Pics in the Pearl...

Tonight Jay and the Kids and I got to meet Daniel stark our Wedding Photographer. We met downtown in the Pearl District and had a super fun time taking all kinds of shots around the parks, buildings and various scenic locales that make up NW Portland.

Daniel was very nice - exactly how we thought he would be after communicating via email for so long, and Jaylin and I are more excited than ever to get to have him shoot the wedding...

also - it really brought thongs home to us...It's really happening, really soon...WOW!!

We got a chance to have dinner with the kiddos afterwards and the fact that these two are so fired up to do this - what a blessing to us both!

I threw a couple candids in here of Jay and the kids - and of Jay and I last night at the movies (took the kids to see Narnia - very cool flick), and I will post the photo shoot pics as soon as we get them.

Jaylin and I really appreciate that Daniel tool so much time getting the kids their own shots - and that while making sure to capture Jaylin and I in our own world, showed so much time and attention to getting the spirit of our family as well...

Thanks Daniel for a fun night...we really look forward to working with you on the Big Day!!

Wayne and Jay

As Promised...Meet the Gang...

Jay And I would like to Introduce you to our Dearest Friends - and as they say - a picture is worth a thousand words....we are so blessed and so fortunate to have all of you guys in our lives!!


Here is the official Bridal Party...


Piper Mac - Maid Of Honor

...Aint She Cute?

Holding our Flower girl Miss Sophie....

...Love Her!!!















Parker "Spud" Ryan - Best Man - No Question About It!!





Doin what he does best...What a Good Lookin Young Man!! (wonder where he gets it?)

Amanda aka "Lovebug" - Bridesmaid Extradordinaire...



Best hugs in the world from this human...we love you!! Thanks for being our friend...











Frank - Just Frank....Groomsman at large...








He always looks like he just knows something that you don't...and it's about to happen...RIGHT NOW!! (Shhhh....be very quiet...Jen is trying to take a nap...)




Sweet Carina - So beautiful...what a smile...what a heart!! - Bridesmaid Extradorninaire...




You make everyone around you shine when you smile...we love you girl...Fo'Sho'!!

The Notorious "Jerry D" - Groomsman at large...





"I'm Jerry D baby...Yeah you know me!!"








I have also inserted some pics from last weekend into the previous post so you can all get to know these guys...we always have a great time and these are the friends who have loved us, supported us and been totally unconditional with us from the beginning. Jaylin and I are truly honored to count humans such as these amognst our closest friends...Thanks to all of them for standing up for us on our special day...and standing by us for many moons to come....

Feeling Very Fortunate Today...

Wayne

Weekend Update - and then some...

OK - So I am out of town in Oakland Tonight and Can't sleep (note the posting time)...thinking about the amazing weekend Jaylin and I had with our closest friends. We are so fortunate to have such wonderful people in our lives!!

Getting together with our friends and family is what Jaylin and I are all about, and thats what we spent our entire weekend doing. We were very stoked that my freind Jerry was in town to spend some time with us and the other members of the bridal party.


Jerry, Frank (my other groomsman) and I were able to get some fantastic (chuckle) Golf in on Friday afternoon.

It was so good to catch up with both these guys in the same state at the same time.









Then we got to have an amazing meal at McCormicks in Beaverton with the boys and Franks girlfriend Jen (who has become one of our dearest friends also..she's so sweet!!)
















...and her friend who came up with her from Eugene, Cyndi.















It was so much fun and yes...Jaylin finally got to meet the infamous "Jerry D'. (she approves highly of my selection of friends by the way).















The whole gang went out after dinner for some Kiiler karaoke at the Golden Crown - our favorite haunt (Mary and Linda are always so sweet to us).

Saturday was no less Busy with a big home style BBQ at My place with the usual suspects again...where at least one attendee was heard muttering..."I dont even like Lamb and that was AWESOME!!"(...ok, a little shameless self promotion there...sorry!) Anyhow, after dinner it was off to the Dublin for some live acoustic music and pool (Sorry Frank - I still refuse to call that move dancing) and one of Jaylins' bridesmaids, Amanda, was able to meet up with the whole crew there and hang with us. Very Cool and so good to see her. if you ever get the chance to get an "Amanda Hug", you will know instantly what an amazing, beautiful and tender human she is. One of the best for sure...You rock for hanging with us girl!!

