Aloha everyone!
Our first post since i was in seattle in August. Gunna make this short but sweet. We hope everyone is having luck when it comes to finding tix's, we know it's been a tough road for some, and we will be very happy to see everyone that can make it out. If you are planning to come but still haven't bought your tix's then we would remind you once again to check in our older blog about the "wedding wings" special through Hawaiian Air. Ok on to a few details....
1. The original plan was to camp the nights of the 22nd and 23rd at pololu'u Valley, but after camping a few weeks ago at Kiholo bay we have decided it would be a much better fit for the group, for several reasons. One reason is although we love the beauty of Pololu'u Valley, everyone would have to hike down to camp, and Kiholo is much easier access since you can simply pull your car up and camp. Secondly when it comes to people who just want to spend the day and not the night, then Kiholo is much nicer when it comes to access. And lastly when it comes to food and drinks, we think this will work out much better. And you can't go wrong at a place w/ paddleboarding access and a queen's bath! So if you were thinking you didnt want to camp b/c of the hastle of Pololu'u then please join us for a night or two at Kiholo!
2. We would greatly appreciate it if you let us know your plans ASAP. We would like to make a detailed itenerary as soon as we can, so we can help people w/ rides, lodging, plans etc. It will also help us get organized so we can plan ahead and its less stressful for us. So please email or call either me or shannon so we know what you are planning and we can plan accordingly. Thanks.
Time is getting short and we are excited about what we have planned! Can't wait to see everyone in a few short months. aloha.
john and shannon
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Thursday, August 5, 2010
"stay w/ me...lets just breath..."
Aloha everyone. Blogging from beautiful seattle, Washington as the blue angels roar by overhead. The perfect time of year to be in Seattle, and for a great reason, to see a great old friend get married this weekend. This is our first posting since May i think, which I take responsibility for, but we have come a long way in our planning, although we (I) still have a lot of details to work through. But we do have some info to pass on so here we go...
1. If you still our planning to come to the wedding we are now under 5 months to go, so if you still need to purchase your tix's i suggest looking into prices, the longer you wait the more it will be. Once again we refer you to the Hawaiian Wedding Wings post to get a discount if you are flying Hawaiian.
2. As we mentioned previously we have rented a house a few minutes from downtown Kona where we will be having the ceremony in the late afternoon of the 21st. We will be there from the 15th-22nd, and there is some room there still, so friends if you still don't have a place to stay on any of those dates then give either me or shannon a call, and we can probably help you out w/ some very cheap housing at a beautiful place.
3. On the morning of the 19th we will be playing the "Rich Brackett Invitational Golf Tournament" at Kona Golf Course. Rich is the father of one of my oldest friends Ricky, and passed away in the Fall of 2006 from a brain tumor. Rich was a one of a kind personality, a true family man, and someone who had and continues to have a wonderful impact on my life. So please come join us in celebrating his life on the 19th. The tournament will cost 50$ per player, and we will have some great challenges and prizes, so it should be a really fun time for everyone.
We are planning to have an evening "out" in kona on the night of the 19th, so anyone who wants to check out the Big Islands...outstanding...nightlife is welcome to join us! So the 19th should be a fun, full day.
4. On the 20th we are planning to do an afternoon/evening (details to come) bbq/meal at one of the beaches in Kona, w/ the meal being provided by my parents. So that is a great way to get everyone together before the wedding, so people can get to know each other if they dont already.
5. We heard from a friend about a great tradition in Germany, where everyone who wants to brings a cake to the wedding. Then everyone eats the different varieties and gets to take some home. We loved this idea since we were already planning on doing a couple smaller cakes instead of one big cake. So we have decided that shanny and I will be judging and rewarding some different cakes, as well as making our own, so if you would like, feel free to make YOUR cake, and see if you can win "best cake". Worst case senerio you will be eating cake throughout your visit :) So if you are up for it, have fun w/ this!
6. After waking up s.l.o.w.l.y. on the 22nd we will be heading to Pololu Valley to camp on the nights of the 22nd and 23rd. Anyone who is interested is invited, its a BEAUTIFUL spot and our favorite place to camp. We will be providing as much camping gear as possible, and if you aren't interested in camping overnight its still a great to come for the day and relax. So plan to join us for one or both nights of fun! (google "pololu valley" to get a better feel for where we are talking about if you haven't been) Or if you aren't interested in this trip then have fun exploring the beautiful Big Island!
