This is (hopefully) the first in a series of posts about things to do, places to eat, the best ways to get around the city, etc. In case you are coming to D.C. to see something other than us get married, let’s start off with a list of some of our favorite things to do while in the District. Let us know if you have questions, or if you need additional inspiration.

The Korean War Memorial

Why? It is the most interesting of all the National Mall memorials, composed of a group of soldiers making their way through Korean rice paddies. See it on a cloudy day or at night for the best effect. Easily the “local” favorite of all the monuments.

How? It’s on the very west end of the Mall, next to the Lincoln and Vietnam Memorials. A long, but nice walk from the Smithsonian metro, and tour bus accessiable. Open 24 hours.

ONLINE: The Korean War Memorial

PHOTOS: ‘koreanwarmemorial’ on Flickr

MAP: The Korean War Veterens Memorial on Google Maps

Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial

Why? It’s one of the newest monuments, and is easily the greatest departure from the rest because it is a little more interactive than the more somber downtown monuments. in its layout. It occupies over seven acres, with dozens of statues and waterfalls.

How? It’s a little remote, being on the west side of the Tidal Basin (ie. the far side if you are standing on the Mall) in between the Lincoln and the Jefferson memorials. There is plenty of parking, a longer (but nicer) walk if you are up for it, and tour bus accessiable. Open 24 hours.

ONLINE: Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial

PHOTOS: ‘fdrmemorial’ on Flickr

MAP: FDR Memorial on Google Maps

View from the Washington Monument

Why? Easily the best view of the city, and a nice short cut to see a lot (as in ALL) of the city in a short period of time. There is an elevator to the top — since the renovation, you aren’t allowed to take the 896 stairs — and they give you a great overview of the monument on the way up.

How? It’s hard to miss, so I will spare you the directions. Timed-entry tickets are required, but they are free and can be obtained for same day visits from the kiosk at the bottom of the monument’s hill. Tickets run out early in the summer, but you should be fine on off-peak weekends. Open 9 am to 4:45 pm.

ONLINE: Washington Monument

PHOTOS: ‘washingtonmonument’ on Flickr

MAP: Washington Monument on Google Maps

Smithsonian Museums

Why? Normally, the National Air and Space Museum wouldn’t make our personal top 10 — been there 10,439 times — but the National Museum of American History is closed and the Smithsonian has relocated their “Treasures” collection here (think “Ruby Slippers”). Across the Mall is the National Museum of Natural History, which was magnificantly redone in the last 5 years, with the addition of a brand new IMAX theater (which makes a great break in a day of touring). You also have the Castle (houses special exhibitions) and the National Gallery of Art (best gallery outside of the Met in New York City).

How? The whole DC transportation system is geared to get you to these places. Take the metro (Smithsonian), drive or take any of the tour bus operators’ offerings. Most are open 10 am to 5pm, everyday.

ONLINE: The Smithsonian Institute

PHOTOS: ‘smithsonian’ on Flickr

MAP: Smithsonian Museums on the Mall

U.S Botanic Garden

Why? This is a great place to visit, rain or shine. It is a giant greenhouse, with some of the most exotic plants you will ever see. There is a brand new external garden next door as well, and a rotation of new and permanent exhibits inside the conservatory.

How? It’s on the east end of the Mall, between the Capitol and the Smithsonian museums. Smithsonian Metro, although Union Station will work in a pinch. Open daily 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

ONLINE: U.S. Botanic Garden

PHOTOS: ‘usbotanicgarden’ on Flickr

MAP: U.S. Botanic Garden on Google Maps

National Geographic Museum

Why? Always with a global flavor, you can view changing and permanent exhibitions on a variety of scientific, geographic, and cultural themes. Check to see if they have something for you on their website.

How? Located on 17th between L and M, this is about three blocks from the wedding hotel. Open Monday thru Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

ONLINE: National Geographic Museum

MAP: Museum Hours and Directions

Eastern Market

Why? Absolutely beloved by locals, Eastern Market is the last traditional city market in DC. The main building recently burned down, but it relocated just across the street while being restored. There are several “sub-markets” including a flea market, farmers market and arts-and-crafts market every weekend.

How? Located on the opposite side of the Capitol, the market has its very own metro station (cryptically named “Eastern Market”). The flea market is open Sunday 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; farmers market Saturday and Sunday 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; arts-and-crafts market Saturday 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

ONLINE: Eastern Market

PHOTOS: ‘easternmarket’ on Flickr

MAP: Historic Eastern Market on Google Maps

The Library of Congress

Why? The reading room is one of the most spectacular inside spaces in DC, and their collection is easily holds its own with the Smithsonian. The Library of Congress also offers book talks, gallery talks, poetry readings, lectures, and vintage movies that are open to the public.

