Wedding Procession!

We have made some progress on the wedding planning front! We have begun the process of securing the festival grounds at Shakori Hills (out towards Silk Hope, NC). I believe this suits our style pretty perfectly, as it's the place of a much-loved hometown grassroots music festival full of art and good times. The place also inspires good memories for the both of us and many of our friends.
We considered it initially, but there are several rental requirements that made us take a look at some other (indoor) options. After a good amount of research we returned to the idea of holding the whole shebang at Shakori, which is the best option for place, available time, price, and fun factor.
We have the grounds secured for the evening of Friday, June 10 - the morning of Sunday, June 12. We'll need to rent port-o-potties and a tent, but we also have access to the Grove Stage, which is a sweet wooden stage in a beautiful grass field surrounded by trees. There is electricity and water at the stage. There's also a coffee barn that we could get access to if we decide we want it, located in an adjacent field.
We'll need to pack in and pack out, handling our own trash, recycling, and parking. That's no big deal, because:
We can camp!
Anyone who is interested is welcome to camp out on the property, so we get to have our own mini-festival.
We can also have music on the stage, so long as we obey the sound ordinances. My friend Buck, who is also my favorite DJ, said he'd come out from California to play for us. I hope we can also find some pickers to come out and jam, especially so we can unplug at night and sit by a fire, listening to some good music while we celebrate.
We still plan on doing a Steampunk theme, for which we have lots of DIY creative, fun plans. The theme will primarily be realized through the costumes of the wedding party and any guest who are feeling feisty and dress up with us. The wedding favors will help guests accessorize steampunk-style, and I think that will inspire a lot of great photo taking. We also have ideas for a couple of art-installation type large pieces to frame the ceremony itself.
We've already started collecting some small materials toward our steampunk concepts. I, for one, have been brainstorming my butt off working on my dress design. I have a fantastic idea that's probably on the ridiculous side of extravagant, but I figure it's time to go for the gold. I won't have many chances to put a lot of time and effort into an elaborate Victorian gown with awesome detailing. I'm bursting with excitement about it, but also sort of feeling like keeping it under wraps for now.
Russell's also having a blast thinking on his ensemble, and he has been looking for costume elements on line. Little packages from Etsy have been arriving regularly! Fun!
I'm excited to get to work on things and have found so much great inspiration on line. I love Google so much when it comes to this sort of work, and Etsy for helping me gather what I need to realize it. I'm also going to tap some of my creative friends out there to help me realize certain elements of the concept.
In any case, I have the feeling it's going to be a very good time, and I'm excited to start working on the logistics of it now that I have a time and place set to work from.
Mostly I'm just going to start making stuff! I've got time to figure out the rest later...