As you all know, we've made the PNW our home for the last 3-1/2 years - on the rural island of Vashon, in our little beach cottage with big views of the water and mountains.  We knew that we wanted to bring our loved ones together in this magical part of the world and focused on the Columbia River Gorge not only for its natural beauty, but because both of our folks actually live overlooking this river - Nicole's on the Washington side in Vancouver, and Matthew's on the Oregon side in Astoria.