Email 4:  Thank you for making the journey email upon return from Honeymoon

Thank you for joining us in Ojai for our wedding!  During our time in Ojai with you, we felt our emotional connection to you grew, we were sometimes moved to tears, and often moved to laughter; in fact we felt moved over and over again.  We witnessed you building new friendships with some of our other friends, and saw you solidifying old friendships.

As you may know, the morning after the wedding, we got Maui’d for our mini honeymoon.  For a peaceful week in perfectly humid 92-degree Hawaiian weather, we swam in remote waterfalls, snorkeled over coral reefs, slept with the sound of the steady roll of Pacific ocean waves, sipped poolside frou-frou drinks with umbrellas and pineapples, and we tilted our effusively laughing faces toward each other while running along the beach holding hands in slow-motion.  Even more importantly, we counted our blessings, we wondered with thankful awe at our supportive and loving community, and we dreamed about our future and about our many exciting choices that lie ahead.  

We are now back in California and are returning to our new normal lives with finger rings.  We are two very happy people!  Note: We have chosen to tone down the slow motion running and laughing, but not to eliminate them.

You may have seen photos of our wedding, which Andrew & Barbara have posted on the web site that they set up for us at [website].   You may already have sent electronic and/or hard copies of your wedding pix -- If you haven't, please share them with us, as your photos are our only record of the event.  And if you have videos, let us know-- we’re eager to see them!  We'll arrange to have your tapes picked up, copied, and returned to you.

If you forgot anything at Meditation Mount or at Casa Barranca, let us know by Thursday evening, because Mandie's parents are going there to pick up some forgotten things.  Why not get your things picked up at the same time?

We feel very lucky to be surrounded by friends and family like you, and we're looking forward to seeing you soon!

 

Email 5:  Thank you for making the journey email upon return from Honeymoon

Hello dear ones, we just wanted to take one more opportunity to thank all those who helped in some way or another with our fabulous Ojai Wedding Retreat Getaway.  Some of you may have missed our little thank you show at Casa Barranca on Saturday evening, and others may have missed our not necessarily thanking everyone for everything they did (we forgot a couple of things).  In case we once again have left anyone out, we apologize in advance and hope you will forgive us for our mistake.  

[Maid of Honor's Name]:  Thank you for being Mandy’s maid of honor, keeping her nose dry in moments of joyful tears, and holding her bouquet when she was fumbling with vows on crumpled paper.  Thank you for setting up the reception site on the morning of the wedding and supervising the entire ceremony and reception.  Not only did you do a fabulous job of making sure everything was in place the night before, but you single handedly put the finishing touches on the day’s décor.  We would have been scrambling without your help.  

[Groom's Best-Woman's Name]:  Your organization, check-in, and parking help were amazing.  The touches you put on various parts of our wedding were great – like your “newlywed game” questions, what a great bit of entertainment for everyone on the bus.  Thanks for all your pre-wedding and bachelor party planning support too. Your joyful spirit added so much to the festivities.

David:  What can we possibly say!  You organized 30 happy people at Casa Barranca, and many more than that at our wedding and wine tour.  From taking care of the cash collecting, to the sign-in booth at the front door, your attention to detail made the weekend go seamlessly well.  You kept us free of care all weekend because we knew the details were in your capable hands.  Thanks for that huge contribution, and also for running a completely successful wine-tasting event against the moving backdrop of Santa Barbara and San Ynez.  Everyone was impressed and thoroughly pleased with the experience.  We think there is a startup business in this for you somewhere…  

[Friend 1]:  When we asked you to lead a fire ceremony, we knew you’d do a great job.  What we didn’t know was that you’d bring the house down with the absolutely most perfect fire ceremony ever!  You completely set the mood for the entire weekend and we are so grateful for all the energy and thoughtful preparation you put into that all important, community building hour.  We have our box of  talismans to remember it by, and to know for certain that everyone who was there “goes with us” on our journey from now on.

[Friends 2 & 3]:  The website you put together is simply fabo – and it made such a huge difference to have that site to refer people to!  We are so grateful for all the time and energy you put into making it just right – a reflection of us and our event.  Thank you for helping with parking at Meditation Mount.  You stepped in like experts and shepherded people when we needed you most.  Muchas Gracias!

[Friend 4]: Thank you so much for emceeing a bus ride that could potentially have been a very long day.  With you at the helm, folks didn’t even notice that hours were passing by.  Your ice-breakers and timing kept everyone entertained and happy.  Thank you for the priceless gift of your skill and charm.  We appreciate you jumping head first into the roll, with nary a hesitation.  

[Friend 5]:  Thanks for the great pictures that you took and posted to your website and being the fly-on-the-wall documentarian of the whole weekend!  We look forward to seeing the footage.  Special thanks for a totally amazing, terrific bachelor/bachelorette party!

[Mom & Dad]: Thanks for paying for the brunch, and making sure the bride had something nice to wear.  Special thanks also for hauling 100 pounds of oranges to Ojai and disposing of the ones that didn’t quite make it.  Your help with setup the night before the wedding was priceless as well.  Thanks for making sure the PA system had a seat, and for making those cute wedding goodies for everyone at Casa Barranca.  We can’t thank you enough for your support and love.

[Friend 6]: Thank you for making those centerpieces so beautiful.  They were absolutely perfect!  They turned out even better than we pictured them, and we are grateful for your help in hauling them around.  Thanks for coming early to Casa Barranca and helping with dinner in the evening, as well as for lending a hand with tenting up  your sleeping porch…  

[Friend 7]:  Oh diligent guest book attendant, we thank you for capturing so many wonderful words on paper.  We really enjoyed reading entries from people while we were in Maui.  We have since added on to that guest book, and it has also become our “dream journal,” where we have been jotting ideas for our future.  Your work here is much appreciated.  

[Friend 8]:  You did such a great job making the bride look pretty, and so early in the morning.  Lots of tools, and lots of talent. You rock!  Thanks for working your magic and being so gracious with your time.  We're so glad you came to stay with us at Casa Barranca, did yoga, etc.  It was great to have you there.  

Again, if we missed anyone, it’s because we are still coming down from the wedding high.  Please know that we are blessed to have you all in our lives and that the weekend would not have been the same without you there to help us celebrate.  We all felt the love, and we hope you did too.  Thank you for creating the ambiance for magic that will last, at least for us, for a very long while.