Then Sunday, we celebrated Mothers Day with the Rider / Miller Clan which was so great because Grandma Miller came over with Merlene, Ryan and Heather and getting to be a part of that group is always very insightful. I feel like I am getting to know more about Jay and her history every time we get to sit around the table and just visit...what a wonderful day!! (I hear the Pork wasn't too shabby either...)

So, as you can see... Wayne and Jay did a LOT of the things we love to do, cooking, entertaining and running around this busy weekend!!(Whew...we were/are totally exhausted as I threw a 3am wake-up call onto this morning just for kicks) Needless to say, we haven't posted in a couple days, so, Heres the update...

I just Love this Photo of us at the Willamette Vineyards in the Tower where we got engaged

Jay and I have a Photo Shoot / "Get To Know You" meeting with Daniel Stark, our wedding photographer, this Saturday evening. We are so excited!! We will be taking pictures in the Pearl District and Jaylin got it all booked on her own...(she is so good at this stuff!!)

We are really looking forward to it, and Jay really wants to include the kiddos too, so Piper and Parker will be coming along for the fun! We plan to have a fun evening of hanging out with the family and our new friend Daniel.

We are looking forward to getting the pics online as soon as we get them from Daniel..(have I mentioned how much we really like him) so we can share them with you.

Also, I will get the pics up of our fun weekend with the gang for everyone to see and get to know our dear friends...

Also, we had a great chat with Jaylins Mom on Mothers Day about "Wedding Plans" so that we could make sure we are all on the same page - and I just gotta say...I feel so fortunate to be welcomed into this family!! Jays Mom really makes us feel so supported and loved with all the planning, and her and Jim have really made this event a priority so it has been fun to just get to hang out and get great advice and dream of how wonderful things will be....plus - Jim is just full of catering ideas....KFC yeah you know me baby!!

That's it for now...Blessings and Peace to you,

wayne-o

Meet'A the Preach'A...

We wanted everyone to get a chance to meet Craig Roggers. Craig is my brother-in- law and has been, along with my amazing sister Vicky, an absolutely HUGE influence on my life and Jaylins as well. These are just the greatest people and we would have been lost without them these past several months.

Craig and Vicky have been so supportive and encouraging about Jaylin coming into our family, and have told me personally on countless occasions how great they think she is. When Jaylin and I started talking about who we wanted to marry us...the conversation was short, the list of people was even shorter. There was absolutely no other consideration, and frankly...the fact that Craig wasn't a licensed minister yet didn't even concern us.

We asked Craig - he said yes - and the details have all worked themselves out...

We really enjoy getting to hang out with these guys, It seems there is always something fun going on when we get together. Some of the things we love doing with them are anything from just hanging out at their beautiful home and having appies, to heading out to the Oregon Wine Tasting Room to visit our friend Patrick, or like the last time...just heading out to the Helvetia Tavern for a good Cheeseburger...

Craig and Vicky are also avid Bikers...and we told them that arriving on their Harley and attending the Wedding in Leathers was absolutely acceptable...it was either that or Craig was goung to wear a Tommy Bahama and flip flops...(we are both totally ok with that by the way...) But Craig tells me he actually wants to wear a suit...so GO for it Man!! I'll bet we could find you a nice "Harley" Tie...

Anyhow, Craig has been studying us for a while now, and I gotta tell ya, we are so looking forward to letting him usher us into our married lives together. Nobody knows us better as a couple, and frankly, nobody we know is better at articulating the things that we belive are important in a marriage than he is, and we can't wait to see how he puts it all together for the ceremony.

Craig and Vicky live in Dundee, where Craig is a partner in Oregon Heating and Cooling and Vicky owns "Tres Beau" Salon. Be sure to introduce yourself to them when you meet them at the wedding. These are great people, we are honored and blessed that they are standing beside us in this way and we love them very very much!!

Here are some pictures from the last few "Hang Outs" with the new "Rev. Craig and his Beautiful Wife "Sister Vicky"....(I just love the play on words...)

