Day 2

They came. They saw. They slept on the floor.

Day 2 came and went with a in a flash and a couple bangs and some karaoke to finish it all off.

Started the day with coffee on an anchored boat with Penny to watch the sun rise over upper herring lake.

After that we made a big breakfast and had a relaxing morning. Played guitar, went on some boat rides, visited with friends and relatives, discussed wedding details, etc.

Then everyone started showing up and things got a little hectic.

My dad called and said my step sister hit a deer. Jon took a ride on in a row boat and disappeared for a few hours. Fred went on a rescue mission and towed him back in. Then a large group of my extended family got stranded on a pontoon when the propeller fell off. Another rescue mission. Then we got word that our good friends Sarah and Drew got 2 flat tires somewhere out in the middle of nowhere, Michigan and had to get a hotel room because they couldn't find two tires that fit their car.

And other havoc broke out as well that fixed itself along the way. So, no big whoop there, but it seemed serious at the time.

But after the smoke cleared, everything started falling into place and the day was a win overall.

Our rehearsal was very nice. Julie nearly cried. It was probably the highlight of my day. Not the crying, but the mock ceremony. Everyone was beaming as we walked down. The sun had just started getting low in the sky so the grounds were illuminated.
Real nice. Like a movie.

Then we drank, and ate, and had a karaoke party. Good times.

Packing/Driving/First Day

Today is Friday.
Today we leave for Arcadia.

The drive took about 5 hours after some traffic back ups and construction. All in all it was a nice ride up.
Beautiful fall colors and some interesting small towns along the way. Julie got really happy seeing cows and horses at farms during the ride. The closer we got, the better and more exciting the ride became.
Or maybe we were just more excited.

The house we're staying in is bigger than I thought it would be. 4 floors of hardwood and old pictures on the walls. Ancient looking doors converted into bathroom counters. Modern appliances and futons in almost every living space.
Needless to say, Julie and I claimed the master bedroom and told everyone else to keep out.

Fred and I took a drive out to Traverse area right away to pick up tables and chairs. A very 1930's feel to all the surrounding areas. Old houses. Old buildings. No one out and about at 5 pm on a Friday.

We're not in the suburbs anymore.

When we got back we made dinner and settled in for the night. More people came and everything went smoothly for the most part. Don't get me wrong, it was a little stressful at times - putting 14 people in a house together that usually don't stay in a house together can do that to people.
But over all things went well based on the fact that it could have been a lot worse.



And we made it safely. Here's some proof.

10 days til it's official.

Hello Everyone:

The wedding is 10 days away.

10 days.

1 week and 3 days.

It has been exciting for everyone involved.

We've hit a few bumps. My suit I ordered is too small. The catering company wasn't answering the calls for a few days. My grandma isn't comfortable riding in a car for 4 hours...

It's safe to say, we're stressed.

Actually, we're really, really, majorly stressed.

But we're more excited than ever. We're getting married here!

We've worked so hard so far planning, making decorations, organizing, making calls, writing the ceremony, and on, and on.

Last night we painted more bird houses... Again.
2 days before that we sent the ceremony over to the reverend Rich on Jewell St.
Few days before that us boys got our new suits. Buy one get two free. So we got six...

So it's also safe to say things are falling into place quite nicely.

Not much left to do here in Oakland County. Most of the work left will be done when we get up north.


Here are some pictures to look at. Some of these ended up on the invitations you received, but every invitation only had one picture... Some of the pictures are just silly and fun to look at.

Enjoy.

RSVP/FAQ

Hello all:

It has come to our attention that we never established an RSVP process.

First of all, it would be great if you could contact us as soon as possible. The sooner the better. Today is the last day of August, which leaves about 6 weeks until the big day.

You may contact us by any means you see fit.
Here are some examples.

1. Call Shaun, or call Julie by phone. You should have one of our phone numbers...

2. E-mail either of us at one or both of the following e-mail addresses:
Juliekoziara@yahoo.com
Shaunwisniewski@gmail.com

3. Or you could simply leave a comment on this blog, or contact Julie via Facebook.


Next on the agenda is to answer some questions:

"What should we bring?"
Well, a good start is bringing whatever you see fit for a wedding. Bring your dancing shoes, your singing voice, a change of clothes, or clothes that will work in the elements, if need be.

You should also bring a chair of some sort if you feel like sitting down for the ceremony. We will have a few chairs, but not enough to seat everyone.

"Should we bring food?"
If you're staying more than one night with us, yes. Bring food.
If you're coming just for the ceremony...
Sure.

If you'd like to bring a dish to pass, that would be excellent. Our current person count is around 55-60. If you want to bring something special just for you/your family because you have a food allergy, or a specific diet you live on, or anything like that, this is also fine. Just let someone know when you get there that it's yours by putting a note on it, or word of mouth.
We will be having some food catered, and some food BBQ'ed.

Julie eats mostly vegetarian, so there will be a veggie option, as well as a meat option. I'm not sure yet exactly what we're going to make, but as I said before, if you're a picky eater, bring your own food.

Bring your own drink as well. I'm sure we'll have water, tea, coffee and soda, but aside from that, I can't think of anything else we'll have in large quantity in the drink department.

If you don't want to bring food, this is fine too. There should be plenty to go around, or at least that is the plan.

As for alcoholic drinks, you should probably bring your own. I know some people like to drink and others don't, so please be kind to those who live a sober lifestyle. Most of the wedding party will probably be drinking, so it is by no means a "dry wedding" - but it's also not a free wedding. And honestly, we can't afford to fuel your drinking habits... we can barely afford to "party" ourselves from time to time.


