Weddingbee

This Thursday, I’m taking the train to Montana for only wedding-related visit before we’re married. So much has changed since our August 2007 trip, where we made the preliminary steps toward our upcoming Montana wedding. The thing is, I hadn’t planned to go at all. I thought it would be prohibitively expensive and time consuming and I figured I’d just let Katalin, our wedding coordinator, take care of the details on our behalf.

Katalin told me that she was going to make the trip from Bozeman to Polebridge at least once before the week of the wedding to work with our venue and vendors face-to-face. Once Polebridge was no longer buried under record snowfall, she set the date for May.

(It’s snowy in the hills but dry at lake level today!)

She said she’d like to meet me and asked if I’d come, but I didn’t think there would be way I could make it. Because I would be going alone (Mr. Cherry Pie is chained to graduate school and work), I didn’t want to brave the 10-hour drive or sink the cost of a hotel along the way. I hadn’t planned on flying, so I didn’t have the funds for plane fare and a rental car. I thought about taking the train, but this early in the season, none of the shuttles into the park are running and that would leave me stranded at the gate!

Then I remembered that I could take my bike on the train. It’s only 10 (flat) miles from the West Glacier Amtrak station to the cabin, so that’s what I’m doing. I got a special discount fare for the 14-hour trip on the Empire Builder ($55 each way for a coach seat, no sleeper car) and it’ll cost me about $10 each way to check my bike. What a grand adventure!

(This is the train I’ll be riding, the Empire Builder!)

Katalin is a superhero and set up a whole bunch of appointments for our visit. (She’s driving.) When I saw the agenda she’d prepared I got really giddy. I get to do so many bridey things I never thought I’d experience!

Friday, she’s set up an appointment with our florist to talk about ideas and pricing. I don’t think we’ll have a chance to do mock-ups… but maybe, if I ask nicely.

After that, we’re meeting with one of two potential caterers for a tasting. Yay, I thought I’d be eating the food without knowing how it would taste! (I guess I still might be, if we go with the other caterer who can’t do a tasting.)

THEN I get to do the first of TWO hair and makeup trials. My second trial is the day before the wedding when we go to the salon for manicures and pedicures. They’re both free for the price of wedding-day hair and makeup. How sweet is that?

Saturday, we are spending most of the day in Polebridge figuring out where exactly we’ll set up for the ceremony and reception, picking locations for photo ops, working out the details of our cake, checking out their tables, linens, and flatware, and talking about options for food and drink.

Basically, we’re just going to spend some hours chillin’ in the town where I’ll be married and making sure that we’ll be able to handle everything on the day of.

If we have to, we’ll take another trip into town to see the rental company. But since I don’t think they’ll be able to show us (physically) most of the things we’ll need on such short notice, we might just take care of renting remotely.

Either Friday or Saturday night, I’m also hoping to take a trip down to Polson to hear Good Wood, our bluegrass band perform at a local bar & grill.

I’ll have all day Sunday to relax and enjoy the deserted park on foot and by bike until I catch the Westbound train Sunday night.

Oh my gosh, I am SO EXCITED! But since I only have one shot to do this in person, I’m kind of freaking out about making sure I’ve got all my bases covered. Miss Shortcake’s post about arranging her visit to Vancouver brought up all sorts of new things I hadn’t even thought to add to my list. I know we don’t have to finalize anything NOW (that’s what phone and email are for), but I still want to make sure I ask the right questions.

And my question to you then, dear readers, is what ARE the right questions? What do I need to make sure that I bring, ask, and do while I am there? Or should I just relax and enjoy my trip?

(Sources: 1, 2)