Caterer and Photographer Hired - We are so blessed!!

We are so blessed to announce that Lisa Clement of Clemente's Fresh Seafood Restaurant and Market in Astoria has accepted our invitation to cater the wedding on Aug 23rd this year.

Jaylin and I had our hands full with the decision coming down to two very capable and talented caterers, but in the end it was Lisa's commitment to both value and quality that won us over!!

Lisa and her Husband have a very reputable and growing restaurant and catering business in Astoria. They have been well reviewed, and as a matter of fact a very nice article was written about them in the Coast Weekend Magazine last month in the midst of us trying to make our decision.

It was a real journey for Jaylin and I as we experienced what could probably be considered the first "big test" for us in the middle of the whole wedding planning process. Not only were we trying to book "Big Food" in the middle of Hood to Coast weekend...but you see...the other caterer/restaurant owner, was a good friend of mine. I have to admit, I thought I was just being helpful, but maybe I was lobbying a little for them as well since it would have been totally user friendly in my opinion at the time. I brought them into the mix after Jay had worked very diligently to find the other company, in order to make sure we were going to get the best deal, but I wasn't really being very sensitive to the idea that Jaylin had really worked hard on finding Clemente's and that she was very proud of herself for getting it done. Oops!...little did I know that my sweet girl had really done her homework on this one, and frankly, I was very impressed that even after I muddied things up good, Jaylin just looked at me and said, "You know what...let's give them both a shot." We did, and much to my delight, Lisa and her team just absolutely came through. jaylin certainly knows how to pick 'em, and I gotta say that we both feel not only like we are getting tremendous value here, but we really feel like there was nobody we would have rather found than Lisa Clement and her company! We are very impressed with the capabilities and the sense of importance that Lisa put on making us feel understood, not to mention totally working within our budget., and for the record, I am VERY impressed also with the hard work and time Jaylin put into this one. What a great partner I have, she is so awesome!! It has been a great "Trust Building" experience for Jaylin and I and we are so thrilled with the end result!!

Anyhow - here is the link to the article in Coast Weekend Magazine about Clemente's, and if you get a chance to head to the coast between now and the wedding, go check them out...and tell them Jaylin and Wayne sent you!!

http://www.coastweekend.com/main.asp?Search=1&ArticleID=41124&SectionID=85&SubSectionID=1002&S=1

Now - the Photographer...this one we worked on side by side (good lessons learned from the catering project) and if you know us, we are both very artistic and expressive people who pay a LOT of attention to great art and people who have the ability to express amazing detail in their work. We also have very diverse tastes in what we each find visually stimulating - so there was a little "Mutual-Navigation" to be done on this one. The net-net? We both really belive our wedding Photographer has exactly the ability to deliver a very artistic final result, with the unique approach he takes to both document artisitically, as well as give us a very journalistic view of the day. He is truly a talented guy, and a wonderful Human.

We are totally thrilled to have Daniel Stark of Daniel Stark Photography as our wedding photographer.

Daniel has a wide range of interests and talents from shooting editorials as a photojournalist, taking "life" images as well as amazing landscape shots...but we think his true passion comes through in his unique and honest ability to capture the joy and emotion of weddings...

just take a look at his site here...we're sure you will agree.

http://www.danielstarkphotography.com/

Daniel is a graduate of the University of Oregon and his work has been featured in many publications, not the least of which is National Geographic Magazine.

Daniel has been very sweet in communicating with us, and we feel his genuine kind and caring personality will lend itself so well to the day and the memories we want to create. Jaylin and I both agree that he is the kind of guy who will really go out of his way to get a great shot, and we love the way that even his "posed" shots have a sense of balance that goes well beyond just making sure that people are organized from "Tallest to Smallest'...

We will be getting an Engagement photo session with Daniel very soon, including the kids, and look forward to sharing those photos here with all of you ASAP.

That's it for now - more to follow....

Wayne-O

Astoria Accomadations and Activities

With so much going on at the coast on our wedding weekend, Jay and I wanted to get as much info up here as we could right away, so that we can get everyone caught up on whats happening with the Wedding Plans...and hopefully help you all to make it a nice "End of Summer" beach weekend for you and your families...

