We want to savor the time we have with you. So we are doing this the way we want to: over an entire weekend, vs. rushing through and trying to cram it all into one night. Our intention is to gather our most life-impacting friends in order to help us celebrate our marriage. We want you all to witness our love, but we also want to see the people we love most build community with each other. If you're coming from afar, please consider making this a memorable journey to meet new friends and to spend time getting to know the magic that North Carolina offers. There is so much to see here, you might even consider making a longer trip out of it and exploring some on your own! If you're local to NC, please help us convince our family/friends to move here (lol). Wherever you come from, we hope that by visiting the Smoky Mountain region, that you will be able to make a larger experience out of our wedding weekend and will return home feeling inspired, reinvigorated, and hopefully, with many new friends! Ultimately, we are weaving a web of community now that we've lived all over and have honed in on "our people". We know you will love one another as much as we love each of you!
Please plan to arrive at the venue between 4:00pm-7:00pm on Friday, October 18th, 2024, for photos with Aubrey & Christopher. If you can't make the photo hour, no worries, there will be plenty to do the rest of the weekend! Refer to the "Itinerary" tab for more info on scheduled event/activity times.
If you are assigned to stay in the retreat accommodations, you are free to arrive as early as 5:00pm on 10/17/2024. If you are not assigned to stay in the retreat accommodations, you are free to make your own plans. There are no activities planned for 10/17, so you should make personal plans, if you decide to arrive early. Please eat dinner on 10/18 before the welcome party. Aside from drinks & dessert, no food will be served.
We have rented the space, and have activities planned up until 10/20/24 at noon. You are welcome to come and go as you please, if you can only make part of the celebration. Please vacate the property by 2:00 pm on Sunday, 10/20/24
Please check the "Travel" tab on the website for accommodation listings. Make sure to book well in advance, as October is "high" season in the Asheville/Flat Rock/Hendersonville area. If you are assigned to stay in the Retreat House, you will be assigned a room upon your arrival.
Friday: Bring a change of clothes that you'd want to be in while sitting near a bonfire. Activities: Photo hour, cocktails, dinner, fire circle ceremony Saturday (exploring): Fall-weather, comfortable clothes. Hiking shoes/boots. Jacket. Umbrella if it rains. Activities: Hiking, exploring the Asheville area, nature-based outdoor hangs, wood-fire pizza, late night DJ set. Saturday night (dinner): Funky or Fall Formal: Fur coats, funky dresses, fun pants, groovy boots. Just have fun with it and don't wear sweatpants! Cocktail/semi, fall-weather formal dress if funky isn't your cup of tea. Be mindful that it will be cooler because it will be autumn. Sunday: Comfortable clothes you feel like traveling in. Activities: Breakfast, casual conversation, saying goodbyes
We have made the decision to perform our vows privately. We have arranged to leave the venue around 4:00pm on Friday (10/18) to do so. Nobody will be coming with us aside from our parents. During the time that we are gone, guests are welcome to partake in various wedding activities, stroll around the property grounds and familiarize yourself with the local area, get a bite to eat, sit and chat with other guests, or explore the surrounding area.
Christopher and I will provide drinks and dessert Friday night at the welcome party. We will provide dinner and mocktails for our guests on Saturday night. Sunday morning, we will serve donuts and apple cider before everyone leaves. The rest of the weekend, you will be responsible for feeding yourselves. The kitchen space at the Sanctuary is available for our use, if folks need a place to prepare or store food, including refrigerated items. There are also grocery stores and a few local restaurants nearby. Please refer to the itinerary page for specific times of events. Vegan options will be available Friday night.
This is a BYOB event. Our family will likely contribute some items for guests to drink, but you are welcome to bring your own if there's something you specifically want. Please respect any guests' choice not to partake in the consumption of alcohol. There are a few areas where you cannot drink, due to liquor licensing laws, but those will be pointed out to you upon your arrival. Please DO NOT go overboard and get too wasted. We'd like you to be as present with us as possible. There will be non-alcoholic beverages offered. We do have several friends who are completely sober, so please be respectful of everyone's choices, and do not pressure anyone to drink if they turn you down. :)
Please do not bring anyone that wasn't explicitly listed when you RSVP'd on Zola. We are not able to accommodate any more guests at this time.
Limited availability. Please get explicit permission from Aubrey before planning on this option. Please check into nearby campgrounds if you need a confirmed location to park your rig. The smaller the rig, the more likely you can park it somewhere on the venue property.
Unfortunately, dogs are not allowed in the buildings of the Sanctuary and Retreat House. The grounds does allow dogs, but they must be leashed at all times and remain outside. There are some vacation rentals nearby that also allow dogs, that is always a good option for dog lovers! Aubrey's family will be bringing one female Schipperke named Bikini. Please do not feed her human food.
We are planning to travel to Japan sometime in 2025 for our honeymoon. All monetary gifts will help us achieve the honeymoon of our dreams! You can find our registry information under the "Registry tab" on this website!
Yes. Please do not feel like you have to bend over backwards to come all the way to North Carolina to celebrate with us. We will be having a low key reception in the Midwest to celebrate with family and friends back home. We will also be traveling to Arizona and plan to get folks together to celebrate with us there on 10/31/2024. We are also open to celebrating privately with people, if large group settings aren't your thing!
Refer to Aubrey with any questions you have before 10/10/2024. If you have questions the week before the wedding, you will be directed to our day-of coordinator, or Aubrey's mom.
Yes! If you have a talent, activity, or cool thing that you think would add to the experience, please bring it! We are going at this as if it's a collaborative event, so the more creative our guests get, the more interactive and fun this weekend will be! Check in with Aubrey if you have a cool idea! Things to consider bringing: -Instruments -Food for breakfasts/lunches/snacks -Flow toys -Art supplies -Bug spray -Hiking sticks/poles -Water bottles -Outdoor games/board games
Please do not bring weapons, illicit drugs, guests who weren't invited, and/or fireworks. Please leave no trace on the property/land. This is an incredibly sacred piece of land and we want to take care of it and be invited back. If you see any trash on the ground, please pick it up, even if it's not yours. Please do not cause drama and be respectful of everyone's beliefs and lifestyles. If you are not staying in the Retreat house, we ask that you do not enter other guests' spaces, as to respect their belongings and privacy. Please keep your belongings in the room you were assigned.