll need your dope.
2. Sunblock and bug spray.
3. Camp chairs will undoubtably be one of those "not necessary, but nice to have" items. If you have one, and it's not too much of a pain to bring, bring it.
4. The individual rooms / cabins don't have phones. The lodge has a phone in the common room, from which collect and calling-card calls can be made, and there are similar phones in the resort office. Cell phone reception is patchy but does exist.
5. The cabins have TVs and VCRs, but no cable, and get about 2 snowy channels that both show "The Hog Farm Report," reruns of "Mama's Family," and stories from the life of Jesus on an endless repeating cycle. I don't think the lodge rooms have TVs at all. Bring a book, game, or other form of distraction if you think you'll need it.
6. The resort has a pool, each of the cabins has a hot tub, and the lodge has a large hot tub. So: swimsuits. Or not. I'm not gonna judge. There's also a tennis court. Oh, and nearby golf courses, so if you're sick enough to lug that kind of equipment down, lug away.
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Monday, April 19, 2004
It's in the hands of the United States Postal Service now
Envelopes were stuffed, stamps were licked, and invitations went into the mail yesterday. The wedding itself is in two months, which seem a little surreal. Well, no. What seems surreal is that we've been engaged for fourteen months.
Kim's decided that she's going to make a pre-wedding trip to Dahlonega in about a month to keep things on track, and make sure they know we'd appreciate it if there wasn't too much tulle in the vicinity.
Meanwhile, Jim, showing the foresight and tactical genius that's earned him the nickname "Jim," writes with his concern that the beer situation in Dahlonega may involve a mite less variety than some people might be able to tolerate. Specifically, the words "Bud Lite" were used in a manner that, though it was via email, were infused with a Lovecraftian horror bordering on madness.
Here's what I have to say about that: it's certainly possible that you'll be able to find a decent liquor store in the Dahlonega area. God knows stranger things have happened. And certainly we'll have enough on hand for the barbecue on Friday and the reception on Saturday (no small feat, you understand; this involves three tanker trucks). However, the only alcohol-dispensing establishment I recall seeing when we were there last year was a small convenience store, and the selection was pretty grim. So my advice, if you intend to lay in a stash of booze, is to load up in Atlanta and bring it with you. If you need directions to one in the Atlanta area, email me at ssmith[at]jenkens[dot]com, or give us a call.
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Monday, March 15, 2004
Stacks of wax on racks
So we hired a DJ today.
When we first started planning this wedding, I was adamant that we would do no such thing. There's no way, I said, that I'm letting some stranger pick the music for the biggest party I'll ever throw. And on this one day, above all others, I should not have to listen to YMCA, the Electric Slide, or the Macarena. So I told Kim that we'd pick all the music ourselves, load it onto a laptop, and hook it into Forrest Hills's sound system.
Except that Forrest Hills doesn't have a sound system.
Dammit.
So I looked into renting one. But, considering the price and the hassle of transporting it up to Dahlonega and setting it up, plus the hassle of figuring out who should do the (very small) amount of emceeing we need, it started to look more and more like the smart thing to do would be to hire someone who would be willing to just sit there and play what we give him.
So that, hopefully, is what we've done. I'm hard at work putting the music together, so if anyone has any suggestions, leave them in the comments section...
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Wednesday, March 10, 2004
Last call...
There are apparently something like three rooms left available in the Treetopper Lodge right now, and the cabins are right sold out. So if you've been dithering and lazing away lo this past year or so, and have yet to make arrangements, know that time's winged chariot has pulled up behind you in the passing lane, and is beeping its horn and flashing its lights.
There should, however, still be plenty of rooms left at the Holiday Inn - just know that they all get released one month before the wedding.
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Monday, March 01, 2004
No, really, we're interested!
It's been so long since this page was updated that the comments service apparently ate itself, so we've switched to Haloscan. Let the comment-fest begin anew!
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Oh, like anyone's checking this page anymore...
For those who are starting to think about travel arrangements, we've signed up for American Airlines' wedding discount program, which gives any of our guests who fly AA an additional 10% off their lowest published round-trip fare to Atlanta between June 12 and 26. If you're interested, give them a call at 1-800-433-1790, and use our reservation code, A5664AY. When you call, you can also get a discounted rate on an Avis rental car, if you need one.
The 10% reduction is good for reservations made 30 days in advance or more; once inside the 30-day window it drops to 5%.
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Tuesday, September 23, 2003
Just what is "nitty gritty," anyway?
Okay, let's talk turkey. I know a number of people have already made reservations, or will be making them imminently, and this is a tremendously good idea - especially if you're staying at Forrest Hills.
So here, one more time, are your various options, and the prices thereon:
1. Get a room in the Treetopper Lodge. Includes two full-sized beds and a pull-out sofa. Cost: $272.28 for two nights for two people, including tax and tip, additional adult guests (over 12 years old) at $50 per head, kids 6-12 get a price break (I think it's $29 each), and kids under 6 stay free. Comes with breakfast both mornings, plus dinner on Friday night (which will take the form of a barbecue). Drawback: if you reserve a room in the lodge, you'll only be able to reserve Friday and Saturday nights initially, and will have to wait until the wedding is closer to see if they'll be available for any other nights you might want to stay. If it turns out to be unavailable after Saturday night, though, you can always move to one of the other options.
2. Get a cabin. Includes a queen-sized bed, pull-out sofa, kitchen, fireplace, and hot tub. Cost: $299 for 2 people for 2 nights PLUS tax and tip (works out to a total of about $350), or $399 plus tax and tip for three nights. Also includes breakfast each morning and the barbecue, also subject to the same math concerning additional guests.