Here are some great links to some resources which have been very helpful to us so far, and for those of you who just cant wait to book your travel until the invites get to you, go for it!!

Here is a great link to Astoria's web page featuring bed and breakfast info, attractions, and other great ideas for spending time in one of our favorite areas...

http://www.astoriaoregon.com/

And a web page for the long beach penninsula

http://www.funbeach.com/

...and for those of you Campers out there, One of my favorites is the KOA at Fort Stevens in Hammond (about 10 minutes from the Loft in Astoria). there are also some KOA's in Seaside, and on the Long Beach Side in Washington as well...check out this link...

www.koa.com/koacampgroundsearch/SearchResults.aspx?SearchString=warrenton+oregon

This KOA in Hammond is right accross the street from Fort Stevens State Park, which has lots of camping options as well...belive me, as Much as jay and I love to camp, we definately thought about just having a big Wedding Campout....ok, well I thought about having a "campout"...but theres just something about dirt floors and white wedding dresses that don't quite go together...and since Jay very graciously declined my idea to do the "Vegas" wedding...I guess we'll just have to enjoy hanging out with all of our friends and family, at one of the most scenic locations I have ever seen for a wedding...( I am sooo freaking excited!! )

I will get more info ASAP as well as web linls to the hotels where our group rates will be set up, and any intel I can get on them as far as how Nice or how "practical"...lol... they are.

Love you all...
Wayne-O


PS - for all you fishermen and women out there...this is "Prime Salmon Season" at Buoy 10, right out of either Hammond or Ilwaco, so theres a good chance you could get some "Fishin' Fever" taken care of on Friday, early Saturday morning and Sunday if you choose...

I will find some guide services and get them uploaded for any of you that are interested. Also, Let me know if you are and I will be happy to keep track of you and get a reservation for one of my favorite guide outfits down there if needed...(I also have some friends who will be fishing Buoy 10 that weekend who might just have an extra seat or two...for you early birds....)

I only ask that if get a nice one, you donate it to the caterers for BBQ at the reception...(JK)

"Fish On"
Wayne-O

Invitations Going Out Soon...

What does the date Saturday August 23rd, 2008 mean to you...?

Well for us...it means "Happy Wedding day"

Ready...Set...GO!!!

Invitations have been selected and will be ordered this week...(we think)

The location is AWESOME. The Loft at the Red Building is a fantastic and beautiful spot right on the Columbia River, overlooking the Astoria-Megler Bridge. It is directly next door to the Cannery Pier Hotel and very conveniently located to Seaside, Warrenton, Gearhart, Long Beach and Ilwaco. Perfect for all of our family and friends coming from out of town as it is closer for most than coming all the way to Portland.

Now, because we have heard some questions from some of you about"What were we thinking" when we booked that particular location and date..I have some responses to those FAQ's

For all who are wondering...yes, we KNOW it is Hood to Coast Weekend at the beach...Yes, we know it is the Long Beach Kite Festival....Yes we KNOW it is going to be a scramble to get rooms...we know...but we have good reason for picking this date. (you will just have to trust us on this one, and we will be happy to explain it in person anytime)

We also know you love us and wouldn't want to miss our special day so...right??

So, we are collecting all of the open rooms we can find at local hotels and reserving in advance as many as they will let us. In many cases, we are being limited to the number of rooms we are allowed to hold without paying a "guarantee fee", but in those cases, if our block of rooms gets reserved, just let them know you are coming for the "Rider-Ryan Wedding" and they will give you the group rate.

We will be sending out the info for Hotel / Motel booking with the invitations, but I will be uploading info here for other options such as Campgrounds, Bed and Breakfasts, as well as hopefully keeping track of anyone that would like to go in together on a suite or a house...

We love you all and can't wait to celebrate with you...we look forward to keeping everyone in the loop at least weekly on this site so please sign up for our updates or sign up to our feed and enjoy the journey with us.

Here is the info on the Loft, as well as some pics of the day we went to look at it with Jaylins folks and the Kids...

http://www.theredbuildingloft.com/


Love you all,

Wayne and Jay