Ken and Anna's Wedding Blog

Wedding Highlights

2009-11-18T17:54:00.000-08:00

Group Photo

2009-09-28T04:35:00.000-07:00

Married!

2009-08-22T19:28:00.000-07:00

Wedding Week Update

2009-08-01T14:54:00.000-07:00

WEDDING WEEK

Maps around Stanley are here –

http://kenandanna.blogspot.com/2009/04/stanley-maps.html

Wednesday in Boise – We will be getting together with Anna’s family for drinks downtown during the evening hours. Give me a call and meet up with us so we can show these New Yorkers how to party!

Thursday in Boise – We will be hanging out at Carol’s (mom) home in Meridian during the afternoon and early evening. If you are around, let us know and we will send details.

Friday in Stanley –

– Many have asked how you can help. We have a number of options to help get your hands dirty! If you think you will be up around 1:30pm, we could use some help setting up our large tents in Pioneer Park.

– The picnic area at Redfish is reserved all day Friday. The camp host mentioned to me that parking will start to get tight. If you are able-bodied, please park at the Trail Head parking lot (about ¼ mile walk to the picnic area).

– A swimsuit is advised – the water at Redfish is wonderful.

– The official picnic time is scheduled for 6:00pm. We will serve burgers, veggie burgers, hotdogs, salads, chips, etc. Just a reminder to bring along a beverage of choice.

– In case of really bad weather, we will put up a notice at the picnic area. The party will move to the Stanley Community Center located in upper Stanley on the main road (Highway 21) right across the street from the Mountain Village Merc and Danner’s Log Cabins.

Saturday in Stanley –

– More opportunity to help! We will need assistance around 10am up at the Pioneer Park to roll out tables, put up chairs, etc.
– Wedding is scheduled for 1:45pm. See you there!
– Reception to follow in the park
.
Sunday in Stanley –

– Last chance to roll up your sleeves. We need help packing up the tents at the park on Sunday morning.
– Time to relax, hang out at the beach at Stanley Lake, go fishing, hot springing, etc.

A couple last minute thoughts for people who don’t normally visit Stanley: Please be sure to observe speed limits around the town of Stanley. Every once in a while they get ticket happy and set up right after signs change to a lower speed. The weather is always a bit colder up in the mountains. Towards evening time, you will want some long sleeves (maybe a hooded sweatshirt). Weather can also change very quickly. There is a possibility of some rain on the wedding weekend (good luck, right?). We have tents for the reception, so we should be fine. If the weather gets really wicked, we have the community center as a fall back party location. There are also wolves, mountain lions, and grizzly bears in the area, but only two tourists have been eaten this year. Odds are that we won’t have a problem with the wild life …. But you never can be sure ….

Thank you for reading through this long email. We are getting VERY excited to see everybody and want to make sure you have a great time.

Love to all,

KRJ & AMD

One Step Closer!

2009-07-10T14:39:00.000-07:00

We got our marriage license!

Wedding Registry

2009-06-16T09:11:00.001-07:00

We are currently registered at the following places:

Bed Bath & Beyond (http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com)

MyRegistry.com -- this is mostly camping/outdoor gear from Cabela's (http://www.myregistry.com)

To access our information, type in one of our names (it's easier to search by Annalisa DeMarta as Ken Johnson pulls up hundreds of registries). We are asking gifts to be shipped to our NY address which is given in the registry details.

If you have any questions please reach out to us!

Stanley Maps

2009-04-12T08:07:00.000-07:00

Click the maps to enhance:

Invitation Details

2009-04-12T05:37:00.000-07:00

We are really pleased with our invitations (and hope you like them too!). Because Stanley has few, if any, street addresses and we wanted to share a fair amount of information, we decided to create booklets.

Anna's friend, Jillian, suggested we contact WomanCraft, a Chicago-based non-profit, to make our invites. It couldn't have worked out any better. The paper is handmade (using donated paper, flowers, etc.) and includes wild flower seeds. We loved the idea of giving our guests a small gift that they could enjoy. Anna designed the maps using Power Point and WomanCraft fit them to scale. The folks at WomanCraft were very creative, patient, and really helped our ideas come to life. Thank you!

To personalize the card, we ordered custom stamps from S. Jane at Etsy.com. We stamped the front of the card with the mountains and our wedding details. For the back side of the envelope, we stamped our initials.

