While we hope that everyone who is coming to the wedding has the goal of seeing Glacier, we also know that some of you would like to make the most of your trip and see some things along the way.
The drive from Seattle to the Columbia Gorge can be quite pretty, especially in the early morning or late evening. The road from Portland along the river is also beautiful. There are some scenic overlooks along the Gorge and one in particular in Washington where I-90 crosses the Columbia that is worth a stop. Before the river, there is a burger place in Vantage, Washington called Blustery’s that is a good stop for lunch.
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Filed under: Pre & Post-Wedding Fun, Travel on August 29th, 2008 | No Comments »
Alert, Alert!
I’m sure you’ve all planned transportation by now, but in case you haven’t…
ALASKA AIRLINES IS OFFERING EXTRA-CHEAP FLIGHTS FROM NORTHWEST CITIES TO KALISPELL!!
Here are a few sample fares, but there are much, much more…
Thanks to MOH Rachel for the tip!
Filed under: Announcements, Travel on August 28th, 2008 | No Comments »
In a stunning display of stupidity, I did not check with the Park Service to see when Glacier’s free hiker shuttles stop running for the season. It turns out that the last day to use the shuttle service is LABOR DAY. I should have figured.
I am so, so sorry about this. What a major party foul. 
If you were planning on using the free hiker shuttle as a mode of transportation around the park, please consider carpooling with friends and family at the wedding, or renting a car from the Kalispell Airport and Amtrak station.
The classic red jammer tours will still be running while you are in the Park, but they are a paid, narrated tour, not a method of transport for hikers.
Again, our apologies. We were really looking forward to this service being available for our guests.
NOTE: The free hiker shuttle is separate from the wedding shuttle. We are still having a shuttle from Park lodging to and from Polebridge for the wedding & reception.
Filed under: Accomodations, Announcements, Pre & Post-Wedding Fun, Travel on July 31st, 2008 | No Comments »
I’ve been monitoring airfare from Michigan to Kalispell via Yapta’s fare tracker and it recently dropped to about $480 (from a starting price of $650). This fare may drop more, or it may rise again toward the date. I will update as necessary.
Here are the three lowest fares and respective airlines on arriving different dates and departing on Sunday, September 7. All searches via Kayak.com:
August 31-Sept 7:
Sept 3-Sept 7:
Sept 4-Sept 7:
Sept 5-Sept 7:
**NOTE: Combinations of different airlines can be used for favorable departure and arrival times, but this may increase price. Flying out on Monday seems to keep it in the same price range too.
Filed under: Announcements, Travel on June 18th, 2008 | No Comments »
I’ve finally posted photos from my Super Wedding Weekend in my gallery. I haven’t been able to blog about the trip over at the here or Wedding Bee but I am planning to get around to writing a detailed rundown… Unfortunately, work and home life is particularly overwhelming at the moment. Sufficed to say, it was a very productive and enjoyable, if exhausting trip. It was beautiful to see Montana in the Springtime. Everything was so GREEN!
For now, please enjoy the Montana Spring 2008 gallery and these trip highlights:
Trialing wedding vendors! (Page 1 and 2)
Enjoying a massive tire blowout! (Page 3)
Exploring Polebridge and Bowman Lake! (Page 3, 4, 5, and 6)
Cycling Going to the Sun Highway! (Page 6 and 7)
Photographing an awesome barn! (Page 8)
That’s all for now. More tomorrow and thereafter. 
Filed under: Travel, Venue, Wedding Madness! on May 28th, 2008 | No Comments »
Late last week, my mom decided that she’d like to join me on my trip to Montana for my Super Wedding Weekend. At first, I was a little worried about my mom being there. It meant that couldn’t have any “secret single behavior” time on my grand solo adventure.
I don’t know what “secret single” things I imagined doing out there in a secluded cabin, but I don’t get to spend a lot of time alone, so I was looking forward to it.