How? To get the most out, you should do a tour, which is available Monday thru Friday at 10:30, 11:30, 1:30, 2:30, and 3:30 and Saturday at 10:30, 11:30, 1:30 and 2:30. Visitors should arrive 15 minutes early for a security check. Capitol South is closest, though Union Station will again work in a pinch.

ONLINE: Library of Congress

PHOTOS: ‘libraryofcongress’ on Flickr

MAP: Library of Congress on Google Maps

Arlington National Cemetary

Why? On the other side of the Potomac from DC, there is something for everyone from the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier to JFK’s eternal flame. The cemetary is huge, so plan on walking… quite a bit.

How? There is a metro station at the base of the grounds. The guard changes every hour on the hour from October 1 through March 14, and every half-hour from March 15 through September 30. The cemetery is open 8 a.m.-5 p.m. from October 1 to March 31, and 8 a.m.-7 p.m. from April 1 to September 30.

ONLINE: Arlington National Cemetary

PHOTOS: ‘arlingtonnationalcemetary’ on Flickr

MAP: Arlington National Cemetary on Google Maps

Cultural Tourism DC

Why? There is a DC beyond the Mall, and these guys will help you find it. Oddly enough, not all of DC is made out of marble and granite.

How? Check out their web site, as there are dozens of walking tours that you can take to get a much better flavor of the city.

ONLINE: Cultural Tourism DC

PHOTOS: ‘culturaltourismdc’ on Flickr

MORE: Check out their Trip Manager

52 days left before the big day, so we figured it was a good time for an update.

The wedding ceremony is now scheduled for 10:30 am on Saturday, October 6th at Foundry United Methodist Church in Washington, DC. We have had two of our three meetings with the minister, and have mapped out most of the service — with the exception of the music, which is still to come.

The reception to follow will be held at 15 RIA, which is about two blocks south of the church — check out or interactive Google map to see where everything is in relation to each other. The reception will feature a mostly traditional brunch spread, which is heavy on our favorite food groups: eggs and breakfast pork. They kick us out at 4pm.

That night, we are throwing a little after-party at Stetson’s on U Street. For those who aren’t familiar, Stetson’s has quite the political heritage, including a stint as the central watering hole for Clinton Administration staffers, later gaining further notoriety as the place where the Bush twins got busted for underage drinking (wonder if there is a connection between the two?). We have the top floor reserved from 7:30 to 11pm.

As you may have heard, our block of hotel rooms at the Doubletree Hotel is full, but we have a new block for anybody who needs one next door at the Holiday Inn (details here).

If you have any questions post us a comment or email us at .

As you may have heard (we tried to email everyone who may be looking for a hotel room) our room block at the Doubletree is booked solid.

However, The Lady Sparkler was able to work her magic yet again and get a great deal at the Holiday Inn next door — and that’s literally next door, no exaggeration. Just call up the reservation line (202.483.2000) and tell them you are with the Spindler-Parker wedding, and they will give you the extra-special bonus rate of $159 a night, available Thursday, Friday and/or Saturday nights.

(We just faxed in the contract this morning, so they might not know what you are talking about if you call before Tuesday afternoon.)

The good news is that we don’t have to fill a quota of rooms, but the trade off is that the block rate is only available until September 5th, 2007.

The Lady Sparkler and I are in kind of a non-traditional wedding position … not only have we both been blessed with good jobs, but we have each spent a decade setting up our comfortable living situations. Unfortunately, that makes the prospect of registering for traditional wedding gifts a little, well, uncomfortable.

With that in mind, we hope that you will at least consider making a donation in lieu of the gift you may have otherwise given us. For instance, we love the work that Mercy Corps does in the aftermath of natural disasters and human conflicts, as well as their work fighting chronic poverty and social instability around the globe. In the last three decades, Mercy Corps has provided $1.3 billion in assistance to people in 100 nations.

Coincidentally, they also have a wonderful Mercy Kit gift program, which is perfect for people looking to give tangible gifts — a well for a villiage, a goat for a family, a soccer ball for a school — on behalf of their friends, family members or incredibly smart and attractive wedding couple(s). Best of all, Mercy Corps sends a card announcing your gift to the happy couple so that we/they can share in the joy of your contribution.

