Engagement Party

I've  (Tiff) been meaning to blog about our Engagement Party for some time. But since in an experiment in figuring out how to give people access to our photobooth photos turned into me posting our engagement party photos on the website.... I figure now is as good a time as any to do a quick write up!

The party was great! It took place at Mandy and Andy Struck's house, and was hosted by my (Tiff's) parents, though it was very much a group effort. My mom and I had fun planning a number of things to do with the party - in particular a life-sized cardboard cutout of Curby and I for people to pose with for pictures. It was really fun to see people posing with our cutout, and to post with it ourselves (see the photos below!).

My aunts Gloria and Donna surprised me by showing up at the party! They flew in all the way from Washington as a surprise and boy was it a good one! I was so glad they got to meet Curby even for a little bit, before the wedding, and I just love having them around. I was able to spend a few hours with them on Sunday, too, and it was really a great time!

Barb, one of my bridesmaids and oldest friends, was also able to be there for the weekend. She joined me and my parents, and Curby and his parents for dinner on Friday night - the first time our parents had met. And since she is like family, it was perfect having her there. She was awesome at the party, too, and was like my ambassador, meeting all my friends and getting to know people. AND she came up with this great recipe scrapbook idea for the party, so that Curby and I ended up with a whole lot of new recipes from our friends and family.

A bunch of friends came and enjoyed BBQ kabobs prepared by family and friends who were there early to help out, and grilled by my dad and brother. My mom had ordered cake pops from my friend Jessica (another bridesmaid, and owner of "Jesscakes" bakery) - they were delicious and beautiful! And she got this terrific carrot cake from a local grocery store that had our faces on it!

One of our other friends suggested a game where Curby and I sat back to back and had to answer questions about which of us was ___________________ (funnier, going to do the dishes, pay the bills, etc.). It was a really fun time!

We were so blessed to have this opportunity for our families to meet (My brother, his wife Isabel and my nephew Angel were also there!) and to spend time together, and we were blessed to have so many of our local friends attend the event, too. It was a great time and a great way to kick off this season of planning and preparation.

Thanks mom and dad for putting it all together. Thanks Mandy and Andy for the use of the yard/house, and thanks to all who attended and made it such an awesome party!

(the party took place 8/13 - which gives you some idea of how far behind I am on my blogging...)

Tiff and Curby's photostream

Tiff and Curby's photostream on Flickr.

Wedding Hotel Information (9/13 update!)

Hello friends!

Thanks for being patient with us as we worked to get the wedding hotel set up! They were having some system issues, so you may have tried to book and they said the block didn't exist. We apologize for your inconvenience.

Updated: 9/13 (3pm pacific): Phew! We should have this all fixed now, friends! There are a limited amount of rooms available at the Four Points by Sheraton in Culver City, as of 5pm tonight (PST). They are available to you at $99/night with discounts on parking and breakfast, and are available for check in as of Thursday, 11/3 through check-out on Sunday, 11/6. Outside of those nights you will have to pay regular rates.

To book in the block, ask for the "Riggers wedding".

If you would like to stay in an alternate location, we highly encourage you to look for hotels only in the LAX, Torrance and Long Beach area. If you just look for hotels in LA, you could end up 20 miles (read 2 hours) from the wedding venue. We want you to be at the wedding in a reasonable amount of time, so consider looking for a hotel within a few miles of LAX, or nearer the wedding location.

We are so sorry for all the mixups on this hotel thing! We can't wait to see you in less then 2 months!

UPDATED: As of 10:30pm on 9/12 - we are having problems with the block again. Right now it is set up for Friday 11/4 - Monday 11/7 (this is Tiff's mistake, as I didn't realize how many people would be coming in on Thursday) and the rate is $109. We will provide you an update as soon as we can confirm that the dates have been adjusted and the rate is $99 as we expected.

As of 5pm (pacific) on 9/12, the wedding block should be up and running at the Four Points by Sheraton in Culver City. Rooms are available at $99/night with discounts on parking and breakfast. More information (including address and phone number) are available by clicking the "Guest Info" table above.