Status: Complete

I am pleased to announce that the Great Vase Race of 2008 has reached its end!

We are now the proud owners of many cylinder vases, enough for centerpieces in the main lobby dining area (depending on RSVP numbers I expect 16-19 tables), the 8 cocktail tables on the mezzanine where the cocktail hour will be held, and a few others for the guest book table, bar, etc. I got at least 40% off each vase, dutifully visiting Michael's with my coupons, and my efforts were capped off with an unexpected windfall: last weekend we visited Buffalo for a friend's wedding and it turns out that FSMIL (that's future step-mother-in-law) had 8 or so cylinder vases left from FSSIL's wedding a few years ago. (future step-sister-in-law ... omg, I <3 acronyms, hahaha.)

Two of the vases were the same size as the rest we'd bought, six are about 2 inches taller but the same diameter. I figure 2/3 one size and 1/3 the other is an aesthetically pleasing proportion so I declare vases checked off the list. Yea!

Getting back to the Who

And now, the return of our spotlight interview posts!! For a look back at the previous spotlight posts click on the "Who" tag in the right column.

Name: Bob

Role/Relationship: Best Man/ Brother

Location: Nashville,TN

Profession: Musician; Residential Lighting and Fine Hardware Sales

What Bob has to say:I'm constantly amazed at the visual and auditory wonderments of this world. I absolutely love the IC's, eg. music, mathematics, physics, electrics...U C? Moved to Nashville in Oct. 1999 and now consider it home. I've had the opportunity to perform and work with a long list of incredible, sometimes legendary artists from around the globe for which I will be forever thankful. I very much look forward to meeting all of you who will share this occasion with Bill and Jen.

What Bill has to say: One of my favorite memories of my kid brother has to be traveling to see his band, Ceili Rain, play the World Peace Festival in Amenia, New York and then following them to the Hunter Mountain International Celtic Festival. I'm really proud of Bob's musical accomplishments and am happy to hear he's keeping at it!

A Warm Bed and a Roof Over Your Heads

2 of 3 hotel blocks are now reserved. After talking with various family and wedding party members we decided to go ahead with all 3 hotels mentioned earlier. The theatre's company manager is working on the 3rd block since I think it has to go through her to get the theatre's rate. In any case, we are all set for both the Embassy Suites and the Hilton Garden Inn.

Rate-wise, the Embassy Suites rate of $149/$159 is about the same as you could get on your own, however, it is right next to the theatre and I feel better knowing we have the block set aside as there are so many events that come to town and hotels can fill up well in advance. It's a nice hotel with complimentary full breakfast and a daily manager's reception from 5:30-7 and the convenience just can't be beat for our event.

The Hilton Garden Inn rate of $129/night is about $50/night less than the standard room rate, which is great! The hotel has wonderful historic architecture and is right on Monument Circle, one of Indy's best downtown landmarks. (I'm actually hoping to do a few photos on the circle the morning of the wedding ...)

More on room blocks soon!

Blech!

Believe it or not, I think for the moment I may actually be ... wait for it ... wedding-ed out! I have finally ODed on wedding planning and DIY projects. It's a feeling similar eating too many cookies at once ... big sugar rush at first, tummyache next, then you swear off cookies for a while but a week later you can't wait to have another cookie.

So the lesson here is, moderation in cookies and weddings. Maybe tonight I'll ... bake some cookies?? Or just enjoy a quiet evening with FH.

One more photo

Couldn't resist just one more shot. The submerged flowers seem to have held up just fine overnight. I am curious to see how long they will last that way.

Friday Flower Fun

Today, through a random series of events, I ended up with 7 free sweetheart roses from JP Parker Flowers. I have already decided to do my own wedding flowers but if I weren't I would hire JP Parker in a heartbeat. They do all the event floral arrangements for theatre sponsored events (ie. Opening Night, Donor Dinners, etc) and they were also kind enough to trade us for tickets when it was decided we needed a fresh sweetheart rose for every performance of the first show of the season. They're the best!

My latest floral love and inspiration is submerged flower arrangements. Since I had some free flowers I thought I'd give it a shot!

Here on the left is my first attempt. 5 submerged roses, stepping up in height around the side of the glass (I paid attention the day in design class where we learned odd numbers = balanced!) It was okay but seemed a little crowded.

I removed a couple of the flowers and was much happier.

I wish I could get a good shot without the flash to show you how nice and glow-y it looks with the candle ... Alas, I think I am a better amateur florist than amateur photographer.

Lessons learned today: flowers float! It was a little tricky getting them to stay put. Also, don't splash water on the candle wick, it makes the candle very hard to light. oops.





Since I had a few more flowers I also did another trial run of corsages and boutonnieres, including the little beaded accents I made a few weeks back.

Just another fun-filled Friday!





Friends and family, if you haven't had a chance to look over my previous hotel option post give it a read ... I would love a little feedback about the price-ranges, locations, etc before setting up room blocks.

Thanks!

Hotels

Seeing as all our guests (other than, say, 10 or so people who we might meet over the course of the next year) will be traveling from out of town I decided it was about time I started looking in to lodging. Here's what I've come up with ... I'd love a little feedback from the family and friends who might be reading this.

