Brandon @ Case

An Update of Dates

it's nearing krista and i's ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY, guys. i can't believe it. ...and oh, yes. we have a SET date for the wedding now. it's Friday, June 30, 2006... It's also in Farmington, Pennsylvania – just 70 miles southeast of Pittsburgh.

I know, I know. That's quite a way a-ways. The deal is... the ton of friends our age who wanted to attend and wish us well had begun to overwhelm a.) our desires for a small affair, b.) our planning, and c.) our financial budget. My mother, who has just separated from my abusive father (more on this later) and is supporting five kids with only her teacher's aide income (that'll change in time)... had been really stressing about how she was going to pay for a rehersal dinner. Did you know that the groom's parents are supposed to take care of that part? Krista's parents, who have house payments of their own to make, and two daughters of their own to support, have a much bigger burden with the wedding costs. Krista and I soon realized that our 170-ish person guest lists (each of us, now!) were out of hand. We shouldn't, couldn't, and wouldn't expect our parents to shell out the kind of money it would take to put together such a massive affair. So... we decided to have the wedding where we would be having our honeymoon... "Nemacolin."

You see, if you play around with that site I directed you to, you'd see that the wedding location is called "Nemacolin Woodlands Resort." I'll even get a little more specific on you. For our honeymoon, we're going to be staying in the "Chateau LaFayette" complex within Nemacolin: the one in these pictures that looks really big, is set most often against the sky, and... just seems French. We'll also be partaking in the wonderful spa there. The wedding will be outside (and from what I gather, so will the reception...) so we're praying beyond all prayers for clear and warm weather. It wouldn't hurt if you said a little prayer for us right now, either.

To top off my special "anniversary edition" of Life of Brandon Iam, I'm going to bring you some good news. Were you possibily wondering if you were going to be invited to the wedding in PA? Were you worried that travel would be a problem, even if you could split the gas with a carpool? No more. The primary celebration of Krista's and my married life will take place AFTER our wedding and honeymoon, in the form of a party, possibly in Washington Court House! Yaay!

We're not sure of where this is going to take place, but it will. ...Maybe at someone's house in CH or Cedarville or Columbus... ...maybe on the lawn of the Fayette County Museum... If you have a suggestion, or if you'd like to volunteer your house, you can get ahold of Vickie Baber, Krista's mom, at vbaber -at- gmail.com. It'll be an awesome time of fun and music, food and gifts. Yes, if you or your family would like to give us a wedding gift, this is how you'll get it to us. (If you're coming to the wedding, of course, bring the gift to PA... or if you'd like us for some reason to have our gift on our honeymoon, just e-mail Vickie about arrangements, no questions asked.) If you're our age, and invited to this "Awesome Wedding Party," [tentatively titled] your family will be, too. If you're invited to the wedding, you'll be invited to the party.

One last note about the party-- we're trying to accomodate anyone who wants to come and show support of our marriage. If you feel you'd like to attend this get-together, just drop an e-mail to me at brandoniamsmith -at- gmail.com, and i'll try to put you on the party roster. If you read this blog, however, chances are you're on it already... but you can still e-mail to make sure. Krista and I have a combined 330 people so far. Obviously, anyone invited to the wedding+party OR just the party will get a printed invitation in the mail. The final word on time/date and location will be enclosed.

I feel I should mention it again: we're sorry we can't accomodate many in the actual ceremony-- especially the individuals we've already told could come... we're just inviting precious few people to the actual wedding. And not to say that you're not precious. Heh. To give you an idea of the limited availability of guest spaces, take these facts into consideration: Krista had to trim back invitations to some of her FAMILY members, and I am only inviting SIX people who are not related to me... and they're all adults: Wayne and Pat Clark, Jim and Jeanne Rosendahl, and George and Amy Frederick. I, in fact, don't even expect those six to come (Not because they don't want to, but because they couldn't. The wedding's on a Friday). If everyone we invite comes, we've got 75 total... including Krista and me, Jay Lucas (the pastor who's marrying us as of today), and the photographer. If only those we EXPECT come, we're down to around 50. Amazing.

A last little secret: the groomsmen and bridesmaids are as follows--

Chad Carter, Wes Ruth, Matt Meyer, and Kevin McHugh

Jessica Daniels, Courtney Lucas, Kelsey Smith (my little sis!), and Caroline Hamman

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!!!