7. Lastly, since we are working w/ a caterer for the meal at the wedding we are trying to get a headcount on who is coming as soon as possible. We have heard some people have had trouble leaving messages on the blog, so we appologize for that, but please email us (matsonskej@aol.com, northrop@hawaii.edu) or give us a call (808)217-6838 (J) and let us know if you're planning to come ASAP. Thanks!
I think that is all the updates for now. We are excited to see everyone and have a great, relaxing time together.
Peace
john
1. If you still our planning to come to the wedding we are now under 5 months to go, so if you still need to purchase your tix's i suggest looking into prices, the longer you wait the more it will be. Once again we refer you to the Hawaiian Wedding Wings post to get a discount if you are flying Hawaiian.
2. As we mentioned previously we have rented a house a few minutes from downtown Kona where we will be having the ceremony in the late afternoon of the 21st. We will be there from the 15th-22nd, and there is some room there still, so friends if you still don't have a place to stay on any of those dates then give either me or shannon a call, and we can probably help you out w/ some very cheap housing at a beautiful place.
3. On the morning of the 19th we will be playing the "Rich Brackett Invitational Golf Tournament" at Kona Golf Course. Rich is the father of one of my oldest friends Ricky, and passed away in the Fall of 2006 from a brain tumor. Rich was a one of a kind personality, a true family man, and someone who had and continues to have a wonderful impact on my life. So please come join us in celebrating his life on the 19th. The tournament will cost 50$ per player, and we will have some great challenges and prizes, so it should be a really fun time for everyone.
We are planning to have an evening "out" in kona on the night of the 19th, so anyone who wants to check out the Big Islands...outstanding...nightlife is welcome to join us! So the 19th should be a fun, full day.
4. On the 20th we are planning to do an afternoon/evening (details to come) bbq/meal at one of the beaches in Kona, w/ the meal being provided by my parents. So that is a great way to get everyone together before the wedding, so people can get to know each other if they dont already.
5. We heard from a friend about a great tradition in Germany, where everyone who wants to brings a cake to the wedding. Then everyone eats the different varieties and gets to take some home. We loved this idea since we were already planning on doing a couple smaller cakes instead of one big cake. So we have decided that shanny and I will be judging and rewarding some different cakes, as well as making our own, so if you would like, feel free to make YOUR cake, and see if you can win "best cake". Worst case senerio you will be eating cake throughout your visit :) So if you are up for it, have fun w/ this!
6. After waking up s.l.o.w.l.y. on the 22nd we will be heading to Pololu Valley to camp on the nights of the 22nd and 23rd. Anyone who is interested is invited, its a BEAUTIFUL spot and our favorite place to camp. We will be providing as much camping gear as possible, and if you aren't interested in camping overnight its still a great to come for the day and relax. So plan to join us for one or both nights of fun! (google "pololu valley" to get a better feel for where we are talking about if you haven't been) Or if you aren't interested in this trip then have fun exploring the beautiful Big Island!
7. Lastly, since we are working w/ a caterer for the meal at the wedding we are trying to get a headcount on who is coming as soon as possible. We have heard some people have had trouble leaving messages on the blog, so we appologize for that, but please email us (matsonskej@aol.com, northrop@hawaii.edu) or give us a call (808)217-6838 (J) and let us know if you're planning to come ASAP. Thanks!
I think that is all the updates for now. We are excited to see everyone and have a great, relaxing time together.
Peace
john
Monday, May 10, 2010
progress and more progress
There have been new developments on the wedding front!
A dress has been selected, Earth friendly to the extreme, very comfortable, casual, cost effective and cute! Got it at Blue Sky Bridal in Seattle...just needs a couple minor alterations and it's wedding ready.
But even BIGGER news, we've decided against the pavilion in Hilo and instead took the more glamorous route, we rented a GORGEOUS house/property in Kona, (here's the web site: http://halepinao.com/home.html )about five minutes out of the downtown area, beautiful view, pool, four hot tubs!, and reception friendly...of course, there are a couple little problems...like it's really only supposed to fit a party of forty, and we have more than double that...but....well...that's ONLY if everyone shows up and who'd want to come to Hawaii in December anyway... ;-) (oh and please plan on car pooling parking is a little limited) we'd still like to have people come over to Hilo side for a day outing if possible at some point, but plan on flying into and staying in Kona...
we are still deciding if we will be exchanging vows down on the beach and then heading up to the house for dinner, drinks, and dancing...or if we will do the whole thing there...so, as always, more details to follow...
as soon as we can start getting an accurate head count that would help with the planning. so let us know as soon as you know, please!