"Will there be a room for me?"
I don't know. It depends on how many people get hotels, how many decide not to stay, and how many decide to crash at the houses for the night.

The most honest answer we can give is, "probably not - if you're only coming on Sunday, the night of the wedding."

We're trying to reserve rooms for the people who paid for the houses, and older folks who probably can't sleep on a blanket on the floor. We've already asked most of the younger folks to give up their beds on Sunday night out of respect, if needed... and they're happy to do that. But the last thing we want/need is an argument or disagreement on our wedding night over where people are going to sleep. So we're asking people to be respectful of one another and to be understanding.

We can't guarantee a private room and bed for everyone. We can only offer what we can offer on our wedding night, which is a place to lay your head for the evening if you don't want to make the drive back home on the same night as the ceremony.

But if you're really concerned about the sleeping situation, get yourself a nice hotel room up the road, or contact one of us about a special arrangement.



And that's about all of the recent questions we can answer right now.


If there are any other questions feel free to contact us ASAP.
And please, if you haven't already, RSVP.


Thanks.

Julie & Shaun

General Information

Greetings:

If you're reading this blog, (hopefully) it means you're coming to our wedding and are looking for general information about the ceremony, shindig, place, time, what to bring, what to wear, where to stay, and so on.

If you're not coming to help us celebrate our big day, it's okay. This blog will also serve as a place where we post pictures of wedding related things, give out info about our registry, give updates on how things are going and how they went, etc.

If you don't know about our wedding, or who we are, then you are on the wrong blog.


With that info out of the way we now move on to more specific business:

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Let's go over the 5 W's:

1.Who:
Who is getting hitched and who is in the wedding party?

Julie Koziara and Shaun Wisniewski are the bride and groom, respectively.

The Bridal Party is:
Tracey Koziara
Jennifer Demers
Nicole Dettmer

The Groomsmen are:
Ryan Ball
Fred Robinson
Andrew Kehrig


2.What:
Well, I guess the "what" would be the wedding, which is redundant, but I guess if you haven't figured it out by now I'll spell it out.
This get together is a celebration of matrimony. A tying of the knot. "First comes love, then comes marriage..."
What the "what" is, is a wedding.


3.Where:
From the people we've told, the "where" has raised the most eye brows and received the most questions.

We are getting married in a city called Arcadia, in the great state of Michigan.
If you're thinking, "Where is Arcadia," the picture below may help.







(click picture to make bigger)






Why Arcadia?
Why not?

It fit everything we wanted for our wedding and more.

We wanted to get married outdoors, by trees, and if possible, by water. We also wanted a place where we could take our time setting everything up. Making sure things looked nice, but we didn't have to stress out the day of the wedding. We wanted somewhere that would be relaxing, but beautiful too. Somewhere we could throw food on a barbeque, have a bonfire, and bring our dog, Penny, along.

Then we found these 3 big vacation house on Upper Herring Lake. And the more we researched the grounds and amenities provided with the houses, we realized it fit our dream wedding venue perfectly.

Don't believe us? Take a look at these.






One of the three houses










dock looking over the lake







another one of the cottages









picture of the surround area












inside one of the houses






Needless to say, we were wowed by these cottages and snatched them up.

Because of the setting, we ask that you dress weather appropriate. More casual than formal, but try not to look like a slob, or a hobo. Dress comfortable, whatever that means, as long as it doesn't mean old sweat pants and a stained collar shirt. Remember ladies, a lot of this wedding will be outdoors, so heels may not be the best choice, unless you like sinking into the dirt.

Bring a change of clothes if you like. After the ceremony and dinner, we will probably be doing outdoor type activities like a bonfire, possible barbeque, chasing children on the swing set, etc. We will also have indoor festivities like karaoke, video games for the kids, a pool table in each house, and much more.


Another "where" question we've been asked is, "where are you two registered?"
I'm so glad you asked, because we happen to be registered at Target and Bed Bath and Beyond.


4. When:

The date is Sunday, October 9th 2011.
This isn't to say that you have to drive all the way up on the day of the wedding and drive home that night. We've encouraged close friends and family to pitch in and stay in one of these houses with us. There are also many nearby lodgings if you'd like to stay the weekend up north with us.

Here are a few links to some of the close hotels, motels, and cottages in the area:

http://www.thearcadiahouse.com/

http://sleepingbears.com/

http://pleasantvalleyarcadia.com

http://www.watervaleinn.com

http://www.lakes-n-trails.com

http://www.betsiebayinn.com/

http://www.randrmotel.com

http://www.bayportlodging.com/

If staying in another hotel isn't in your budget and you want to stay, just ask. All we ask is 20.00 dollars per night you're staying. You might think this is a great deal, but we can't guarantee a couch, let alone a bed to sleep on. We can't provide blankets. We can only hope you're comfortable on the floor with a few other bodies you may or may not know.

So if sleeping on the ground, possibly next to a stranger, isn't your cup of tea, save some money and grab a room up the road. Most of them are quite cheap, [around the 60 dollar range], some of them are more expensive, but seem like they're worth the cash.


And lastly,
5. Why:

Why? Why are we getting married?
Because we're in love and can't think of a better way to spend the rest of our lives.

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Any questions, feel free to E-mail us.

shaunwisniewski@gmail.com

-or-

juliekoziara@yahoo.com

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Thank you for taking the time to look this over.
Keep an eye on this blog for more updates, pictures, and the like.

All the best, And hope to see you soon.
Shaun and Julie