Anyway, after about five minutes of selfish wheedling, I realized just how great it was that my mom wanted to come. She’s been very busy and somewhat detached from the wedding planning process so far, and I’ve gotten used to that. On the one hand, I’ve been happy that neither she, nor Justin’s mom, nor any other relative tried to take the reigns from me. On the other hand, I’ve felt overwhelmed by the planning at somewhat alone in my enthusiasm for the wedding a lot of the time.
I’ve been so used to going it alone that it didn’t even occur to me to ask her to come with me. Once I realized that this would be the perfect way to get my mom involved in the planning process, I was really psyched. We’d get to do wedding stuff… together!
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Filed under: Travel, Venue, Weather, Wedding Madness! on May 14th, 2008 | 5 Comments »
As I mentioned in my post about the remoteness of our wedding, Justin and I have decided to rent a few vehicles to to shuttle guests from the hotels to and from the wedding site.
We think this is an awesome idea for a few reasons:
- Our out-of-town guests (um, everyone?) can relax instead of worrying about driving directions and dirt roads
- It means that everyone flying or taking the train can completely abstain from renting a car if they want because there is transportation provided from the airport/train station (for a fee) and inside the park (for free)
- All of our guests can drink and dance and drink and dance without driving themselves into a ditch on the way back to their hotel!
- Having a shuttle will cut down on our emissions and prevent too much wear and tear of local roads
At first, I imagined shuttling our guests to and fro in some of Glacier Park’s classic renovated “red jammer” buses.
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Filed under: Travel on April 29th, 2008 | 2 Comments »
Some of you might wonder how we decided to be married in Polebridge.
Well, Justin I knew that we wanted to get married in Glacier National Park. It is such a special place for us that we wanted to share it with all of our friends and family.
…But to fairly consider other options, we entertained the idea of having a wedding in Seattle or on Orcas Island, where his stepdad’s family has property. We ultimately came to the conclusion that expecting everyone to get from Seattle to Orcas Island was way too much to ask, especially because 95% of the guests were coming from out of state. A trip to Orcas Island requires a two hour drive and one-and-a-half hour ride on a pricey ferry that may or may not be full. And lodging was a whole other issue. It just didn’t work. So Orcas was out.
The more we thought about hosting out wedding in Seattle, the more we just weren’t into it. For many of our guests, traveling to Seattle was just as much of a destination as Montana, and we thought Montana was way cooler. For us, Seattle was by far the more expensive option– vendor prices, much like the cost of living in this city, are outrageous.
Glacier National Park was by far the most significant location for us, and the only one we really cared about sharing with our guests. So once we had done our due diligence and at least entertained other ideas, we set to figuring out where we in the park could set our ceremony and reception.
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Filed under: Travel, Venue, Wedding Madness! on April 10th, 2008 | No Comments »
In this post I’ll try to provide resources for anyone interested in hiking, climbing, or backpacking in Glacier National Park before or after our wedding. We are thinking about leading a few hikes and/or climbs or backpacking, but we’re not sure what time will allow or how many people we will be able to assist.
The best way to prepare is not to rely on us but to educate yourself. So, arm yourselves with knowledge and prepare to enter the wilderness!
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Filed under: Announcements, Pre & Post-Wedding Fun, Travel, Venue on February 27th, 2008 | No Comments »
It would be an understatement to say that Glacier National Park is a special place for Justin and I. It’s not just the place where we got engaged, it’s the place where we got to know each other, spending weeks of precious time together over the last eight summers of our relationship. For Justin, Glacier has been a place to spend time with his dad and with his friends as he grew up. For me, it’s been a place to escape to, where I can be free of the world to concentrate on what really matters.
By inviting all of you, our friends an family, to join us in the park, we hope to share some of its significance. We realize that it won’t mean the same things to you, and for some it might be “just another” National Park to check off the list. But even for the seasoned traveler, Glacier holds an unparalleled and different kind of beauty.
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Filed under: Announcements, Pre & Post-Wedding Fun, Travel, Venue on February 23rd, 2008 | 2 Comments »
