Last minute details

So apparently this little cottage in the woods in Canada has Wi-fi!  Lucky me you :)

Here are just a few last minute things that I wanted to mention before our reunion:
1.  I was hoping it went with out saying, but nevertheless, the reunion is adults only (read: 21+).  Please find a capable babysitter and leave your kids and/or pets with them :)
2.  There will be a bar set up for you to purchase any alcoholic drinks.  Beer is $5/pint and wine is $6/glass.
3.  And this is the most important:  Do any of you know which of our fellow classmates have passed away since we graduated?  Please let me know through the reunion e-mail address (ihsreunion10@hotmail.com) or message me on Facebook.  I'm thinking we could take some time during the reunion to remember them and have all those who knew them write a note to their parents saying what you loved about them or a favorite memory or something like that.  Then we'll deliver them to their families.  What do you think?  I'd love to hear any other ideas.

**Remember, this is casual dress and the reunion does go past dark which means that it will more than likely get cold.  You may want to bring a light sweater or jacket.**

Thanks guys. See you all soon!

Edited to add:  We're looking to set up a volleyball net at the reunion, but we can't stake anything into the grass.  Does anyone have something that would work?

I almost forgot...

Remember a couple months ago when I kept bugging everyone to buy their tickets early because there were things we needed to spend the ticket money on that might not be available later?  Well, ticket sales didn't exactly pick up then and as a result there was one casualty: Parking.

We had a verbal agreement with Redhook to hold their Outdoor Bowl Area for our reunion, but since it took a while to get the money from ticket sales to actually reserve our venue, Redhook gave what would have been our parking to another large event going on there that same night because they were able to pay before us.

What this means for us is that we're going to have to get creative.  Since there is no parking at Redhook for us, the only other options are to park somewhere close and walk...the events coordinator did tell me that there is a little league parking lot about 1/4 mile down the street that is first come first serve, but there is also a concert at one of the local wineries that night so that parking might not be available either unless you want to get there at like 4 and find stuff to do for the next 2 hours until the reunion starts.

The other options are to either get dropped off and picked up, or take a taxi.  These two options are the best if you know you'll be drinking alcohol.  Safety first!

I know this is super inconvenient, but shouldn't be too much of a problem.  Redhook was just too good a place to pass up for our reunion...plus, when I found out that there wouldn't be parking available I called about a dozen different venues and even a few larger parks in the area and they were all booked.

Thanks everyone for your understanding and flexibility.

FYI, I (Jenny) will be unavailable from this afternoon through Thursday morning (at the latest) because I have a wedding to attend in Canada on Tuesday.  So if you e-mail me or message me on Facebook with any questions or concerns I won't be able to respond to them until Thursday, but I promise I will get back to you before the reunion.  Thanks again everyone.  I can't wait to see you all next week!

And that's that

Ticket sales are now officially closed.
See you all on the 30th!

Last Day!

<----------------------  To buy tickets click the "buy now" button the arrow is pointing at. You can buy with a credit card, debit card, or pay with a PayPal account if you have one.

Today is the LAST DAY to buy your tickets to the reunion and, unfortunately, I can't make any exceptions.  The PayPal button will be removed at midnight.  For all of you that have bought tickets, thank you so much!  It's going to be a really fun time!  And just to make sure everything is in order, please check the guest list at the bottom of the blog to make sure your name is there or the name of the person you're planning on coming with is there.  I've just gone through all the payments I've received and matched them to the names on the guest list, but if for some reason your name isn't on there and it should be, please let me know through Facebook or through e-mail (ihsreunion10@hotmail.com).  I want to make sure no one gets left out!