Lastly, we did a simple postcard design for our response cards from Vista Print.

We really enjoyed working on this together and are thankful to all of those who helped us proof read and offered advice throughout the design process.

Invitations!

2009-04-12T05:35:00.000-07:00

Update on Hotels & Weekend

2009-04-12T05:26:00.000-07:00

We are planning on doing a get-together BBQ Friday, August 7th around 5:45pm At Redfish Lake. We reserved the picnic area for the entire day so feel free to come early. All we ask is that you bring your preferred beverage of choice.

Saturday, August 8th we are planning a 1:45pm ceremony at the Sawtooth Meditation Chapel. We have a reception immediately following at the Pioneer Park, located next to the Chapel. There will be appetizers, dinner, dessert and dancing all night. Wine and beer too!

Lodging Update (Click the below image to make it bigger):

Hotel Room Crunch -- A couple of ideas.

2009-01-13T07:38:00.000-08:00

The Stanley High Country Inn has a few rooms avalible. You can reserve online and its right down the road from the wedding area.

http://highcountryinn.biz/reservations.php

Also, Redwood Cabins have rooms, but they only want folks that are planning an exted stay (like 4-5 days). Their phone number is: 208-774-3531. It rings the owner's home, so don't be weirded out if you get a generic answering machine message.

Also consider: Salmon River Lodge and Cabins: reservations@mywildidaho.com
208 - 774-3422.

The nice thing about Stanley is that everything is very close -- whereever you stay will be scenic and everything is within about 5 miles of everything else.

If you only plan on staying for Saturday the 8th, please book at the Mountian Village Resort. http://www.mountainvillage.com/ We have about 25 rooms blocked out for the 8th only.

Please book soon if you are planning on comming. Stanley has very limited hotel options and its already booking up fast!

See you there!

Ken

Happy Holidays!

2008-12-27T05:08:00.000-08:00

Sawtooth Camera

2008-12-08T17:45:00.000-08:00

Catch the year 'round excitement of the Sawtooths by visiting sawtoothcamera.com!

This camera takes almost continuous images of the Sawtooths direct from Stanley.

Enjoy!

Camping!

2008-10-01T05:17:00.000-07:00

A great way to enjoy our wedding weekend is to spend your time camping at one of the many lakes throughout the Sawtooth National Recreation Area.

My favorite places to camp are at Stanley Lake and Redfish Lake. Both areas have various types of camp sites available, ranging from "Tent only" to full Trailer hookup. If you want to guarantee that you'll get one of the nicer spots at these popular destinations, be sure to reserve your spot using the Reserve USA online system (http://www.recreation.gov/homeLeft.do?topTabIndex=CampingSpot).

Redfish lake does have showers available (Anna likes this), and there are also plenty of hot springs and glacial streams around if you prefer a little more Idaho-style in your bathing.

Stanley Lake and Redfish are both about a 15 minute drive to the wedding area in Stanley.

There are also some RV parks around. Elk Mountain is just up the road from Stanley. Not as picturesque, but we hear the food is good. http://www.stanleycc.org/pages_service_dir/rv_camp.html

Even if you don't plan on camping, you should be sure to take time to visit the day use area of these lakes. It is so easy to plant yourself in the sand at Redfish, open a book, and look up 5 hours later wondering what happened.

Hotel Reservation Reminder

2008-09-28T15:27:00.000-07:00

The city of Stanley closes for the season between the end of September and the end of October (depending on the venue).

There is a handful of hotels who are still accepting reservations. We are still working on the group rate but will not know until the end of October.

With that - we strongly encourage you to reserve a hotel if you know you are coming!

Pre-RSVP?

2008-09-22T12:03:00.000-07:00

You might be wondering why anyone would send a pre-rsvp, right? Well, let us explain....

1) It's an excellent marketing opportunity. Since 100% of our invited guests are from out of town, state, and even country, we wanted to give folks ample time to consider attending our wedding. Perhaps roll a trip to Stanley in with your summer vacation. Check out the below entries that include information about Stanley.

2) Stanley, ID is very small with limited hotel arrangements. We have tried to reserve blocks of rooms and must follow-up closer to November. Below is a list of Stanley hotels and cabins. We strongly encourage you to reach out the hotels and reserve now. August is the peak travel season in Stanley and they consistently run out of rooms.

