Location, location, location.

Franklin Canyon

Apparently, chumming the waters with the Save the Date worked!

Many of you have asked, "where is this blessed event?"
There's so many fun logistics!! Allow us to explain:

The actual Wedding will be held on Sunday afternoon/evening, April 28th, in a Park called Franklin Canyon.   By L.A. standards, it is, by far, the least trendy of the Canyons, and the most serene.   For out-of-towners, if you google 91604, it'll give you a general idea of where you may want to stay.

Which brings us to our next point: Where to stay.
There's options!  Listed below in order of our own sense of desirability (but what do we know? really.)

Option A) airbnb.com
https://www.airbnb.com/s/CA-91604?checkin=04%2F26%2F2013&checkout=04%2F29%2F2013&guests=2
You can tweak the dates and the number of people, but the 91604 is important in terms of proximity to both the Saturday and Sunday events. (Stay tuned for future posts about the weekend's happenings)

*L.A. is kinda famous for not being a good public transportation city, so renting a car is probably a good idea, as is limiting how much you want to shlep all over town.

Option B) If you google Hotels 91604 , you'll find a range of Hotels and Inns like the Sportsmen's Lodge close to the wedding and rehearsal dinner location.

Option C) If you want a more swanky hotel, Google Beverly Hills and West Hollywood Hotels.  Those neighborhoods are nearby, but on the "other side of the hill".  And there are great spots like the famous "Beverly Hills Hotel," "The London", and "Chateau Marmont", and about 3 dozen other really cool little spots (they are a bit further from the rehearsal dinner location in the "valley" but it takes 20 minutes to get anywhere anyway!)  If you want somethin a little off the beaten path, call us! We'll getcha there.

Option D) 'Groupon' or 'Living Social' or some other social deals sites.  Every now and then they have a getaway near us.  Look for anything West Hollywood, Hollywood, Beverly Hills, or Los Angeles.  If you see something interesting, call or text with questions. Maybe we can post it so others may reap of your bounty.

Option E) Book your flight, hotel, and car rental through the same travel site, bundle your savings and stay anywhere in LA that looks good-- from Downtown to the Beach.

2008 Chicago Jazz Festival

Can we just say, we are so amazed and overwhelmed by your love and willingness to come, to shlep, to celebrate and spend time with us, to put us on your google calendars.  Even those members of the Pack who can't come, we feel the love, just the same.  Your being in our lives is such a gift.

Love you guys!!!
c&r

Happy Thanksgiving Y'all!

We are truly grateful for you guys in our lives. Yes, you, our loyal readers.  You are our people, and we love you for it.

Soooooooooooooooo... don't know what y'all did for T-Day, but we have been CRAFTIIIIING!!!  Move over, Martha!  We're spending this year prepping for our wedding by returning to simpler times.  We sew now.  We suddenly enjoy things like rubber stamps and embroidered lace.  Middlebar has shifted from its local gastropub vibe to Santa's Workshop.  There really is nothing finer than listening to wwoz, thinking of all the ones we love throughout the country, gettin a little lifted, and etching some glassware.  

Speaking of lifted, we are enjoying a very special bottle of wine that we purchased a few years ago in Los Olivos, CA.  (Think "Sideways" the movie).  It's called "The Alchemist." We kept saving it "for a special occasion," but then we realized this is a special occasion: It's an entire day devoted to a nuveau alchemy, seeking out and finding our gratitude! And we get to craft! And listen to Dylan records!  Its basically the best day of our young lives.  Plus we get to drink ridiculous wine.   C'mon, life doesn't get much better than these moments.  But it wouldn't be complete without blogging to you all about it.  We love you and miss you.  Can't wait to see you in April .  

Dinner tonight?? Corrie's grandpa's meatballs and marinara!  Thanks for the visit, Pa.  (And thanks Christopher for passing down the family secrets)

Where were you? Tell us, send us pics. Post a comment and say HI.

In the meantime, feast your eyes on these puppies!  

And stay tuned for more fun from the frozen tundra of Santa's Mid-Wilshire Workshop, aka Middlebar.     

In a New York state of mind...

Meet  Orlee and Yehuda!  They live in Brooklyn.

Normally, we have to see our East Coasters like this:

They've had a rough week.  And will likely have a few more... And i want them to remember that they once felt like this:

on a beach, in MEH-HEE-KO

And we can't wait until we get to see them like this:

This goes out to Abby & Izzy too! Of whom I, apparently, have zero digital pictures. How is this possible, Ab?! Anyway, as the days get rough, think of these guys and breathe...

Less impacted by Hurricane Sandy, but no less important than any of our other East Coasters, I want to give a shout out to Derek (with son, Micah)& Kerrith in Newton, Massachusetts

And Julia and Josh in D.C.. If you guys can survive this year's election, you can survive anything!

Take such good care of you!