3. Get a room at the Holiday Inn Express in Dahlonega. Your standard hotel room; we've got 20 of them blocked off, but they'll be released back to the hotel 30 days before the wedding. Cost: $89.50/night. Disadvantage: you'll be 13 miles or so from the action.
4. Something else. There's camping and bed and breakfasts in the area, but that's on you to find out about if you want to go that route.
The relevant phone numbers are:
Forest Hills - 800-654-6313
Holiday Inn Express - 706-867-7777
Whatever you decide, please let us know when you've made plans. We're really stoked about seeing everyone, and are looking forward to a weekend of high carousing with family and friends.
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Dahlonega
Kim found this article in the Dallas Morning News yesterday. It's basically a puff piece about Dahlonega, but it's pretty strange that it would appear in the DMN. Anyway, it's worth a read, even if it does make D-town sound like a tourist's paradise.
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Sunday, September 07, 2003
That bird done flown
As you may have noticed, the Lodging Survey page is no more, and thanks to everyone who responded. Unfortunately, it appears that we were too slow on the uptake, and by the time we called to reserve the Eagle's Nest - the lodge right next to the one we've already booked - it had been taken. Taken, by all accounts, by a group of vegeterian meditation enthusiasts who are given to six a.m. nature hikes. Oh, baby.
Anyway, as a fallback position, we've blocked off ten of the individual cabins at Forrest Hills. Kim and I stayed in one of these when we were there last June. Basically, they've got a large living room that includes a fireplace (probably unnecessary in June) and TV/VCR (no cable and bad reception, so bring them videos or - better yet - prepare to be outside in God's own sunshine), a decently-equipped kitchen with a full-sized refrigerator and utensils, a hot tub, and a bedroom that is distinct (i.e. around the corner) from, but not walled off from, the rest of the lodge. We're also told that, by next June, they'll probably have sleeper sofas, meaning that they're not bad options if people are looking to share accommodations. At any rate, they're easily bigger than either of my first two apartments.
Oh, as an incidental note - don't be thrown by this "couples-only 'Secret Garden' dining room" nonsense in the cabin description on Forrest Hills' web site. In all honesty, that one line very nearly caused me to veto the whole place. As it turns out, though, I'm assured that single people merely have to chant "I am grotesque and unlovable!" three times before being let in to breakfast.
No, no, kidding, of course. We're all welcome to eat together - large and small, black and white, single and coupled and Mormon. I say we let the early morning vegeterian meditators have the first seating, though.
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Monday, August 25, 2003
Lodges
Here's the deal: Forrest Hills has, in addition to individual cabins, a number of large-group lodges that are kind of like mini-hotels, in that there are individual rooms and baths that share a common area. These lodges are an all-or-nothing proposition - you either reserve the whole thing or nothing. We've already reserved the Tree Topper Lodge, which includes 16 rooms, but we're pretty antsy about whether that might not be enough. In fact, I'm almost sure of it.
Right next to the Tree Topper, meanwhile, is an as-yet-unreserved lodge called the Eagle's Nest. The Eagle's Nest is set up a little differently - while the Tree Topper has sixteen rooms, each of which includes two full-sized beds, a little sun porch, and a bathroom, the Eagle's Nest has four two-bedroom apartments, plus four individual rooms, all with queen-sized beds (two of the individual rooms have two queen beds, two of the individual rooms have one queen bed). Reserving the Eagle's Nest would, no doubt, give us some flexibility in terms of room types, plus it would mean that we'd have the little cul-de-sac in which the two lodges are located all to ourselves.
Of course, this far in advance of the wedding we have no idea how many people are planning to come, who's going to stay (and for how long), and what kind of accommodations they'll need, so we're not positive we should grab the extra space, but at the same time we're pretty sure. So here's the deal: if you have any idea at all what your plans might turn out to be vis-a-vis the wedding, please let us know by going to our Lodging Survey page. There's no obligation, no salesperson will call, and it'll help us out. Thanks!
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Wednesday, August 13, 2003
Up and Running
Aha! It works! And after only two hours of fiddling! I'm not sure why I thought I needed to run this page through Blogger; ultimately it probably would have been just as easy to edit the page itself to add text, rather than relying on a third-party blogging program. But all the cool web sites do it, at least the ones that haven't switched over to Moveable Type.
Plus, this way I get archives. Because this stuff, it's a keeper.
Anyway, this is my contribution to the wedding effort so far. It was this or help with the save the date cards, which you've probably received if you're reading this - I wouldn't know, since I was wandering around Staples, long strands of drool hanging off my lower lip, looking at flat-screen monitors and PDA's while Kim picked out the cards.
Setting up this site is my first real experimentation with web design - and before you get the wrong idea, it's a pre-formatted template that I'm bending, not something I made from scratch - but I've seen enough sites to know that (1) simpler is better, and (2) content is king. So hopefully it's simple enough, and hopefully we'll have some good content up before long on this part of the site. The good content is Kim's job. I write the filler and the jokes about saliva.
The point of this particular page is to provide an account of what we're up to, wedding-wise. Although we've still got a good ten months before we hie ourselves to Dahlonega, it's been six months already since the engagement. Six! In that time, we've found and booked a site for the ceremony and reception, found and booked a photographer, bought the rings, and figured out a few specific things, like how Kim's going to arrive at the ceremony and what kind of music we'll play before it starts. But neither one of us has been exactly obsessive about it; I've been telling myself to start a notebook for songs I want played at the reception for about five months now. This site represents at least 80% of the time I've put into planning so far. The other 20% involved finding a list of how much alcohol to buy for a 100-person reception and tripling it.
So the two of us will be updating from time to time - exactly what that schedule will be, I couldn't tell you. But keep your eyes peeled, and come back often.
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