Also, I've created a list of those that won't know until the last minute if they can come at the bottom of the blog next to the guest list.  Please check it if you are one of those people to make sure I have you on there.  Remember: this list is for those that have work or other obligations that prohibit them from knowing whether or not they can attend until the day of our reunion.  It is NOT for those that just don't want to buy their tickets until the last minute or want to take up until the last minute to make up their mind whether or not they want to come.  You need a valid excuse if you want to be on this list because I have to count all these people in the final guest count which means that we have to pay for the additional food, security, bartenders, tables, chairs, etc. even if they end up not being able to come, which is a lot of extra money so please don't be offended if you want me to put you on the list and I ask you your reason why :)  I'm happy to do it because I want all that may be able to attend to get the chance.  But just like the tickets, I will no longer be adding to this list after today.  The deadline for everything is midnight tonight.

Thanks everyone!
I'm looking forward to seeing all of you in just a week and a half!

P.S. For some odd reason, my reunion FB page is stuck back in the beginning of June and I don't know how to fix it, so if someone wants to copy this post and paste it on the FB page for me that would be great!  Thanks!

Tickets

So it looks like my procrastination has paid off for those of you who haven't gotten your tickets yet.  Due to an unexpected increase in our budget the ticket prices will remain at $50!  The only down side is that I'm going to have to amend what I said earlier about tickets being available at the door.  I was just informed earlier this week by the events coordinator at our venue that she'll need a "guaranteed guest count" by July 22nd.  This means that those of you who have already told me that you won't know if you can make it until the last minute due to work, etc. will go on the guaranteed guest list that way you'll be covered should you be able to make it.  For the rest of you...TICKETS WILL ONLY BE SOLD UNTIL JULY 21st, no exceptions, so you have 3 WEEKS LEFT!




**Also, for those of you I've already spoken to about buying your tickets at the door, cash is the preferred method of payment since we won't have a credit card scanner :)

To clarify & update

Hello everyone!  Just thought I'd update with a quick note.  Some of you have asked, and yes, there will be tickets available at the door for those of you who won't know until the last minute whether or not you'll be able to come.  Here's my disclaimer on that statement: For those of you who know before hand that you can come, please, please don't wait to buy your tickets at the door.  Remember, our reunion budget is determined by ticket sales, so the funds from tickets sold at the door won't contribute to our overall budget for our 10-year reunion because we'll receive them without any time to use them.  I'm trying to figure out a way around that so the the money received from last minute ticket sales can be used rather than saved for our 20-year, but so far I haven't figured anything out.  If any of you have suggestions on this shoot me an e-mail and let me know!

Also, I won't be sending out any physical tickets once you've made your purchase.  You should get a confirmation e-mail from PayPal once you've bought your tickets and are welcome to print that out and bring it with you, should you worry we won't have records of your purchase.  Let me assure you that every e-mail I get confirming ticket purchases I keep, so no one should get overlooked.  Plus there is a guest list located at the bottom of this blog and once I get a new purchase, I add that person to the list with a "+1."

Thank you so much for those of you that have already bought your tickets!  I've noticed a lack in ticket purchases and am starting to stress that the majority of tickets won't get bought until just before our reunion and if that happens there's just not enough time for me to get everything purchased, rented, organized, and put together--even with the help of all those that have wonderfully volunteered to help when that time comes.  Right now because of our seriously lacking budget, I'm worried that rental places will not have certain items available to rent (like tents) since summer is a big wedding season.  So it is with this in mind that I regretfully will have to up the ticket prices.

Here's the breakdown:
tickets purchased by June 25th...$50
tickets purchased by July 15th...$60
tickets purchased at the door...$70

I know it sucks to do it this way, but that's the only solution we've come up with to aid in ticket sales.  For those of you who truly won't know until the last minute whether or not you'll be able to make it, this is what I've come up with in order to be as fair as I can: If you e-mail me by June 25th telling me you won't know until the last minute, you retain the $50 ticket price, for those that e-mail me by July 15th, you will retain the $65 ticket price, and for those that e-mail me after that or not at all you will pay the full $75 ticket price.  Fair?  I guess?

