THE PLAN... as we know it!

We are so excited and blessed to have you in our lives! You were added to our list of folks because we love you, appreciate your support and love over the years.

In an effort to help us share information that will likely be changing slightly before everything is complete, we thought this blog site might be the most efficient way to keep you all informed and allow you to see any other questions/answers that come up in the process.

As we said on the postcard, we would sincerely love it if you are able to join us at any points during this celebration - our wedding near Tampa, on our cruise to the Western Caribbean and/or our reception in Austin. As a couple who have been together for 8 years - April 11 will be the anniversary of our first date! - we want this celebration to include all the people we love. That said, we totally understand if you are not able to attend any part - we will still love you!!

So, here's the scoop so you can see if/when you can join us:

WEDDING PLAN
The wedding will be near Tampa Florida at Fort De Soto Park in Tierra Verde, just south of St. Petersburg on Saturday April 7 at 7p.m. (sunset).

We have booked the #1 picnic shelter at this state park. Information on the park can be found here: http://www.pinellascounty.org/park/05_ft_desoto.htm.

We know there is a $5 park fee to enter the park and we will share any other details that might be helpful as we get them.

After the ceremony itself, there will be some pictures followed by some cake and punch. We may get a bite to eat after as well before we head to our hotel, but again the official  reception will back in Austin.

HONEYMOON/CRUISE PLAN
We are cruising on the Norwegian Star ship (no, not the people who crashed in Italy!) leaving Tampa on April 8. Ports of call include: Roatan in Hondoras, Belize City in Belize, Costa Maya and Cozumel in Mexico. If you are interested in the cruise, rooms start at $549 per person with two people minimum per room. You can call Norwegian directly at 1-866-234-7350, but we have had great luck with Hotwire.com or AmericanDiscountCruises.com. As "seasoned" Norwegian cruisers, we can also try to answer questions you might have.

TRAVEL PLANS
AIRFARE: If you are able to join us for the wedding and/or the following cruise, you should fly into the Tampa airport (TPA). Southwest Air (www.iflyswa.com) does offer a direct flight from Austin, but there are many other options as well.

LODGING: So, apparently, our dates conflict with BOTH Easter Sunday and Spring Break. Hmpf! We have checked with several St. Petersburg hotels and have not found a place that would block a group of rooms for us at a reasonable rate. We highly recommend that you check into www.Hotwire.com or www.Priceline.com to locate a room in the area. We will be staying with David's sister until Friday night when David will move to our honeymoon hotel and I will go spend the night with my Mom and sister, Amy.
As we said, we would love for you to join us in this celebration, but completely understand if you can't make it. Austin reception details to come - stay tuned!

Love,
Shelly & David

Ok, Let's get this party started!!

Hello? Hello out there?
This is my first attempt at not only a WEBSITE, but also a BLOG!

The plan is that I will post details about the wedding, the cruise and the reception here so you can come and read about it any time your little heart desires!

Ok, so let's see how this works.... Hold onto your hats folks!