Back by Popular Demand

We have returned from our honeymoon vacation, relaxed, rested, and having had lots of fun! I can't wait to tell you all about it but thought I should resume our recaps where we left off: the ceremony.

The final "reading" of our ceremony was the closing message, read by Drew. This message was something Bill found while looking through a box of sermons by his late grandfather, the Reverend Albert G. Schofer. The text, hand-written on the back of a church program, goes as follows:

Nothing is easier than to say words.

Nothing is harder than to live them, day after day.

What you promise today must be renewed and redecided tomorrow- and each day that stretches out before you.

At the end of this ceremony, you will legally be man and wife but still you must decide each day that you want to be married.

All of us know that you are in love. But beyond the excitement and romance, what is love really? - caring about the welfare of your partner- not possessive- makes burdens lighter- joys stronger because you share them. It makes you stronger because you can reach out and be involved in life in ways you dared not risk alone. May you meet the day by day living as married people gladly. May God go with you.

This Just In ...

We interrupt your regularly scheduled blog-cast to announce that pro photos are up on Scott Cleveland's site!

Since I am blogging on an iPod from our honeymoon you are just going to have to get to his site through the vendor link in the left-hand column and I will post a pretty link here when we get back.

Xoxo!
Jen (and Bill)

Wedding Ceremony: Second Reading

Wedding Day; by Anonymous

Now comes the knitting, the tying, the entwining into one,
Mysterious involvement of two, whole separate people
Into something altogether strange and changing and lovely.
Nothing can ever be, we will never be the same again;
Not merged into each other irrevocably but rather
From now on we go the same way; in the same direction;
Agreeing not to leave each other lonely, or discouraged or behind,
I will do my best to keep my promises to you and keep you warm;
And we will make our wide bed beneath the bright and ragged quilt
Of all the yesterdays that make us who we are,
The strengths and frailties we bring to this marriage,
And we will be rich indeed.

Wedding Ceremony: First Reading

The Invitation, by Oriah Mountain Dreamer
It doesn't interest me what you do for a living.
I want to know what you ache for, and if you dare to dream of meeting your hearts longing.
It doesn't interest me how old you are.
I want to know if you will risk looking a fool for love,
for your dreams, for the adventure of being alive.
It doesn't interest me what planets are square in your moon.
I want to know if you have touched the center of your own sorrow,
if you have been opened by life's betrayals or have become shriveled and closed down from fear of further pain.
I want to know if you can sit with pain, mine or your own, without moving, to hide it, fade it, or fix it.
I want to know if you can be with joy, mine or your own; if you can dance with wildness and let ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes without cautioning us to be careful, be realistic, or to remember the limitations of being human.
It doesn't interest me if the story you are telling me is true.
I want to know if you can disappoint another to be true yourself;
if you can bear the accusation of betrayal and not betray your own soul.
I want to know if you can be faithful and therefore trustworthy.
I want to know if you can see beauty even when it is not pretty every day, and if you can source your life on the edge of the lake and shout to the silver of the moon in God’s presence.
It doesn't interest me to know where you live or how much money you have.
I want to know if you can get up after a night of grief and despair, weary and bruised to the bone, and do what needs to be done for the children.
It doesn't interest me who you know, or how you came here.
I want to know if you will stand in the center of the fire with me and not shrink back.
It doesn't interest me where or what or with whom you have studied.
I want to know what sustains you from the inside when all else falls away.
I want to know if you can be alone with yourself, and if you truly like the company you keep in empty moments.

We want your photos!

The lovely wedding photos you've seen on the blog so far are courtesy of some of our guests who have uploaded their photos to the wedding Flickr account. If you have photos you'd like to submit, here's a little reminder of the instructions.

Download the pictures from your camera to your computer.

Go to www.flickr.com.

Sign in using the username and password on the reception card (if you didn't take/misplaced the card, please email me or leave a comment here and I'll get you that info ... I'd rather not publish it on the internet for all to see.)

Click on "upload photos".

Select the files from your computer and hit go!

The final step is to move your uploaded photos to the "Guests' Wedding Photos" set. (However, I can do that part too. The biggest thing is just getting them uploaded.)

Thanks to those who have uploaded their pics already, I'm on the edge of my seat waiting for photos as Bill and I obviously didn't take any ourselves!

We did it!

Congrats to MIL for being the first to upload her photos to the flickr site! More photos, links, and re-caps to follow ... after a few nights of sleep!

Thank you so much to everyone for your kindness, generosity, and outpouring of love. We will treasure the last 4 days for the rest of our lives together.

Traffic Alert

Just got this in my email inbox and thought I'd share it with all of you who are traveling to Indianapolis this weekend:

Traffic Alert

On Saturday, June 13, Indiana Pride 2009 Parade and Festival will be held along Mass Ave and in University Park. Event hours are 10 a.m. - 7 p.m. Expect heavy pedestrian activity in the area during this time. The following street closures will be in effect for this event:

• Vermont Street between Meridian and Pennsylvania streets will be closed from 5 p.m. June 12 through 11:59 p.m. June 13.
• New York Street between Meridian and Pennsylvania streets will be closed from 6 a.m. - 11:59 p.m. June 13.

