Dan & Sabina would LOVE for you to join us to celebrate our union for the 'LadRosa Wedding' for an intimate & casual affair & whirlwind western adventure in our favorite neck of the woods the Chihuahuan Desert.
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April 4th 2024: Meet & Greet, MARFA, TX (Optional.) Think 'wedding reception', but casual, fun & EVERYONE is invited
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April 5th 2024: Ceremony in Big Bend National Park. Followed by Dinner, Pool & Star Gazing in Terlingua Ghost Town
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April 6th 2024: The Party, MARFA, TX (Optional.) Celebrate over BBQ, Music, & a Barn Dance at Estrella Rancho
We are thrilled at the prospect of getting y'all together for our small wedding of about 30-40 of our nearest & dearest from both sides of the Atlantic together & to soak up the sights & flavors of the Southwest that we love so much with you! To ensure we are able to have the small wedding of our dreams where we get to spend the time, love & attention with you all, we are asking everyone to please respect our decision for no children & no plus one guests unless specified.
As it is a big journey for most everyone we will do our best to keep you fed & watered for as much of your stay as we can to show our love & appreciation for you all! But please note we know it is a big commitment so we will not be offended & completely understand if you can't join us.
Locations: (note this is the wild west... there are no ubers or taxi's so we recommend staying at or very near the locations we are recommending)
Big Bend National Park is is considered the less busy & less touristy 'secret Grand Canyon of Texas!' This epically sprawling & remote land is a unique & rare example of where the Chisos Mountains turn into basins & desert, while the Rio Grande River cuts through the landscape as the natural border between Texas & Mexico.
Marfa is a wacky & weird little art hub of a western village in Texas filled with hip cowboys & galleries. Population of 1,500. For the evening of April 4th if you are joining us for the Meet & Greet we are staying at a fun 'glamping' spot El Cosmico, a fun bohemian campground hotel offering nomadic accommodations in the high desert including vintage trailers, tents and yurts. Link to book here https://elcosmico.com/shelter/ & if you want to book the 'ahead of the pack' option this is non-refundable, but saves you 25% off. Otherwise there is a full price cancelable option. Prices range from $82-$260 (£68-£215) a night depending on type of tent or unit a night.
The Thunderbird Hotel: For the evening of the optional party, April 6th back in Marfa, we will be staying at The Thunderbird Hotel, a small boutique 1950's motel with pool walking distance from downtown. Link to book here: https://www.thunderbirdmarfa.com/ The Thunderbird have kindly offered us a group discount of 15% off 'friends & family' so use to promo code: VIVA when you book. Including discount this is between $165 (£135) - $220 (£180) a night for 2 people depending type of room. If you would prefer a hotel in Marfa over the 'glamping' vibe of El Cosmico on the night of April 4th, feel free to book that night at the Thunderbird too. Other options in Marfa nearby/ walkable Hotel St. George Hotel & Hotel Paisano.
Terlingua is an old mining ghost town in the desert at the entrance to Big Bend National Park. Population 89. For the evening of the ceremony, April 5th, we have paid the deposit to hold accommodations to fully booked Bubble Terlingua & Luna Nova Terlingua which is where Dan & I will be staying on the night. If you are interested in staying with us & booking the same location please let Sabina know & I will discuss options. As these have been reserved already we suggest you book your Marfa accommodations 1st as we have until December to finalize payments for Terlingua. They have offered our group a 10% discount off online prices. A private double unit aka Bubble is $429 / £344 a night for example between 2 people. However there are also mixed shared accommodations on the same property that are a large house from around $128pp/ £103pp+ a night per person. See accommodation here. https://basecampterlingua.com/bubbles/
Drive from El Paso to Marfa: 2.48 hours (189 miles) This is a smaller airport so flights tend to be less frequent & more expensive.
Drive from Austin to Marfa: 6.40 hours (429 miles) A larger international airport to flights more frequent & less costly.
*You can also fly into Dallas or Houston although they again are further away so you might want to break up the drive by staying a night somewhere on route like Austin, Fredericksburg, San Antonio, ect.
FLIGHTS: From the UK you can get non-stop flights to Austin via Virgin, BA, & more which in my research works out to be the cheapest options. However if you do not want to drive out to West Texas or have less time you can get a short internal flight to El Paso. At the moment I am finding flights via skyscanner for around £615 roundtrip from Heathrow- Austin depending the dates you choose.
If you contact Ryan at the Flight Centre, UK he is helping guests with potential bookings where you can then pay a deposit of even £50 now & then can do payments up to 6 weeks before your flight.
Email: Ryan.McDonald@flightcentre.co.uk or you can call him at 01273257436 and let him know you are part of the 'LadRosa Wedding.' Also note if you are wanting some travel buddies feel free to let him know your ideal dates and we are going to try and let guests know when others are traveling incase it helps with costs and ease.
Also for Brits wanting to do an American roadtrip depending how long you have New Orleans, New Mexico (Alburquerque, Santa Fe) Arizona (Phoenix, Tucson) , Southern California (LA, Palm Springs, San Diego, Las Vegas) are all fun places to make a road trip out of & you can always fly back from another airport if you chose.
DRIVING TO MARFA: The trek out to West Texas is a long one, but not a difficult one. The road is wide & the journey smooth & we hope you agree with us that it is well worth it! We figure most of you will be traveling in from Austin, TX so it's worth being aware the drive to from Austin to Marfa is 6.40 hours. Austin to Big Bend/ Terlingua Ghost Town is 7.40 hours.
CAR RENTALS: You can hire a car from the airports easily: www.rentalcars.com/
*However we have been using a company called 'Turo' which is basically an airbnb for cars- where you borrow someones car & we find it costs much less & also you can get a lot more choice in the size & style car. (we just had a search & you can rent a car from about $25+ a day, but make sure you pay attention as some have mile limitations but most don't.) https://turo.com/ Many options also do multi-day & early bird discounts. Most you can even collect Turo cars at the airport however depending flight times & days we can try and help with lifts if need be.
'Pick Up a Brit'- We would LOVE for anyone driving from Austin to get in touch with us if you are up to help with our 'Pick Up a Brit' scheme to help our friends who have travelled from afar to be able to contribute towards fuel costs in return for a ride to West, Texas which of course will also help reduce everyones costs & be a more eco-friendly route.
Weather: We have chosen springtime to keep you cool cats cool, but weather is changeable as it is a mountainous region in the desert which makes for epic scenery, warm sunny days, but cooler evenings. We will keep everything crossed for the ideal of sunny & warm days and not too hot with a dry heat.
(Optional) POST celebrations if you ain't sick of us!
April 7th: Dan & I will stay the night in Fredericksburg, TX to pit stop for a night en-route back to Austin with an eve of live music at Luckenbach, Dancehall. All who fancy joining are welcome.
April 8th: A Solar Eclipse starts midday, so we are going to do a short hike up the summit of the sacred pink granite mound called Enchanted Rock, outside of Fredericksburg to watch the 1 hour total eclipse. Then drive through the Texas Hill Country to go for a group meal at Salt Licks BBQ in Dripping Springs, on the way back to Austin. I have reserved a large table as it's one of our favorite BBQ joints and all who fancy joining are welcome.
QUESTIONS PLEASE EMAIL: Larosa.sabina@gmail.com
WE LOVE Y'ALL & HOPE TO SEE YA IN THE HIGH DESERT
XOXO SABINA & DAN
