Update
Wow! Only six more weeks until we leave for Croatia! And that means only seven more weeks until our celebration in Banner Elk!!
Judging from the responses we have gotten from the Evites (thanks for the fast replies!), everyone is aware of our wedding/party plans. If not, here is a quick recap (full details can be found in the original post below):
September 8 – we travel to Dubrovnik, Croatia
September 9 – The BIG day (then 3 more days in Dubrovnik)
September 13/14 – USA here we come!
September 17 – we meet all of you in Banner Elk, NC to celebrate!
Hopefully everyone has had an opportunity to book accommodations. If not, please see the information provided in the original post – it is a busy weekend for the Boone/Banner Elk weekend so please do not wait too long! Of course if you have any questions, feel free to contact us.
Finally, a few specifics to update:
#1 As mentioned previously, we have arranged plans for Friday night as everyone is coming into town. Please join us for drinks and appetizers at Bayou Smokehouse & Grill in downtown Banner Elk. We will be there from 6:00pm onward, so feel free to join us whenever! For those of you wishing for a complete meal, the full restaurant menu is available.
#2 Due to some unforseen complications, we’ve changed the location of the Saturday party to Cornerstone Cabins (some of you may have even booked lodging here). While this may seem like an inconvenience, it actually has worked out for the best as we are able to have an even better party! The same theme persists – local barbeque, drinks, games, and of course, all of you! We are also able to be more flexible with time so we will start a bit later: 3:00pm. And as before, we encourage everyone to dress comfortably – this is not a formal event! And please, no gifts! All we ask is that everyone come and have a good time!
So, to summarize:
- Join us Friday night as you come into town: Bayou Smokehouse & Grill. We’ll be there from 6:00pm onward!
- The Saturday party location has moved to Cornerstone Cabins; starting at 3:00pm
Looking forward to celebrating with all of you!!
As you’re probably aware of by now, we are getting married! And if you’ve made it to this page, you also received our Evite to join us in Banner Elk, NC to celebrate! However, you may have also noticed that this was not your normal wedding invitation – and that’s because it’s not. In fact, you’re not invited to wedding at all! Obviously this requires some explanation…
The wedding: September 9th, 2016 in Dubrovnik, Croatia (if you watch Game of Thrones, Dubrovnik is King’s Landing, Battle of Black Water and all). It will be just the two of us, overlooking the Adriatic Sea.
The honeymoon: We will then spend the next three days in Dubrovnik, diving along the coast and exploring the city as our ‘honeymoon’.
The reception: After Dubrovnik, we are flying to the US to hopefully meet all of you in Banner Elk! This is where the Evite comes in. You are all invited to join us to celebrate! However, this will not be your typical wedding reception (after all, we are doing it a full week after the wedding). We want this to be a causal afternoon with friends and family. No dress code or gifts (seriously, no gifts – we live in Europe. We can’t even get them home), just good food and drinks with all of you that we never get to see.
You are formally invited to join us in Banner Elk, NC to celebrate our marriage!
Date: Saturday, September 17, 2016*
*We are aware that this is in the middle of football season, with home games for both Virginia Tech and Appalachian State (more on this in a moment). This is something that Shane swore he would never do – have wedding festivities during football season. However, planning internationally has proven difficult and we hope that it won’t be too much of an inconvenience for everyone.
Place: Tate-Evans Park, Banner Elk, NC *Location change – see above*
We’ve rented a picnic shelter and will have tents set up. We picture an afternoon of local barbecue, drinks, and games (corn hole, horse shoes, etc) in the park, surrounded by the beautiful mountains we miss so much here in the Netherlands.
Time: 1:00 – 6:00 *Time change – see above*
This is of course, just the Saturday cook-out. We are currently working on less formal plans for Friday and Saturday nights as well. We will update this site as things develop.
Lodging: where to stay in Banner Elk
We mentioned previously it was a home game for Appalachian State and, go figure, it is a big one. The University of Miami is coming to Boone. Despite our efforts to avoid such hassles, we have recently discovered that the Miami football team has rented out the entire Best Western Hotel (aka the place we were planning to tell all of you to stay). So, that’s out. However, we do have other suggestions, the first three of which are in close proximity to Tate-Evans Park:
- Little Main Street Inn & Suites
- We have reserved a small block of rooms, of various sizes and capacities. The rooms are listed below and are on a first come, first served basis. When calling for reservations, rooms are reserved under Whitney Crosson. Most room layouts can be viewed by clicking the link above.
- Suite 1: One bedroom – Sleeps up to 4 (1 queen, 1 double futon) $144
- Suite 2: One bedroom – Sleeps up to 5 (1 queen, 1 double futon, 1 roll-a-way cot) $149
- Suite 3: One bedroom – Sleeps up to 5 (1 queen, 1 double sleep sofa, 1 roll-a-way cot) $149
- Suite 5: One bedroom – Sleeps up to 5 (1 King, 1 double sleep sofa, 1 roll-a-way cot) $159
- Suite 6: Two bedroom – Sleeps up to 6 (1 queen, 2 twins, 1 double futon) $198
- Suite 8: Mini studio – One bedroom – Sleeps up to 2 (1 queen) $125
- Suite 20: One bedroom – Sleeps up to 3 (1 queen, 1 roll-a-way cot) $144
- Suite 22: One bedroom – Sleeps up to 4 (1 queen, 1 double futon) $149
- Suite 25: Two bedroom – Sleeps up to 8 (1 queen, 1 double, 2 twins, 1 double futon) $224
- We have reserved a small block of rooms, of various sizes and capacities. The rooms are listed below and are on a first come, first served basis. When calling for reservations, rooms are reserved under Whitney Crosson. Most room layouts can be viewed by clicking the link above.
- Cornerstone Cabin Rentals
- We have a few options on hold here. Call quickly if interested and mention “Whitney wedding”!
- Two cabins
- Each sleeps 6 (1 queen on the main level and two doubles upstairs in the open loft). $346.94 for 2 nights (includes tax, cleaning fee)
- In the Lodge (description from website)
- You may rent the middle level which has 2 bedrooms (queen beds in each room), 1 bath, fully equipped kitchen, gas fireplace, hardwood floors. $421.66 for 2 nights (includes tax, cleaning fee)
- Or you may rent the middle level and also the lower level which has 2 bedroom/1 bath for a total of 4 bedrooms/2 bath. $592.46 for two nights (includes tax, cleaning fee)
- Two cabins
- We have a few options on hold here. Call quickly if interested and mention “Whitney wedding”!
- The Banner Elk Inn
- We were unable to reserve rooms here, but we were assured that (as of the first week of March) this property is completely free the weekend of September 17th. If interested, we recommend calling ASAP.
- Other Bed & Breakfast
- There are a few other B&B’s in Banner Elk. We have not been in contact with these but they are always an option
- Cabins in the surrounding area
- One of the great things about the Eastern NC area is the large number of cabins and vacation properties available to rent. This is especially true for the Banner Elk/Boone/Blowing Rock area. Feel free to book any property you like <- this what we did!
*From the Evite, there is a link to RSVP. Here you will find a guest list that updates automatically. This should prove useful for those of you wishing to share rentals and to make the most of reserved room space.
Travel: flights
For those of you flying, there are two airport options:
- Charlotte Douglas International Airport (Charlotte, NC)
- ~2 hours drive from Banner Elk.
- McGhee Tyson Airport (Knoxville, TN)
- ~2.5 hours drive from Banner Elk.
Please RSVP by July 31, 2016
Questions? Email us! theshwits@gmail.com
The Shwits 