Holiday Inn Express: "Featuring Rich, Buttery French Toast"

Hi friends and family!

We found our photographer! She's sweet and adorable and gets our style perfectly. Most importantly, she promises not to take up an hour of our time doing staid "group shots" while we'd rather be partying.

In other news, we finally got a block of rooms reserved at Holiday Inn Express in Sonoma. Fear not: There's a pool, jacuzzi, wireless internet access, color TVs and complimentary breakfast ("featuring rich, buttery French toast, world-famous cinnamon rolls, bold 100% Arabica bean coffee and much more.") In other words, ye shall want for nothing!

You can learn more about the Holiday Inn Express Windsor here: http://www.hiexpress.com/hotels/us/en/windsor/winca/hoteldetail **But take note that you can ONLY book with our group rate discount by calling the hotel directly at (707) 837-0808. Tell them you are with the Stacionis/Baldivino wedding.**

The block discount is available May 18-22, and rooms are $160 a night with the group rate.

Finally, if you're still interested in renting a vacation home for your stay, you'd be wise to act swiftly. Homes are booking up quickly. Also, you might have luck searching for vacation rentals in Santa Rosa or Healdsburg, but be sure to check to see how close the property is to 3575 Slusser Road in Windsor, CA--because that's where the party happens!

We are so excited to see you all... stay tuned for more information on taxis in the area, plus a preview of our menu, profiles of our wedding party and information on where to pre-party on Friday night, the Wedding Eve. Invites will be heading out in just a couple short months, too.

xoxo
Gossip Girl
Stevie and Josiah

Sonoma Stuff To Do

We're quickly moving through our planning To-Do List, so we thought we'd give you a list of things to do, too, while you're in Sonoma. Check out the links below!

River rafting on the Russian River

Bike, hike or kayak through wine country

Golf at Windsor Golf Club (across the street from venue)

Tour Cowgirl Creamery

Lunch on the square in Healdsburg at Oakville Grocery

Zipline through the Redwoods

Balloon over wine country

Skip wine; drink beer at Russian River Brewing Company or Lagunitas Brewing Company

Visit the Muir Woods on your way from San Francisco to Sonoma

Healdsburg Farmer’s Market is on Saturday mornings at North and Vine Streets

Windsor Farmer’s Market is on Sunday mornings at Town Green in Old Downtown

Take Your Coat Off and Stay Awhile

Big planning weekend here, y'all. Josiah and I have narrowed it down to two caterers, we've picked out all our wine, started to look for photographers and found the groomsmen's ties! Yes, they are by Ben Sherman. Obviously.

We ALSO got together all of the information you need to plan your accommodations for the Big Day. You want to be looking for places close to Windsor, CA, which is in the heart of Sonoma county, only about 10 minutes south of Healdsburg--the adorable, wine-country-chic town full of cafés, boutiques and beautiful people--and about 20 minutes north of Santa Rosa--a much bigger albeit less adorable town in Sonoma.

This area is not only GORGEOUS, but it's full of different options for you to "choose your own adventure!" Three main options for you: vacation rental home, bed and breakfast, standard (non-glossy) hotel.

We really feel that it would be fun for groups of friends/family to rent vacation homes together, where you can get your party on with privacy and spend time relaxing and laughing together. If this sounds amazing, check out Vacation Rentals By Owner (our favorite site) or also Sonoma County Vacations, Home Away, or you could just Google something like... Vacation Rentals Windsor CA...

For cute bed and breakfasts where you can enjoy something like a "romantic wine country weekend," you probably want to look in Healdsburg (a 5-10 minute drive north on the 101). Take a look at this site for more.

As for standard rooms, your two options in Windsor are the Holiday Inn Express and the Hampton Inn. We are waiting to hear back on group rates at both of these spots, and when we determine which is a better value, we'll get a block reserved and update this blog post. This is a good option for all of you practical peeps.

We're also working on a list of fun things to do in the area--white water rafting, golfing, boozing of course, etc.... and along with that, we're compiling a list of taxi and limo services so you can program into your phone so you can get your drink on in the Russian River Valley and be safe!

Please let us know directly if you have any questions about where to stay. StevieStacionis@gmail.com or JosiahBaldivino@gmail.com.

Love,
Stevie and Josiah

Just What Is... Ahem... Cornhole?

Cornhole is probably the best game ever. And when Josiah proposed to me, I agreed to marry him under two conditions: That our wedding could feature a pig roast and that we could play cornhole during it. Those were the only two conditions.

Here, ladies and gents, a few recent articles that suggest that #cornhole is trending!

http://campusrecreation.ucdavis.edu/cms/internal.aspx?uid=8555e675-182d-4213-bbe0-4f3615a4b87e

http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/team-saturday

http://www.hillbillygames.com/

(Links courtesy of my mother, Debbie, who has never played cornhole to my knowledge but, a few beers in, is sure to be a champ.)

Dance Until the World Ends

We had SO much fun this weekend at our friends' weddings (Lisa and Jorge in Jersey 7/15; Sam and Alex in LA 7/16!), it got us thinking about the importance of great music to carry the event along.

Our plan is to have the best "old school" and "new school" stuff throughout our entire day so that you pretty much want to "dance until the world ends." (Thank you, Britney. I never thought I'd admit to loving one of your songs so much.)

Have a particular music request? Let us know now so we can dis-invite you if it's a terrible one!

P.S. I just heard the song "Africa" by Toto, and it will definitely be playing. See if you can keep yourself from dancing to THAT!

BBQs and STDs

Save the Dates, DUH.

Before we tell you where you can stay, we wanted to share with you how much fun we had making our Save the Dates. We hope you like them! We hope they are posted on the fridge or propped up on your nightstand (purrrr). We hope you have dedicated a countdown calendar. 328 days... 327... 326...

We found the most incredible butcher shop in a nearby neighborhood, and they make a homemade BBQ sauce that's to die for (sampled on your Save the Dates) that we're hoping makes it onto the Big Day menu.

We're roasting a whole pig, and the rest of our menu will be local, seasonal and outdoor BBQ-themed. We're in the process of finding a caterer, which should be fun... SHOULD be...

Maps are Good

View Larger Map
Look! Isn't it fantastic how it looks, from this map, like the venue is literally in the middle of nowhere?! In fact, Richard's Grove at Saralee's Vineyard (mouthful) is in a lovely location in Windsor, CA, which is in Sonoma County, which is about 1.5 hours from San Francisco.

We love the venue because it is a huge, huge open grassy lawn set in the middle of beautifully maintained vineyards. There's a LOT of room for lawn games, so I hope you're practicing your cornhole toss.

There's a patch of gigantic, old oak trees in the middle, plus a big ol' BBQ and a wood-fire oven on site. The bathrooms and the kitchen are set up in old train cars.

You have a lot of airports to choose from.
- Choice A: San Francisco International Airport (SFO).
- Choice B: Oakland International Airport (OAK).
- Choice C: Sacramento International Airport (SAC).
- Choices D+: All sorts of local airports in Sonoma, Napa, Petaluma, etc. if you happen to have your pilot's license or are able to find a neat mini-plane to get you there...

We'll let Google Maps tell you how to get there. Next up: Where to stay...

Hello from the Betrothed!

Hi guys! Welcome to our new blog designed to celebrate and prepare you for all things Stevie-and-Josiah. YES.

Here, you can "ooh" and "ahh" over the grapes in the background and imagine yourselves slurping up loads of that stuff on May 19, 2012.

We'll be posting here (semi) regularly, taking you through the steps to accompany us on the day we say "I do!" Please leave comments if you have questions, encouragement or concerns.

We're really excited. Thanks for visiting.