The Fourth

Continuing with our "Time Flies" theme, the Mr. and I celebrated our fourth wedding anniversary a couple of weeks ago. Yah. I KNOW. The fourth anniversary is the fruit/flowers anniversary, so we decided to splurge on some of the more exotic items we find in the legendary Wegmans produce section as a special treat. What more appropriate moment to spend ten dollars on a single piece of fruit?

Pineapple, mango, kiwi, cherries, plumcot, feijoa and dragon fruit. We even bought a cherry pitter to commemorate the day.

Our Personal Paparazzi

In the event that you lost your camera (or dropped it in the toilet) - no need to panic!

The pros got tons of great shots of every possible thing, and anyone who wants to can order prints through collages.net . The site recommends using Internet Explorer or Firefox (my personal choice) for viewing. Also, if you don't have high-speed internet, you won't have much luck. I'll send out an email containing the login and password to our gallery, but if you don't get the email just call/email me and I'll give you the info.

Once again - if you got any particularly good shots, we'd love to see them! And if you got video, we'd love that too!

The Shriek Heard 'round the World

THANK YOU to whoever took this one! And no... I couldn't resist. Why should I?

Got Film?

Yes indeed! We have returned from our mystery honeymoon destination, and I will share that with you as soon as we have some photos to illustrate the stunning beauty of the place! Instead of our usual digital cameras, and in an effort not to be guilty of waste... we used up the remaining shots on the disposables left over from the reception. So we wait for processing...

... and in the meantime...

Did you get any great pictures at the wedding? Did you perhaps get some VIDEO of our first dance? 'Cause we didn't hire a videographer, thinking there wasn't anything we'd really care about watching OVER AND OVER AGAIN. Forgetting we'd have no idea what that dance really looked like... oops. Yeah, so... if you'd like to share any photos or perhaps video... put it on a disc and mail it to us.

Please. Thanks. I'm gonna go eat some humble pie now.

Still Need a Place to Crash?

OK kids! Have you made your hotel reservations? If you haven't, now would be a good time! I don't even want to think about how fast the days are slipping past...

Your best bet is to call the Adolphus direct at 214-742-8200. Don't forget to mention that you are coming for the Clark/Rains wedding, so you can get the discounted rate!

Get Thee to the Airport!

UPDATE: Dallas is now attempting to launch itself into the 19th century with rail transit (otherwise known as TRAINS). I have zero experience of the service myself, and can offer no opinion or recommendations. Check the website, and see if it looks like your sort of thing. It is an option, at least. Keeping in mind, they don't operate on Sundays. Because, apparently, people don't travel on Sundays.

For those of you flying in for the weekend and not planning to rent a car, a cab will run about $40 between DFW & the Adolphus, and about $20 between Love Field & the Adolphus. There are also the SuperShuttles - at about $40 for two people.

This may not help you get FROM the airport to the hotel, but the Adolphus does offer hotel shuttles TO both DFW & Love Field airports. The cost is $17.00 per person one way, and they depart at 5 minutes to the hour and 25 after the hour. No reservations needed - just show up! Certainly a better deal than a cab!

For those of you brave enough to rent a car and take on Dallas traffic:

Map from DFW

Map from Love Field

Drumroll Please....

And the winner is...

Team Guido of Mt Morris, NY, with a record breaking time of 72 hours! Go Team (Palermo no hyphen) Guido!

Start Your Engines (the Race is ON)!!!

The invites have been posted and we can hear the squealing of postal van tires bearing the first response cards already... OK, so really it's just the phone ringing and people babbling excitedly about the invites and how they've already posted their response card. Really - you people are too sweet for words!

So which of you will be the first to get their RSVP back to us? Obviously, the Rochester crowd have the tactical advantage of proximity, but will they get cocky (like unto the proverbial hare...) and allow procrastination to slow them down?

Stay tuned to discover who will be first to the finish - and believe me when I say that we are as excited about you coming to Dallas as you are TO BE coming to Dallas!

THE MAIN EVENT

Both the ceremony and reception will be in the Century Room at the Adolphus Hotel in Dallas. There will be drinks between the ceremony and dinner, with dancing to follow (so any Baptists out there may want to come as Catholics just for the evening!).

The Adolphus is a luxury hotel, built in 1912 by Adolphus Busch (anyone heard of Anheiser Busch?). It is located in downtown Dallas, minutes from a wide variety of historical, cultural and tourist attractions. Dealey Plaza and the Sixth Floor Museum, the Dallas Museum of Art, the Dallas Aquarium, the West End Marketplace and more! My personal favorite spot to visit downtown is Fountain Place (The water garden surrounding the base of this IM Pei skyscraper is lovely even in the Texas summer heat). For a great view of the city - head to the Sky Lobby at the Chase Tower (open to the public Mon-Fri from 9-5).

We have reserved a block of rooms at a discounted rate of $119/night for a deluxe room, and $169/night for a junior suite. You do need to mention that you are coming for the Clark/Rains Wedding in order to get the discounted rate. They are accepting reservations now, and these rates are only guaranteed until June 5, 2008. After that date, regular (higher!) rates may apply.

FYI - There are a handful of dining options at the hotel, including room-service and the Bistro (CRABCAKES Cassidy!), but the French Room is closed during the month of July. We’ll also make some local restaurant recommendations in future posts.

Click the Adolphus link to the right to get an idea of the facilities.

Flower Teaser

I have been hesitant to post much info on actual details of the event itself, because I don't want to spoil any surprises... but I've had so many inquiries about the flowers that I thought I'd share some info on the florist. We found Botanical Art Designs on the recommended vendor list at the Melrose (our second choice venue, which ended up being too small for our group, though a really lovely facility).

Another question I frequently find myself answering is what our "colors" are. We are using ivory, black and dark orange, and I have made a special request for spider mums and bear grass, because I just think they're THAT cool!

PLANNING BLITZ

Early summer at the hacienda.

Since I am doing most of the planning from Rochester, we are taking 10 days in July/August to drive down to Dallas and meet vendors, etc. We had initially wanted to do this earlier in July, but Barnes & Noble wouldn’t let me take vacation time till after the Harry Potter Madness has died down (there’s still time to reserve your copy of Book VII!).

I spent the better part of last week sifting through Vendor Referral lists, looking at Vendor websites and begging for recommendations. I have managed to schedule consultations with the wedding planner at the hotel, three cakeries, two florists (I couldn’t believe one florist was already booked for our date, more than a year out!), three photographers, a hairdresser and a make-up artist (GOOD LORD!), one DJ (I still need two more), one pianist (I think). Oh, and we need to meet with our officiant - Adam’s Uncle Herb, in Ponca City, Oklahoma. And fabric for my dress. And reserve the room for the rehearsal dinner. And eat Mexican food, lots of Mexican food.