ᨒ↟ Bay Area Pre-Wedding Party

Where, When, Why

Oakland, CA or nearby

August 2026
Date TBD

We know not everyone can make the journey to Wisconsin, so we're throwing a pre-wedding party in Oakland or nearby to celebrate with our West Coast family and friends.

Travel to Oakland

We are still sorting out the details for the party in the Bay Area. We will let you know the date as soon as possible so you can make any necessary accommodations and travel plans.

☀︎ Wisconsin Wedding at ACRE

Wedding

ACRE
Steuben, WI

Friday, September 4th

Saturday, September 5th

Sunday, September 6th

Monday, September 7th

Early arrivals

Everyone arrives and Welcoming event

Afternoon Ceremony, dinner, and dancing

Farewells and departures

Clean up crew

Help us with DIY wedding prep time or linger for cleanup. We welcome a small number of people to helpus! We will ask for your availability on the RSVP. Rest assured, we love you whether you help us or not. Your general presence will be a gift.

Travel to Wisconsin

On Google Maps, search for Mother Earth Green Center & The Steuben Lodge. That is the location of ACRE, where we will be celebrating and where most will be lodging.

You can fly into Madison, WI, and then drive 2 hours.

You can also fly into Chicago and then drive 4 hours.

We can certainly help arrange carpools to reduce car rental costs or get you in a car with a buddy driving from Chicago. Please let us know your vague travel plans on the RSVP (when it is ready).

Arrival and Departure

We recommend that everyone arrive by the afternoon on Saturday, September 5th so we can treat you to a warm welcome. We will coordinate with you if you are able to arrive early.

We'll be hosting an extremely casual farewell brunch on Monday, September 7th, so we can send you off on your travels with some food. Imagine, you're walking out the door when Maggie and Justin run over to hug you, hand you a breakfast burrito, and send you on your way.

Monday, September 7th, is a federal holiday (American Labor Day - we all know May 1st is real Labor Day). We suggest leaving on this day, but we also highly recommend spending a few extra days in the delightful Great Lakes region if you are able. We can send you some recommendations!

For example:
Dickeyville Grotto (self-taught artist installation)
Viroqua, Wisconsin (hippy town with good coffee, good food, a co-op grocery store, and an idiosyncratic bookstore)
Taliesin (Frank Lloyd Wright’s 37,000-square-foot home, studio, school, and 800-acre estate)
THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER (it is 30 min to the west of ACRE)
Hike the Hogback Prairie State Natural Area at sunrise (it is unreal)

Lodging

The Steuben Lodge is part of ACRE’s campus and can host many of you! We are extremely excited to spend quality time with you, which is possible when you stay on campus.

If additional lodging is needed, the American Inn in Boscobel, which is a 13-minute drive from ACRE is a solid choice. If need be we will place a block on rooms. Please stay tuned!

THIS IS A Do It Yourself EFFORT, AND WE ARE ORGANIZING THE ACTIVITIES AND SCHEDULE AS WE GO. IT WILL BE A BIG HELP TO GET YOUR RSVP BACK SOON AFTER WE SEND THEM OUT (EARLY SPRING). LET US KNOW YOUR QUESTIONS AND STAY TUNED FOR UPDATES ON THIS WEBSITE. TEXT, CALL, EMAIL US IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS - YOU KNOW HOW TO GET A HOLD OF US.

Details

What do I wear? Festive and comfortable layers. Dress up your hiking gear. Make your cocktail attire suitable for a bonfire. Thats the vibe. When choosing footwear, keep in mind that the ground is mostly dirt, sand, and gravel. There is a lawn area by the lodge.

How do we get around in this rural place?Like most rural places, cars are key for getting around. However, the ACRE campus is walkable, with some caution. The lodge and the festivity area are separated by a county road that you have to cross. We will have lights to light the path. ACRE has limited parking, so if you decide to drive around campus, please be willing to give rides to others who do not want to walk.

If we have guests at the American Inn, we will run a shuttle between ACRE and the hotel on Sunday. Please do not drive to ACRE that day.

What is the landscape and weather like? This is what Claude, the AI chatbot, thinks of the environment:

The Driftless Region is a landscape the glaciers forgot. Ancient bluffs rise in green waves, their slopes etched with limestone and threaded by cold streams. Hardwood forests crown the ridges while valleys cradle small farms and wildflower meadows. In summer, the hills glow verdant and soft, light pooling in hollows where time moves slower. It's a place of quiet beauty—intimate, timeless, and alive with a gentler kind of grandeur.

Early September in the Driftless Region is often ideal—warm days in the mid-70s to low 80s, with cool, crisp evenings that dip into the 50s.

What is the campus like at ACRE? Is it safe for kids to run around? It is extremely fun to explore ACRE’s campus; however, kids should be supervised. There are piles of salvage material, plants that can make you sick or very itchy, big cows in pastures, and a very cold pond and creek. All of these things are charming and fun to engage responsibly.

The buildings at ACRE, including the lodge, are constructed from salvaged materials from the Chicago industrial era. Because of this, the buildings can be dusty and very environmentally responsible. For example, there is no AC, but the building is designed to stay cool by opening the windows at night and closing them during the day. Bob and Rosa are the owners of the property and built everything we will experience, and the campus is, in some ways, a work of art itself. I hope you get to meet them.

Parents, let us know if you are interested in childcare in your RSVP. We love your children and want to involve them, but not at the expense of your enjoyment.