1) The Embassy Suites - This hotel is literally right next door to the theatre. (Nice because if for some reason it rains on the wedding day I could get to the theatre without ever going outside ... and if I get a run in my pantyhose it's also attached to the mall!) They have offered a group rate of $149 per night for single suites and $159 per night for double suites. All of their rooms are suites so a single holds up to 4 people and a double up to 6. Parking in the attached garage is $20/night (steep, I know ... it is downtown though). Convenient location, very condusive to sharing rooms. We'll likely block 10 rooms here to start (the most we could block without a financial guarantee). This is likely where I will stay the night before the wedding and where we'll stay the night after. (Edited to add: this hotel does include breakfast.)

2) The Hilton Garden Inn - Just a few block away from the theatre on Monument Circle. Definitely walkable. They've offered a group rate of $129 for singles and doubles (so, up to 4 guests per room). Parking here is $14 for self-parking, $22 for valet per night. Still a nice hotel, still downtown, a little less expensive. There's no financial obligation on our part to block rooms here, still undecided whether we need this option.

3) The Candlewood Suites- This hotels is about 2 1/2 miles from the theatre. It's where our out-of-town actors and designers stay for the theatre so we should be able to get the super-awesome rate of $79 per night. Parking here is free. Also, the theatre's company manager tells Candlewood has negotiated a flat rate for taxi's from the hotel to downtown of $5. The return trip will run you $12 (but it's still less than overnight parking.) Rooms here are also all suites and include kitchenettes, which could be great for any family who might come in a few days early. I actually stayed here when I came to Indianapolis last spring for my interview, it's clean and comfortable, though there's not really anything else nearby. I think it's pretty certain we'll offer this option, though arrangements may be a little more complicated because I'll probably need to book each room through the company manager who happens to be having a baby in April.

We are, of course, total urban-ites and would love it if everyone chose to stay downtown ... however, we realize that offering a more economical option will make it a lot easier for folks to share in our celebration. Any thoughts? Please comment with your responses.

(Also, if people are interested in room sharing we're happy to help facilitate. Get in touch with us once the email Save-the-Dates go out ... hopefully soon!)

Hard Choices and Important Issues

There are a few wedding sites I've read regularly, including a site called WeddingBee. This site is a group blog by selected engaged and recently married women, detailing their planning process, DIY projects, and grand tales of their actual wedding days. I've frequented their message boards, exchanged several messages with other brides there, and was counting down the days until I was eligible to apply to be a Bee ...

until yesterday ...

It turns out that the creator of WeddingBee (known to readers as Mrs. Bee) has sold the site to E-Harmony. She will continue to operate the site and claims the content and format will not change.

I don't begrudge Mrs. Bee for selling the site ... I mean, it has turned into an all-consuming task and the competition for wedding websites like this one has grown incredibly in past years (or so she describes, and I find it quite believable.) And, dear readers, before I continue, let me make it clear that if you met your partner through E-Harmony I in no way begrudge you your own happiness.

However, I have some problems with E-Harmony's policies against same-sex marriage that I just can't look past. They currently do not offer same-sex matches and, while they may claim it is simply a business decision, they have a history of supporting Focus on the Family, an incredibly right wing organization that actually preaches that homosexuality is a mental illness. Wedding Bee, on the other hand, has a history of supporting same-sex marriage/commitment ceremonies, including one of the recent Bees, Mrs. Gingerbread, who recently married her wife in Canada. (Since the announcement Mrs. GB has withdrawn from Wedding Bee.)

While the content of the site may not change in any way whatsoever, every time someone visits this site or links to a vendor advertised there the proceeds will be going towards a causes I oppose. While some Bees have said they feel that continuing to blog on the site and support LGBT rights will help promote change from the inside, the truth is the money generated by interest in their blog posts is still going into the coffers of a discriminatory organization.

I know this may seem like a small thing but I've been looking forward to my Bee application ever since I found the site just weeks after we became engaged. And making the decision to stop visiting the site has stirred up some strong feelings. I know not everyone will agree with me but I feel a responsibility to use this public forum to share my thoughts about this particular subject.

Some of the most positive and influential relationships I have witnessed in my life have been same-sex couples. In college, my scene design professor/mentor and his partner had been together for over twenty years, since the age of 19. They owned a home together, worked hard at their relationship, weathered good times and bad, and were wonderful, supportive partners to one another. My former boss in Houston and his partner actually have a civil union in the state of Vermont (and may be married in Canada, though I'm not sure), have made a public and sacred commitment to one another, but still are not allowed the same legal protections as a married couple in most states. These two examples of stable, healthy, loving relationships have taught me a great deal about what it is to be a good partner to another person and I want so much for these people to have the same recognition by the United States Government that I will have when I marry my husband.

One could split hairs all day about calling such a union a "civil union" vs a "marriage". I don't want or need to change how a church defines marriage. I'm talking about the U.S. Government. And if they call what I will have marriage then I want them to call same-sex legal unions marriage too. If they want to call what I will have a civil union then call them all civil unions. That's really not the point to me. The point is equal recognition. Because haven't we all learned from the civil rights movement that "separate but equal" is a load of b.s.?

That's my soapbox for the day. It is a little disheartening to realize that, ultimately, no one will notice if I don't read WeddingBee anymore. E-Harmony will still get plenty of money, site traffic will probably even increase. And, I'm sure I unknowingly support companies whose practices I disagree with on a daily basis. But we decided that in planning this wedding we wanted to try to make "better" choices, choices that reflect our world view and values ... and I am making the choice to leave WeddingBee.