Information on Wedding Hotels

We hope everyone has had a happy holiday season! We apologize for the delay, but here is the hotel information!!!! Please keep in mind that for the evening of the wedding, we will provide transportation to and from BOTH hotels.

We have reserved hotel rooms at two Asheville hotels for the weekend of the wedding including Sunday night.

1. The Bohemian - It is located right outside the Biltmore gate, adjacent to Biltmore Villiage (shopping and restaurants). This is the hotel where our rehearsal dinner and brunch will take place. The entire bridal party, including us, will be at this hotel. Reservations can be made online at www.bohemianhotelasheville.com or on the phone at 877-274-1242. To do this online, follow the normal booking instructions. When you get to the part that says "negotiated rates" click on the dropdown menu and select "group." Our reservation code is PSRD (it's not as random as you think - it stands for "Pearlmutter-Scher Rehearsal Dinner). Making reservations here, you will be billed for one night. The wedding block rate is $229/room/night, which comes to $253.62/room/night including tax and fees. The only parking at the hotel is valet for $18/night. Parking is also available in the Biltmore Villiage.

This hotel, which is opening March 1 of 2009 is one of the gorgeous Kessler hotel properties. These hotels are truly gorgeous and have wonderful amenities, including a full spa, a gourmet restaurant, and others. We highly recommend this hotel.

2. The Fairfield Inn and Suites by Marriott, at 11 Rocky Ridge Road - This hotel has the option of standard rooms (Kings or Two Double Beds) or Suites. It's approximately 7 miles from the Biltmore and a short distance from a number of restaurants. The block price is $99/room/night for standard rooms, which comes to $109.65 with tax. The block price for a suite is $129/room/night, which comes to $142.87 with tax. To reserve a room, call (828) 665-4242 and reference the Scher-Pearlmutter Wedding.

Rates at both hotels are only good until Aug. 3.

When making your reservations, please keep in mind that each guest attending the wedding will receive a complimentary ticket to tour the Biltmore Estate. We would highly recommend that everyone tour the house. It is truly spectacular. This is a great treat since these are normally priced at $55 per person! We will also be holding a dinner for wedding guests on Friday evening and a brunch on Sunday (both at the Bohemian). We will be staying in Asheville until Monday evening and look forward to spending as much time with friends and family as we can!

Be advised that both hotels and the Biltmore Estate are nonsmoking facilities.

Love,
Karen and Michael

Hotel update

We just wanted to fill everyone in on the latest developments. The weekend of Thanksgiving we visited Asheville to make a decision about our second hotel block. We are in the process of contacting the sales department to work on a contract. We anticipate this to take a couple more weeks, due to the holiday season. Then we'll be ready to share the news about both hotels - be on the lookout!

Why we are glad we aren't getting married in October

Last weekend, we travelled to Asheville with our parents to check out a wedding that was held on the front lawn. In an effort to fill the weekend with productive wedding planning items, we also met with a hotel, the rabbi, wedding planner, tasted wines and designed a cake. Michael discoved he loves fondant and everyone enjoyed watching him try to eat an entire block of it. We also learned that 40 degrees is too cold for an outside wedding as the entire party was hiding in the house avoiding the cold and the string quartet required a portable heater to play. The affair was "interesting" with a mixed theme of wood and crystals. They also had a lounge complete with photo booth.

Even after meeting our parents, the rabbi is still ok with marrying us! We drank a lot of wine and ate even more cake (especially Michael and that fondant). Information about hotel blocks should be forthcoming in the next month or so. For those guests that smoke, the entire Biltmore Estate is non-smoking and at least one of the hotels we are considering is also smoke free.

We would like to thank our families for joining us this weekend.

Karen and Michael

Questions and Answers with Karen

For this Q&A session, Michael will be interviewing Karen.

Michael: Is there an airport nearby?
Karen: Yes, in fact Asheville has an airport with frequent flights from and to popular destinations. The airport code is AVL.

Michael: Do you have a hotel block yet?
Karen: No, we are working on this and will post further information when we have it. We will be offering two hotels in close proximity to the Biltmore. We will likely provide shuttle service to and from each of the hotels for the wedding since the Biltmore driveway is miles long.

Michael: What is there to do in Asheville?
Karen: Lots and lots! Everybody attending the wedding will receive tickets to tour the Biltmore House for free so please do not purchase tickets on your own. Other activities in the Asheville area include hiking, golf, and shopping. We will post more ideas for activities closer to the wedding date.

Michael: Could you provide some information about the wedding weekend?
Karen: The actual wedding ceremony will take place on the front lawn at 7 PM. It will be followed by a cocktail reception and reception which will include a plated dinner. On Friday evening, we will be having a dinner for guests. We will also be having a brunch on Sunday morning. Details to follow.

Michael: Is there anything else you would like to add?
Karen: Parts of the wedding ceremony and reception will be on grass. High heels are not advised! The temperature in Asheville in September will fluctuate between 70s in the day time and 50s at night. Wind will not be a factor because the reception is tented but please dress accordingly.

Michael: Where are you registered?
Karen: We are registered at Williams Sonoma and Bed Bath and Beyond.

Michael: Karen, thank you for taking the time to sit down with me today on our lovely couch to answer these important questions. Next time, we will ask about healthcare, the state of the economy, and where the closest bowling alley is.

Karen: My pleasure. I may be suspending my interviews to focus on the real issue of our time: cake tasting. Please be sure to vote in our honeymoon poll on the right!

Welcome

Welcome to Karen and Michael's wedding blog. As most of you know, we will be getting married on September 5, 2009 at the Biltmore Estate in beautiful Ashville, North Carolina. This blog will include messages about our excitement for the occasion as well as information that would be useful to all of our friends and family that will be joining in our celebration.

Karen and Michael