A dress has been selected, Earth friendly to the extreme, very comfortable, casual, cost effective and cute! Got it at Blue Sky Bridal in Seattle...just needs a couple minor alterations and it's wedding ready.
But even BIGGER news, we've decided against the pavilion in Hilo and instead took the more glamorous route, we rented a GORGEOUS house/property in Kona, (here's the web site: http://halepinao.com/home.html )about five minutes out of the downtown area, beautiful view, pool, four hot tubs!, and reception friendly...of course, there are a couple little problems...like it's really only supposed to fit a party of forty, and we have more than double that...but....well...that's ONLY if everyone shows up and who'd want to come to Hawaii in December anyway... ;-) (oh and please plan on car pooling parking is a little limited) we'd still like to have people come over to Hilo side for a day outing if possible at some point, but plan on flying into and staying in Kona...
we are still deciding if we will be exchanging vows down on the beach and then heading up to the house for dinner, drinks, and dancing...or if we will do the whole thing there...so, as always, more details to follow...
as soon as we can start getting an accurate head count that would help with the planning. so let us know as soon as you know, please!
Friday, March 5, 2010
Wedding wings
Aloha friends-
So it looks like we do have some people reading the blog. One beer on me for scotty bailey when he gets to the big island for breaking the commenting ice. I know I just wrote, but we have some info. on the wedding wings that I thought we should get out to everyone ASAP.
Hawaiian Airlines approved our application, so here's the details of the discount...
Wedding Wings discount offers a 5% off of our lowest available roundtrip transpacific web fares at time of applicable booking period.
Wedding Wings discount is valid for travel between 12/14/2010 - 1/4/2011. To book your reservations please visit our Wedding Wings website on/after 3/2/2010 athttps://apps.hawaiianair.com/weddings/wedlogin.aspx.
Your star file # is WED261. This star file # along with your last names will be needed to log in to your site and should be referenced whenever communicating with Hawaiian Airlines about your registration.
If any of this is confusing to you or if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Peace,
John
Thursday, March 4, 2010
bueller? Bueller? anyone? bueller?
aloha all
As you have seen if you have stopped by the blog, we currently have not had one person comment on the blog yet! So its left us wondering....does anyone read this blog? So i guess we will see, and if it turns out we are just writing to each other...then we can stop. ok moving on...
So we have had a really long week, and im glad its almost over. It started last saturday, after we had a amazingly fun dinner w/ kathy, wendy, and "boyfriends" Butch and dick. All i can say is its been too long since we have been in the same room w/ them together. Thanks again for a great dinner wendy! Anyways it was all downhill from there, as we had to get up very early sat morn to help clear out Abundant Life b/c of the impending Tsunami from the earthquake in Chile. So we boxed up as much as we could, then headed to high ground to see what would happen. and we waited...and waited.....and then...ok so nothing happened really. So we spent sunday putting everything back. In the end it could have been worse, much worse. The rest of the week has been long and i know we are both happy to see it go, as we are excited to spend the weekend w/ shannon's sis Anna and mom stephanie for Anna's birthday. We are also going to go see our extreamly talented roomy miss marya play music sat night, then hopefully go have a paddleboarding adventure sunday. So hopefully this long week will be a distant memory by the time we go back to work monday.
As for the wedding...things are moving forward and we are getting very excited. I guess i dont have many more details to give you today, only here to tell you to keep checking this thing, b/c we should have some more stuff coming up that might help you in your planning. On that note, DONT WAIT to start getting flights, thats why we gave everyone a year's notice, we want you to come!!!! So i guess thats all for now, got to go make dinner, shan should be home from work soon. Wow im not sure i actually said anything in this post. oh well, enjoyed writing it. As always..dont hesistate to comment.
peace
john
As you have seen if you have stopped by the blog, we currently have not had one person comment on the blog yet! So its left us wondering....does anyone read this blog? So i guess we will see, and if it turns out we are just writing to each other...then we can stop. ok moving on...