3) Plain and simple: a head count. We are trying to plan this shin-dig from a distance. Knowing how many people are coming is extremely useful for planning purposes. We strongly encourage you to bring a guest, friend, kid(s) (your's or someone else's), and dog(s). The Chapel is not dog friendly but the park is.

4) To generate buzz and suggestions. Since we are new at the wedding planning business, we would love suggestions and helpful hints. Also, if we missed some people that would be interested in making the journey, we can easily factor those folks in too.

5) To get you to check our blog!! This is where we will frequently update wedding planning progress and communicate necessary (and unnecessary) information. We also would love your e-mail address(es) to further communicate details.

If you or your crew has any additional questions or concerns, please contact us directly:

ademarta@hotmail.com & kenrjohnson@msn.com

Travel Suggestions

2008-09-11T12:03:00.000-07:00

If you are flying, check out www.kayak.com for a cost comparison by website (this site includes Travelocity, etc.).

If you live near a Southwest airport, definitely check them out -- plus they allow 2 bags at no additional cost and they make for a more humane experience. Southwest.com

Once you fly into Boise, you and your crew will need transportation to Stanley. Ken is working on a group rate for rental cars (if possible). However, there is carpooling. Let us know if you have any questions or concerns on the car rental front.

FYI: Boise to Stanley is 127 miles (according to Google).

Stanley Area Hotels -- Reserve Early!

2008-09-07T11:47:00.001-07:00

(CLICK THE LIST TO MAKE THE IMAGE LARGER)

This is a list of Stanley area hotels and cabins. I suggest reserving as early as possible. We will call Mountain Village Resort on Oct. 20, 2008 (when their new computer is online) to try to set up a block hotel rate. We'll update as things progress.

Even if we don't get a block rate, Mountain Village is very close to all wedding events. Of course, Stanley (population 100) is very small, so all things are relatively close.

Cabins & Homes are also available if you have a large group. People have mentioned that they start renting after the first of the year.

Of course camping is available all over the Sawtooth Valley. We don't mind you showing up in your camping attire so long as you are having fun.

Please email us (ademarta@hotmail.com) if you have trouble figuring out your rooming.

Excellent Map of Stanley Area -- Meditation Chapel and Reception Location

2008-09-07T11:38:00.000-07:00

This map is an excellent layout of the Stanley, Idaho area. The wedding will be at the Stanley Meditation Chapel (spot #30). The reception (weather permitting) will be held outside under a large tent in the adjacent Sawtooth Valley Pioneer Park.

Link to the map: http://stanleycc.org/resources/maps/stanley_chamber_map.pdf

Save the date! August 8, 2009

2008-09-02T12:21:00.000-07:00

Today was very productive. We were able to secure both the Stanley Chapel and Park for our wedding.

If all goes well, we'll be married August 8, 2009.

Check out the Stanley Chamber of Commerce for additional information on Stanley.

The proposal

2008-09-01T18:15:00.000-07:00

On August 20, 2008, After years of enjoying each other's company, Ken finally worked up enough courage to ask Anna to get married.

The story unfolded as we spent a few days at Stanley Lake with family and friends. Ken was nervous about popping the question not only because of the magnitude of the event but also because the previous day he had split open his lip in a firewood stacking mishap.

Luckily, our hero was not deterred by his freshly swollen jaw. After spending the day fly fishing and hot springing, the group was preparing the evening meal at the campsite. Ken casually slipped into the tent to retrieve the ring that was hidden inside his raincoat which he placed into his swim trunks. Then, Ken faced the most challenging part of the proposal: persuading Anna to put down her freshly opened beer to go on an afternoon canoe ride.

While rowing across scenic Stanley Lake, Anna began to grow suspicious that something was up. She did not know if it was part of the brain injury Ken sustained from the wood stacking accident or if there was some lingering after effects from his early morning swim in the freezing, glacial lake.

Ken kept rambling on about happiness, kids, God, and everything in between as the two crossed the lake. As they neared their campground shoreline, Ken hollered to his friend Matt to take a picture. He then thrust himself towards the middle of the canoe, Anna's eyes grew wide as she feared his maneuver would surely capsize the canoe. Her fear quickly melted away as Ken produced the hidden ring and asked her to get married. She responded by flinging herself across the other side of the canoe into his embrace.

The canoe did not sink, Anna got her beer, and the celebration began around the campfire as plans were hatched for the wedding in one year at the same location.

Hope to see you there!