During this event, please plan your travel through Downtown accordingly. There will be traffic and parking restrictions near the event sites. Log onto www.indydt.com for additional information.

This area of downtown is several blocks northeast of the theatre and a few blocks from the Hilton Garden Inn so it's not likely you will be directly affected by the street closures, however it may reduce the amount of available street parking and cause general traffic slow-downs due to extra pedestrians in the area. Just something to keep in mind as you plan your trip.

Honeymoon!

Several people have inquired about our honeymoon plans so I thought I post some info!
We are going to the Lake of the Ozarks in Central Missouri, specifically the Osage Beach area. My Grandma Owen generously offered us her timeshare week for our honeymoon so we chose The Worldmark Lake of the Ozarks. It's right on the lake and very close to the Lake of the Ozarks State Park, where we plan to enjoy some light hiking and horseback riding. Other must-dos include getting massages, eating steak, and possibly renting a jet-ski. We also plan to stop for a night in St. Louis on our way back so we can have an evening out on the town. I can't remember the last time I took a week long vacation, or a vacation that wasn't to visit family and friends, and I can't wait to have some time to just relax!

On the eve of one week

One week from now our families and friends will be here, we will have finished our rehearsal and Rehearsal Dinner, I will be in the company of 10-15 of my closest girlfriends from the last 15 years of my life ... But for tonight FH and I are chillin on the patio, just enjoying each other's company. We have had a very nice week together, preparing for the wedding and getting excited about it all. We are so grateful for the support of our family and friends and can't wait to see most of you very soon!

The Ten Day Forecast

The bad news: this is the little symbol currently appearing next to our wedding date in the 10-day forecast, along with a 60% chance of rain. The good news: the 10-day forecast is almost always wildly wrong! :)

Actually, I am much more worried about it raining on Thursday night or Sunday morning (the bbq at our house with the parents and the brunch at our house). We did get a canopy-type tent for the backyard that will keep off a light-medium rain (or shelter guests from the mid-day sun) but our house will definitely be crowded if it pours!

But, in general, if you are getting ready to travel to Indy for the wedding next week, expect highs of around 80 and lows of around 60. And bring your raincoat just in case ... this is early summer in the Mid-west and thunderstorms tend to spring up suddenly around 4 pm at least 3-4 days a week.

Downtown Dining: Dinner Edition

For those of you who will be in town Friday night and looking for a place to chow down, here are some ideas!

There are several restaurants in the blocks surrounding the Indiana Repertory Theatre, including most of the standard chain restaurants one finds attached to shopping malls these days. PF Chang's, Champps, Weber Grill, and Buca di Beppo can all be seen from the corner of Illinois and Washington streets. There are also 3 brew pubs in a 2 block radius: Rock Bottom at 10 W. Washington, Alcatraz at 49 W Maryland, and Ram at 140 S. Illinois.

If you're looking to escape the world of national chain restaurants, here are a few more excellent options:

Yats is a local restaurant with several locations around town, and man, do they have a great thing going! If you're looking for cheap, hot, and amazingly tasty cajun food you have to check this place out. They have only 5 options of entree each day, all served up in huge portions over rice. You can get one choice of entree for around $6 or a split plate of 2 entrees for around $7. Watch out though, it can be pretty spicy. The closest Yats is located at 659 Massachusetts Ave (which would also give you the chance to check out the Mass Ave neighborhood, a great part of downtown with little shops, bars, and tons of other restaurants.) Ooh, looking at the website, it would appear Yats has recently expanded to the Chicago market. Yats is probably a good 20-25 minute walk from the theatre but there is fairly ample parking in the Mass Ave area should you choose to drive.

Looking for a little adventure? Check out Sushi on the Rocks at 235 S Meridian. FH and I had lunch there the other day to celebrate picking up our marriage license and it was so delicious. Be sure to sit at the sushi bar and watch the sushi chef in action!

Finally, a favorite of the IRT production department is Loughmiller's Pub. It's located about 1 block west of the theatre on the south side of Washington street and serves up great burgers, sandwichs, big salads, and all the other standard pub fair.

Also, with all this talk of food, I should remind everyone staying at Candlewood Suites that your rooms will have kitchens in them so if you'd rather not attempt to find a restaurant you'll have all the resources you need to refrigerate food and cook for yourself. Candlewood has a small shop in the lobby that sells snacks, convenience foods, and other essentials, though there are really no restaurants within walking distance from the Candlewood so you'll need to drive (albeit less than 1 or 2 miles) to get to dining options.

Licensed to Wed

FH and I went down to the City-County building this morning, did the paperwork, and now have our marriage license! Hooray! Bet you're all relieved to know you'll be attending a legally binding ceremony in just 11 days. Unfortunately we did not take the ubiquitous "holding up our license with a cheezy smile" photo to post for you.

More soon!