So we have had a really long week, and im glad its almost over. It started last saturday, after we had a amazingly fun dinner w/ kathy, wendy, and "boyfriends" Butch and dick. All i can say is its been too long since we have been in the same room w/ them together. Thanks again for a great dinner wendy! Anyways it was all downhill from there, as we had to get up very early sat morn to help clear out Abundant Life b/c of the impending Tsunami from the earthquake in Chile. So we boxed up as much as we could, then headed to high ground to see what would happen. and we waited...and waited.....and then...ok so nothing happened really. So we spent sunday putting everything back. In the end it could have been worse, much worse. The rest of the week has been long and i know we are both happy to see it go, as we are excited to spend the weekend w/ shannon's sis Anna and mom stephanie for Anna's birthday. We are also going to go see our extreamly talented roomy miss marya play music sat night, then hopefully go have a paddleboarding adventure sunday. So hopefully this long week will be a distant memory by the time we go back to work monday.
As for the wedding...things are moving forward and we are getting very excited. I guess i dont have many more details to give you today, only here to tell you to keep checking this thing, b/c we should have some more stuff coming up that might help you in your planning. On that note, DONT WAIT to start getting flights, thats why we gave everyone a year's notice, we want you to come!!!! So i guess thats all for now, got to go make dinner, shan should be home from work soon. Wow im not sure i actually said anything in this post. oh well, enjoyed writing it. As always..dont hesistate to comment.
peace
john
Thursday, February 18, 2010
wedding wings and other things
Okay, I'll admit it, we're not the most organized wedding planners in the world. Good thing we gave ourselves a little time, huh? And not to make excuses or anything, but between the three jobs John's working and the forty plus hours I spend at the store, there doesn't seem to be time for much else. Well of course we make time for the puppy and paddleboarding and watching depressing movies (just saw "Brothers" at the dollar theater, good movie, but don't go if you're looking for a "feel good" cheer-me-up sorta flick). Anyway, I've been told besides picking a good groom, and a dress (check and check) the next most important things are location, location, location. Well, as you've already guessed, we're pretty set on Hawaii, the trouble is there aren't very many affordable, get breath-taking venues that can accommadate everyone we've set out to invite. We're still hunting for the perfect spot. Until then however, we have reserved a pretty okay back-up location in Hilo, HI at Wailoa Park Pavilion. If nothing else pans out, that's where the festivities will be held. Unless of course we decide to do it in Thailand because I may have to go there to get my ridiculiously expensive root canals done there for a quarter of the U.S. price, so we could just combine that with a wedding, what do you think? ;-) Now that would be a destination wedding!
Speaking of destination weddings, while I've got your ear, allow me to rant for a minute...there are ABSOLUTELY NO WEDDING PLANNERS OR WEDDING TYPE THINGS DIRECTED AT LOCAL PEOPLE IN HAWAII!!! Every single website I've gone to and person I've called caters pretty exclusively to those who are doing destination weddings to Hawaii, they don't have kamaaina prices or packages, they all want you to get married at the hotels or cheesy, crowded beaches. It's really weird. I mean I know a lot of people come from all over the world to get married here, but there's still a lot of local people who want to get married at home too, right? Why is there no one available to help them? It's very annoying and odd. If anyone knows of someone who is available to do local weddings at kamaaina prices, please, let me know. Oh, all the ones I did find, were on Oahu, which does me absolutely no good.
Moving on...if you're coming from the mainland and looking into ticket options we're applying for a program with Hawaiian Airlines called "Wedding Wings" where everyone who's coming out here for our wedding can use a little code we give them when booking tickets to get a discount, I don't yet know how big the discount will be or any more specific details. I'll post the code and more info. as soon as I've got it. I think it all depends on how many people use their airlines from our group, if I could get a potential count of how many people would be thinking about flying Hawaiian (knowing there's a discount involved) that would probably help.
We could also look into getting a group rate at one of the Hilo hotels if people are interested in staying there, we could reserve a block of rooms, so please let me know if you don't have a place lined up to stay, I'd need to know how many people would be interested in that before doing that. I know most of you are planning to stay with friends/family that are already here, but we can find some affordable alternatives for those who are coming from out of town with no place to stay.
