Chile Pics

After meeting in Africa, Alexa and I bounced around a bit, traveling, working and getting various degrees. Then, 3 years ago, we moved to Chile! We've covered a lot of ground since we've been here, and here are a few pictures from our travel. 

Desierto Florido 

Near Curico

Bomberos en el Bicentinario

Atacama

Chiloe

Isla de Pasqua

Lodging Updates

The room blocks at the Marriott and Holiday Inn are now closed, and there is no other availability at those hotels for the wedding weekend, but if you need a last minute reservation, we suggest checking with the Staybridge Suites in McLean (link). The hotel is just a few minutes from Alexa's parents house and has availability as of this writing.

In the beginning ...

... we were in Africa! 

I dominated a camel race.

And we saw lions ...

and a cheetah hunting ...

And I saw Alexa.

[This is the first in a ongoing series of "More Cute Pictures" requested by my loving fiance.]

Registry

Here are a few options for wedding gifts, if you are so inclined. We've registered at both places, so the process should be nice and easy.

Bed Bath and Beyond -  Just click the link and type in one of our names
Heifer International - One of our favorite charities
Housing Fund - Contribute towards a down payment for a home

Quick updates

Wedding Planning notes coming at you!

• We had 2 tastings with caterers when we were in DC last week (We also had bachelor and bachelorette parties, but that is a subject for another post). Man, tastings kind of rule. I'll try to post up some pictures soon. We've finally recovered from the food coma and, we're like *this* close to picking a caterer. Hopefully that'll be sorted out this week. We wouldn't want anyone to go hungry. 
• Alexa spent like 3 hours talking to her mom about what color plates we want on the registry last night, only to settle on ... grey. What I mean to say is, our registry is almost ready! I'll have links later this week!
• Invitations are in the mail! Or at least some of them are, and more will be soon. Send us your address if you haven't yet!
• We also have a photographer. He's French. Ohh la la. 
• Alexa also started in on the wedding iPod and added both Toto and Passion Pit. I see I've got some work to do there ... 
• We're also doing lots of more mundane stuff like figuring out parking and bathrooms at the wedding venue, emailing people about tents for the house, and figuring out how many tables we need, but hey progress is progress. 

That's all for now. Alexa is out of town a bunch next month (Malawi, Costa Rica, Paris and Thailand ... crazy kid), so I'll try to get up lots more posts, including those cute pictures that I've been promising while she's gone. More soon!

What to Wear

Doh, we just realized that we left the dress code off of the official invitation (coming soon to a mailbox near you). So here it is in all it's glory:

Welcome Reception (Friday Night): Business Casual - No jeans and t-shirts, but you only need to wear a tie if you want to.
Wedding (Saturday afternoon): Business attire - Ties and jackets for men, dresses for women.
Wedding Reception (Satuday Night): Feel free to wear what you wore to the wedding, or if you want to change in to something less formal (Buisness Casual), that is great too.

For those guys out there (like me) who don't know the dress code lingo, here is a handy picture:

You Are Invited

The Chilean wedding planning train is rolling right along. Here are a few quick updates:

• The invitations are here! Well, almost ... they were supposed to arrive yesterday, but should be here any day ... any minute ... any second ... 
• Speaking of invitations, please give us your address if you haven't already, so that we can send you one!
• We are also up to our eyeballs in caterer information so that you guys don't go hungry. We've got a tasting scheduled next week during our DC visit. I'll put up some pictures after we pick so that you can anticipate the deliciousness.  
• I've updated the website a bit. There are now separate pages for the hotel info, weekend schedule and RSVP. 

That's all for now. More soon. 

Where to Stay (Updated 1/19/11)

All of the events for the wedding will be in Northern Virginia, just outside of Washington DC, starting with a welcome reception on Friday, May 13 at 7pm at the Key Bridge Marriott. We have blocks of rooms reserved both at the Marriot, and at a Holiday Inn that is just across the street (literally, it should be a 2 minute walk). Both the wedding and the party will also be within easy driving distance of the hotels. Here is the information you need to reserve rooms at either hotel.

Hotel #1 - Marriott Key Bridge
Rate: $169 / night
Address: 1401 Lee Highway, Arlington, Virginia 22209 (map)
How to reserve (Phone): Call 1-800-266-9432 and ask for the "Kleysteuber Block" of rooms.
How to reserve (Web): Click Here
Last Day for Group Rates: April 22, 2011

Hotel #2 - Holiday Inn Rosslyn at Key Bridge
Rate: $109 / night
Address: 1900 N Fort Myer Drive, Arlington, Va 22209 (map)
How to reserve (Phone): Call 703-807-2000 ext 222 and ask for the "Wildfire Wedding" or mention block code "JAW".
How to reserve (Web): Not available
Last Day for Group Rates: April 13, 2011

We do anticipate both hotels selling out (The Marriott is already nearly booked), so please reserve your room soon if you plan to stay with the group.

RSVP