Love you

c&r

REGULATORRRRS!!

At Lori & Rachel's Wedding last month

Mount up!                                                                  

Big news, folks.  Renie just completed her [much anticipated] wedding playlist.  She deftly refers to it as "My Wedding Opus."

So start getting in shape, folks.

This is really more a dance contest, than a wedding at this point.  The Dance Contest will begin Saturday afternoon at the crawfish boil (stay tuned for those fun details!), and continue until the last man is standing at our Sunday [wedding] dance-a-thon.  Awards will be given for "Most Spirited Dancer", "Best Interpretive Dance", and "Most Unique Re-Imagining of Dance Moves From the 90's." Cash prizes will be awarded to everyone who is still dancin' with us til Last Dance!

Meet our friend, Noooooshi

But remember, its a marathon not a sprint, so pace yourselves.


Cant wait to see y'all!

             c&r

WELCOME EVERYONE!

Welcome to the Corrie & Renie Wonderful Weekend Wedding Extravaganza Website.

Feel free to drop on by and visit from time to time. Learn more about the weekend's events, meet other wedding guests and much, much, more!

We'd love to hear your comments, and check in with us often for new photos to help get you as excited as we are for the big day/weekend!!!

xo, c&r

Our Newest Invitee

"Exhibit A"

Welcome family!  And family, meet more family!

Meet Baby G, aka Gabriella Sarah Gareffa, aka Gabster, aka Gabs (and gabs and gabs and gabs of love!)   Born 10/22/12, at 4:03pm, weighin in at 6lbs 12oz, she is the first descendant of Renie's brutha from anotha motha, Nicole, and her soulmate/husband Jason.  See Exhibit A.

On the topic of brutha from anotha motha, Corrie is spending her October in Nawlins with hers: Antonia, aka Tone, aka Antoniabegonia.  They're very busy planning Emeril's 10th Carnivale Du Vin and 2nd annual Boudin & Beer.  Last year Corrie and Tone (with the help of a small village) raised nearly $2million at the gala fundraising event to raise money for Emeril's children's foundation. Way to go, ladies!  Not to be missed: Family, meet Antonia's other half, Ian.  He is as special as he looks.

While we're still on this "brotha and babies" talk, allow me to introduce Renie's brother, Aaron with his wife Michelle, and their daughters, Mia and Orli (aka Miakins McGee and Orlibear).  When you see them, ask them to reenact skits from Portlandia-- or just ask them about their life in the Pacific Northwest-- same thing.

Corrie's bros are, unfortunately, kept deep in the South.  (As a point of reference for the Angelinos, they live in that vast red space on the electoral map.) Brian is rebuilding New Orleans one house at a time, and Christopher lives with his beautiful wife, Stephanie near Houston. Wish you lived closer guys, for many, many reasons.




OK, enough blogging for one day.
We're so happy and excited to get to see everybody.
And dont be afraid to be that person who posts a comment.  In this one instance, it's the right thing to do.

xo
ren&cor

WEDDING UPDATE: SEPTEMBER

Wedding planning was put on hold in September due to a tragic set of circumstances;

Corrie was away for work etc.

And Renie was......

So. Fucking. Hot.

Ya, that pretty much sums up our month.  (August was better)

WEDDING UPDATE: AUGUST

It was a big month for the wedding planners.  We finally booked our venue, which was great (cuz then Renie didn't have to throw down).

We also took a road trip to San Clemente for the day to visit our wedding furniture!! It's super cute, y'all are gonna love it! We're so excited!! (in case you couldn't tell.  We have a wedding blog for crying out loud) 

If you're ever downtown, go to Market

And not only that, we also went Downtown to our caterer's for a Tasting.  It was.... how you say?... AMAAAAAAAZING! No joke, you're gonna enjoy the weekend's eats. Fo sho.

Plus our caterer is like this amazing local chef who founded one of our neighborhood's staple cafes, Milk.  He's travelled and trained in Paris and all over the world's best foodie cities.  Frankly, we can't believe we scored him. And we hope you'll enjoy. Bon Appetite.

We also hope you'll enjoy the weekend's fat beats.  Renie has graciously donated her time to procuring fine, fine music from across the ages to bring you the finest music ever recorded.  We've nicknamed her "Rosh Musica".  For the non-jews out there,  this is the title of the Music Leader at Jewish summer camp.  Renie wants to remind you, that although that may sound hilariously nerdy, it's also a really cool person's position.  Being Rosh Musica kinda woulda made her a rock star at Camp Ramah. Just sayin'. 

But the best part about August, and about this moment in general, is that Corrie gets to make so many Excel spreadsheets.  She's like a pig in shit,  tell ya!  Is there a better phrase we could choose for this particular, allegedly loving, wedding blog?  Not one that better describes her joy.  What's more, Renie finally knows what Producers do. That only took 5 years.