The adventure is just starting

Covid update: We are so excited that it looks like almost everyone will be vaccinated that is coming to the wedding! Nevertheless, we wanted to clarify our Covid expectations, so that we minimize the risk of being one of those unintended super-spreader events: 1. We kindly ask if you are choosing not to be vaccinated that you wear a mask for protection and peace of mind for everyone. 2. We believe this goes without saying, but if you have any sickness symptoms whatsoever, please let us know that you will not be attending. 3. We ask everyone to bring a mask to use on the shuttle, which is the only place that you will likely be inside and in close proximity to others. If you aren’t comfortable on the shuttle, please feel free to take your own uber, lyft, or taxi, all which are easily available in Tahoe. 4. Other than the shuttle, you will have the ability to stay outside the entire time. We are following CDC guidelines and allowing vaccinated guests to not wear masks. If you are uncomfortable with this, please adjust your own behavior accordingly (you will not be pressured to stay longer or to go inside).

Parking: There is absolutely NO parking at the venue, NO exceptions, so if you show up with a car, you will be turned around! Please either take the shuttles we are providing from Basecamp Hotel or uber / lyft / taxi yourself separately. The shuttle will be running all afternoon and evening, so it will be easy for you to get back to Stateline whenever you are ready to leave. Comfortable shoes: This is a reminder in particular for anyone who is thinking about wearing heels. All surfaces are a combination of grass, gravel, and rocks. Furthermore, the shuttle may have to stop at the end of our street, requiring a walk down the street. So when we say "wear comfortable shoes," we mean something that you are actually capable of walking on those surfaces in. Chelsea is wearing Birkenstocks and Rafael is wearing boots. Jackets: We are dedicating the whole garage for storing guests' jackets and extra clothing, and we will have enough numbered hangers for everyone to hang a jacket. Tahoe in June can be hot during the day, but it almost always gets cold as soon as the sun starts to go down (about 8:00). Jackets will be self-hung, so you can access any extra clothing you bring at any point. We are so looking forward to seeing everyone!

Saturday mornings in ski school are hell. It’s chaos -- you can ask any parent who has sent their child to daycare on skis. Luckily Rafael and Chelsea were tasked with one-on-one lessons for the day. Chelsea had Jax, age 5, and Rafael was with Andrew, age 4. Andrew’s father informed Rafael that Andrew had his BEST friend in ski school that day! His best friend was Jax and it would make Andrew’s day so much better if he could ski with his best buddy Jax. Andrew was sad that he was four years old and Jax was five which made them right at the cusp of being separated from classes regardless of how awesome they shredded. Andrew’s father let it slip that Jax was with Chelsea for the day. Knowing that he had a crush on Chelsea, Rafael thought it would be no problem to make both himself and Andrew happy by finding Jax and Chelsea for a day of light instruction and flirting with Jax’s teacher. The search was on! Finding Chelsea was fairly simple. All it took was a couple calls down from the chairlift from Andrew and Rafael to find a confused Chelsea Foulke looking at the chairlift in curiosity as these two four year olds, one in spirit one in age, were yelling down to her. After Rafael and Andrew tucked and straight-lined it to Jax and Chelsea, we skied as a group till the final bell of ski school. A month of friendship passed and unbeknownst to Chelsea, Rafael bursting at the seams from these harbored amorous feelings towards Chelsea (oblivious right?) had to proclaim his love. So during a concert at the local venue, Rafters, Rafael pronounced his feelings and asked Chelsea on a date. Since then they have been attached at the hip through California, Australia, Indonesia and, now for the foreseeable future… Nevada.

It’s honestly remarkable that after a year of being together, we still hadn’t been backpacking together. After too much time, we finally made it to the Tahoe Rim Trail. We set up camp at Round Lake around 3pm on our first day and planned on having a relaxing evening playing cards and teaching (or at least trying to teach) Trip how to swim. And that is exactly what we did. At sunrise the next morning, Rafael handed me my favorite yellow dress and told me to put it on so we could take some sunrise pictures. At this point I was so tired that I would have done anything anyone told me, but as soon as I stepped out of the tent, Rafael led me to a beautiful tapestry and asked me to go on every adventure with him for the rest of our lives. Needless to say, it was one of the best moments.

Planning a wedding in this time of uncertainty adds a whole new element to the planning, but we are having fun in spite of all of the ambiguities. We are having the ceremony and the reception in Chelsea’s parents’ backyard, so we should be able to get married with at least a small group on June 5, 2021, regardless of what restrictions on groups exist at the time. We are also planning to live stream the ceremony, just in case the world is again in chaos, or for those who are just more comfortable watching from home in their favorite PJ’s. Please check this website when it gets closer to the event for important changes.