I found the most perfect dress, the only non-perfect part is the price of course, but that's typical too, huh? Everyone is expected to dress casually by the way...like SERIOUSLY casually, no suits or ties or jackets or anything like that. I mean, I guess you can wear that sort of stuff if you want, but just know you'll be slightly out of place. We don't know exactly what John's wearing yet, but I can pretty much guarantee he won't even be wearing closed toed shoes, let alone slacks and a tie. We're going to come up with a packing list of what to bring and a wedding week list of events and things to do and see while you're all here when it gets a little closer to Dec., so stay posted for that.
Other wise there's not much to say, except I'm getting less nervous and more excited daily. Can't wait to see you all out here!
love and sunshine,
shannon
Speaking of destination weddings, while I've got your ear, allow me to rant for a minute...there are ABSOLUTELY NO WEDDING PLANNERS OR WEDDING TYPE THINGS DIRECTED AT LOCAL PEOPLE IN HAWAII!!! Every single website I've gone to and person I've called caters pretty exclusively to those who are doing destination weddings to Hawaii, they don't have kamaaina prices or packages, they all want you to get married at the hotels or cheesy, crowded beaches. It's really weird. I mean I know a lot of people come from all over the world to get married here, but there's still a lot of local people who want to get married at home too, right? Why is there no one available to help them? It's very annoying and odd. If anyone knows of someone who is available to do local weddings at kamaaina prices, please, let me know. Oh, all the ones I did find, were on Oahu, which does me absolutely no good.
Moving on...if you're coming from the mainland and looking into ticket options we're applying for a program with Hawaiian Airlines called "Wedding Wings" where everyone who's coming out here for our wedding can use a little code we give them when booking tickets to get a discount, I don't yet know how big the discount will be or any more specific details. I'll post the code and more info. as soon as I've got it. I think it all depends on how many people use their airlines from our group, if I could get a potential count of how many people would be thinking about flying Hawaiian (knowing there's a discount involved) that would probably help.
We could also look into getting a group rate at one of the Hilo hotels if people are interested in staying there, we could reserve a block of rooms, so please let me know if you don't have a place lined up to stay, I'd need to know how many people would be interested in that before doing that. I know most of you are planning to stay with friends/family that are already here, but we can find some affordable alternatives for those who are coming from out of town with no place to stay.
I found the most perfect dress, the only non-perfect part is the price of course, but that's typical too, huh? Everyone is expected to dress casually by the way...like SERIOUSLY casually, no suits or ties or jackets or anything like that. I mean, I guess you can wear that sort of stuff if you want, but just know you'll be slightly out of place. We don't know exactly what John's wearing yet, but I can pretty much guarantee he won't even be wearing closed toed shoes, let alone slacks and a tie. We're going to come up with a packing list of what to bring and a wedding week list of events and things to do and see while you're all here when it gets a little closer to Dec., so stay posted for that.
Other wise there's not much to say, except I'm getting less nervous and more excited daily. Can't wait to see you all out here!
love and sunshine,
shannon
Sunday, January 31, 2010
helloha
Its sunday january 31st, and this is my first post on our wedding blog, and I'm feeling surprisingly shy and self concious. Maybe that's from reading Gavin's great blog and figuring i can never be that funny or smart. But I'm gunna do my best. First of all let me say if you are reading this it means you must have been invited to our wedding! congrats! I would highly suggest attending, well you do what you want, but I'll be attending. We are currently still deciding on our location, but we are down to a couple of options, and I would think we should know by the end of Feb. for sure. I'm picturing that you will be able to get lots of details about planning, travel help (ie: hawaiian airlines "wedding" deals", where to stay, where other guests are staying, what to bring clothes-wise ect), and just general info that should help you plan a trip halfway across the pacific ocean, as cheaply as possible. Currently we have many activities being planned for those who wish to attend, such as at least one camping trip (hopefully two), a golf tournament as well as some planned massages and relaxing for the ladies.
So thanks for being so kind and wonderful to us that we wanted to invite you to our wedding, and please keep yourself updated on here!
hopefully come december we will not only be celebrating our wedding, but also the first world series championship for ken griffey Jr.
peace
john
So thanks for being so kind and wonderful to us that we wanted to invite you to our wedding, and please keep yourself updated on here!
hopefully come december we will not only be celebrating our wedding, but also the first world series championship for ken griffey Jr.
peace
john
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