Invitation limitations.

While we are absolutely thrilled about the destination for our wedding, we did have to consider it carefully because of the limitations it will place on who can attend. The destination we have chosen is an important part of making our wedding … perfectly us. We both have extensive families and many personal friends and friends of the family. This makes for a big list of important people. However, since we are having the ceremony in a National Park, we are subject to the rules and regulations that govern the park’s issuing of permits, one of which is a 50 person cap at our ceremony site. The site itself places a similar restriction. It is the intersection of three trails at the base of a stand of redwoods, and there is no way we could responsibly fit more than 50 people at that location. Because of this, we had to significantly reduce our guest list. For those we are able to invite, we have had to exclude children under the age of 18, and, for the most part, any guests for our single attendees.

Why not get married somewhere more accommodating, you ask?
Honestly, after making several trips to Redwood National Park and spending time there last June hiking and selecting a location — we can’t imagine getting hitched anywhere else. It’s just exactly what we want.

Because of our strong desire to celebrate with as many people as possible, shortly after our wedding up north we will host a barbecue in San Diego to share pictures from the ceremony and extend the celebration to those who we wish we could invite, but cannot.

We appreciate everyone’s support.

Sarah & Jason

PS: We encourage anyone with questions or concerns to contact us at junetwentyfifth@gmail.com.

Travel by car.

For those thinking way ahead and thinking they might travel up the coast to Redwood National Park by car — you can now plan your trip directly from the "Destination" page on the web site. I know, I know: This is terribly exciting and just the news you had been anxiously awaiting. Now you can get right on mapping out that road trip that is nearly 300 days away. Or maybe you're flying, and this tidbit is completely irrelevant to you.

Either way, I'm stoked. Eureka and the surrounding areas relevant to the wedding like Trinidad (reception) and Orick (near the site) can be manipulated and put in perspective with the new Google map. Thanks to our friend Mark, what seemed like an impossible task of making the web site interactive was reduced to simply inserting a few lines of code (which I guess is really what the whole site is — just entering a few bits of code).

Thanks, Mark.

Jason

Save the date.

Well, if you’re reading this — and you’re not one of the few who have been visiting this site as it has developed during the past few months — then you’ve received the “Save the Date” notices we sent out.

So, welcome.

We discovered this idea for the announcements two years ago when we first visited Redwood National Park together. They sell these postcards at the Samoa Cookhouse, an old logger’s diner that Sarah’s dad, Jim, was excited for us to try. I have a redwood and a sequoia growing from a postcard I bought that first time around. When we were up in Eureka figuring out wedding details this past June, we bought a whole bag of the cards to use for our “Save the Dates.” The Samoa Cookhouse is where we will have our rehearsal dinner — and probably several other meals while there for the wedding.

It all ties together.

We are stoked about the announcements because they encapsulate some of what our wedding’s all about. The announcement is a postcard, which is kind of the classic traveler’s communication — and, in part, this wedding is about traveling together and experiencing Redwood National Park. And it promotes the environment by encouraging you to grow the seeds that are enclosed in between the cards — and we are trying to make the wedding as green as possible.

In regard to the seeds, we encourage everyone to try to grow them — green thumb or not. When we cooked up this idea, we thought how cool it would be if in the time between the announcement and the wedding people grew little redwoods or sequoias, like a living “Save the Date” reminder.

One estimate I read for the total carbon sequestered in a mature redwood tree is in the neighborhood of 800 tons. This is a conservative estimate that does not include the branches, needles, and roots. The average American spews about 1,600 tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere through fossil fuel consumption in his or her lifetime. So, get two redwoods to reach maturity and you’re square — at least in terms of fossil fuels.

There are growing instructions on the interior of the postcards, but that is only one way to do it, and not necessarily the best. If you plan to try, it can be as easy as:

1. Get a plastic cup and punch several holes in the bottom for drainage.
2. Put dirt from your yard in the cup (without weeds or grass, if possible).
3. Dump the seeds on top of the dirt.
4. Add just enough dirt to cover the seeds.
5. Water. Don’t let the soil dry out. Put the plant in a mostly sunny area. If it’s going to happen, it will happen within four weeks.

Or, for a more complete set of guidelines:

1. Get a 1-gallon plastic pot with drainage holes at the bottom.
2. Get some potting soil (I recommend Miracle Grow Moisture Control Potting Soil).
3. Fill the pot nearly to the top with soil and then pat it down to remove air pockets and refill until it’s about two inches from the rim.
4. Spread the seeds evenly over the soil (if you get anything to grow, e-mail me when they’re a few inches tall and we’ll talk about separating them).
5. Add just enough dirt to cover the seeds, about a ¼ inch.
6. Water — make sure the soil gets wet all the way through the first time, then just water as needed to keep the soil from drying out during germination. Unless it’s unreasonably hot, watering once a week should do it until the weather cools off, then twice a month or as needed until the weather warms next summer.
7. Put the pot in a sunny location that gets some shade. Wait four weeks.

Because they grow so tall, redwoods are extremely efficient with water. Because they spend most of their lives fighting their way through the shade to the light, they are extremely efficient with sunlight. Because of both of these factors, redwoods grow fast — three feet or more a year — and they are drought tolerant once established. Once established, they’ll care for themselves.

Feel free to contact me with any questions.

Jason

Travel pics, etc.

Well, we just spent the last few weeks prepping to move and moving — so we've been away from the computer. I've also been sick; one of the many perks that go along with meeting all those fresh new faces when the semester starts. I'm teaching seven classes this semester at four colleges and taking a French class. Sarah just started up yesterday with her new semester, so she's working and going to school full time — her usual, year-round schedule. We had been living in Allied Gardens (near SDSU) for the past year, but we decided to jump at the chance to pay off our debt and save for the wedding by moving in with my grandpa in La Mesa. He has allowed us to take over the two back rooms in his house, so we're working at getting settled in there (thanks to Anna, Amy, Paul, Jessica, Charles, Pam, and Doug for help with the move).

We've also been on hiatus in terms of wedding planning, but we hope to accomplish a few things in the coming weeks and get things rolling again.

Otherwise, I have attached a series of pictures from our travels, as promised to JT a while back. There are pictures from New York, Trinidad, Belize, Guatemala, and Italy.

Jason


Us in NY near Madison Square Garden (2005).


The beach we stayed on in Trinidad (2005).


Hiking to a waterfall in Trinidad (2005).


Exploring coastal swamps in Trinidad (2005).


Sarah holding a giant spider our guide found, Guatemala (2006).


High up on a Mayan temple in Guatemala (2006).


The ruins of Tikal, in Guatemala (2006).


Ziplining through the canopy in Guatemala (2006).


On the Cayes in Belize (2006).


Snorkeling with sharks off the coast of Belize (2006).


In Positano, Italy (2007).


Ancient temple in Paestum, Italy (2007).


Frank, Sarah, me, Chris, Beth, Anna at Pompeii, Italy (2007).


Looking into the crater of Mt. Vesuvius in Italy (2007).


The view from our villa in Positano, Italy (2007).