I'm going with the honor system on this one, so please don't e-mail me saying you won't know until the last minute whether or not you're coming if that isn't the case just to delay your ticket purchase.  If there are extenuating circumstances to why you won't be able to buy your ticket before the price goes up then contact me.  I'm more than willing to work with you.  For those that are out of state, simply saying that you're out of state won't cut it as far as retaining the $50 price past June 25th since it's only a month before the reunion.  I'm sorry if that sounds harsh, really, I don't mean to be.  It's just decision time here people :)

Also, some have already e-mailed me or contacted me through Facebook about not being able to make it due to previous engagements.  Thank you for letting me know.  If you wish to RSVP to decline that would be wonderful too, so I can stop harassing you!  Ha!

*Remember: to contact Andrew and me, e-mail us at IHSreunion10@hotmail.com

Finally, We've started putting together a "then and now" slideshow to watch at our reunion, so whether or not you're planning on coming, we'd love to know what you're up to these days!  E-mail us what you'd like to include in the slideshow about your life now and in the past 10 years, keeping it to a paragraph or two and any pictures you may want.  The deadline to have this to us is July 15th!  Our goal is to have everyone in there so if you know of someone who doesn't have this info. please pass it on!

Thanks!

P.S. I want to say I'm sorry to the few of you I was harsh with on our reunion Facebook page.  While it was what I felt, I should have used a bit more restraint and tact in my replies to you.  I've felt regret in the weeks since then and hope that you will accept my sincere apology.  Apparently, being diplomatic at the end of a very long day is not one of my attributes.  I'll work on that.

The Deets

Alright friends, in an effort to get more of you to buy tickets so we can actually have this reunion, I'm going to give you some of the details of what we're planning in hopes that it may inspire you guys to come--ya know, besides the fact that it would be so fun to see and catch up with people we haven't seen in 10 or so years.

So here's the plan:  The reunion will be at Redhook Brewery in Woodinville in their outdoor "bowl" area from 6-11pm, July 30th.  It's a beautiful grassy area and has a giant screen for showing our senior video plus a "then and now" slideshow (more on this to come).

We're planning on renting a large tent, like this:

  

and having tables, like this, set up under it for people to eat at

 

and center pieces of course

 and/or 

 as well as a bunch of blankets laid out "picnic style" with some beach umbrellas for shade as another seating option.  

  

We're also hoping to have it in the budget to hire a DJ for a couple hours.  Maybe playing music that was popular back in our high school days?  

To keep with the casual picnic theme, we're planning on ordering box lunches (well in this case, box dinners) from Ingallina's.  They all come with a sandwich or wrap, with a vegetarian option; Tim's chips, a cookie, and a bottle of water.  

 

(sorry I couldn't find a larger image, but if you click on the word 'Ingallina's' above, it'll take you to their website)

We'll also be providing some fruit salads as well as additional non-alcoholic drinks.  

We'll have a bar set up through Redhook for those that want alcoholic drinks, but they'll need to be purchased with your own money.  We're trying to work it out so maybe the drinks aren't full price, but that's still in the works.

We're also planning maybe a few *optional participaton* picnic type activities such as a limbo contest, frisbee, and we might be able to get a volleyball net set up.  Maybe we'll even get a water balloon toss going, hmm...maybe not :)

Anyway, that's the basic plan we've come up with.  The only catch is that all this stuff costs money and right now since ticket sales have been so minimal, we don't have the money to do ANY of these things, so please buy your tickets.  We're on verbal contract with Redhook for their outdoor area, but sooner or later they're going to want to get paid :)  

As you can tell, we've already put a lot of time and effort into planning this.  Now it's up to you guys to help us out by buying your tickets.  Our budget for this reunion is based on having 150 people from our graduating class attend, which means up to 300 people total if everyone brings someone.  

The DJ, the tent rental, and the venue rental are all things we need to pay for within the next month.  That means we need about 50 people to buy their tickets by the end of May (the guest list so far is located at the bottom of this blog).  Can you help us?  We really want to make this a fun event because you only get one 10-year reunion, right?  So come, enjoy what we've planned for you, and catch up with old friends. 

P.S. A HUGE thank you to those that have already bought their tickets!!!  

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!
Can you tell that I'm just a wee bit stressed out by this?  Haha!