All that being said, we have been told often enough that it is rude not to register somewhere — though maybe not as rude as blogging about it, I would imagine — in case someone would prefer to make a more traditional gift. If that is the case with you, we have found a few things we could use for our new kitchen (Cooking.com), on our eco-honeymoon in Belize (REI.com) or in our new home (CrateAndBarrel.com).

p.s. We really weren’t kidding about Mercy Corps. Check out some of the work they are doing if you have a minute.

Our bridesmaids put together a little quiz to see how well everyone knows her, and I have posted it on an online quiz site called “Quibblo.”

If you want to see how you how you stack up in knowledge of the inner-workings of The Lady Sparkler’s brain, just go here:

http://www.quibblo.com/quiz/3i14kS/How-well-do-you-know-Tasha

So, maaaaaybe that statement is a bit of an exaggeration, but it is safe to say we are now formally banking on the axiom: “opposites attract.”

We just got back from the second of our three church counseling sessions with the man who would marry us, Rev. Dean J. Snyder. At the end of the first session, he administered the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator test to us. Now, at the second session, he promised to review the results with us.

And, oh, what results they were.

Turns out that of the four bands (Extraversion vs Introversion, Sensing vs Intuition, Thinking vs Feeling, Judging vs Perceiving) we were at the opposite ends of all but one. The Lady Sparkler is a ESTJ, and I am an ENFP.

Below are some highlights of our personalities:

Favorite world: Do you prefer to focus on the outer world or on your own inner world?

People with a preference for Extraversion (both she and I) draw energy from action: they tend to act, then reflect, then act further. If they are inactive, their level of energy and motivation tends to decline.

Information: Do you prefer to focus on the basic information you take in or do you prefer to interpret and add meaning?

Individuals with a preference for Sensing (The Lady Sparkler) prefer to trust information that is in the present, tangible and concrete: information can be comprehended by the five senses. They prefer to look for detail and facts.

Those with a preference for Intuition (Evan) will trust information that is more abstract or theoretical, that can be associated with other information. They are more interested in future possibilities.

Decisions: When making decisions, do you prefer to first look at logic and consistency or first look at the people and special circumstances?

Those with a preference for Feeling (Evan) will prefer to come to decisions by associating or empathising with the situation, looking at it ‘from the inside’ to achieve the greatest harmony, consensus and fit with their personal set of values.

Those with a preference for Thinking (The Lady Sparkler) will prefer to decide things from a more detached standpoint, measuring the decision by what is reasonable, logical, causal, consistent and matching a given set of rules.

Structure: In dealing with the outside world, do you prefer to get things decided or do you prefer to stay open to new information and options?

People with a preference for Judging (The Lady Sparkler) prefer matters to be decided, to start tasks well ahead of a deadline, and they can sometimes seem inflexible in this regard.

Those whose preference is Perceiving (Evan) are happier to leave finishing a task until close to the deadline, are energised late rushes of information and ideas, and are readier to change plans if new information comes along.

In retrospect, it’s funny/encouraging/touching that our number one response to the question “why do you like each other” over the last three years has been that the other “balances me.”

Maybe there is hope for us yet.

*SIGH*

I can’t even explain the horror of writing this post. They say confession is good for the soul … all I ask is you read through to the end before laughing hysterically. Basically, a funny thing happened on the way home from the cake place …

After having our initial meeting at Lille a month ago, we forgot to actually place the order for the cake, and then they forgot what wanted when we called back 3 weeks after we were supposed to. So, today we had to shlep all the way back to Herndon, see “the guy”, redraw the cake and fork over a deposit.

On the way back from “Cake, part 2: The Revenge of Fondant”, we realized that we had no idea what our ring-finger sizes were, and that the ignorance of such things was going to make wedding ring shopping online … well … suboptimal. Thusly, we decided to “swing by” one of the malls in Tyson’s Corner, pretend to be interested in buying our rings, get our fingers sized, and rush home to buy the rings online.

Unfortunately for the mall theory, there was a bit of a traffic jam on Route 7 (the main road in to Tysons) and it just grinded to a halt after a while … directly in front of a Jared: the Galleria of Jewelry.

With our souls already crushed by the traffic, we figured going into the store responsible for the most soul-sucking television commercials in nigh-on-a-decade (“He went to Jared!”) couldn’t kill what was already dead. Besides, if we want to bring down the evil empire, what better way to do so then by bring false hope to their sales associates and making them waste time sizing the fingers of future Blue Nile customers.

Sadly, a very nice sales associate named Danielle helped us try on various rings. Even more sadly, they actually fit and looked rather nice. Even MORE sadly, they were reasonably priced, and The Lady Sparkler found the ring of her dreams.

Wanting to save the last shred of my dignity, we took down the ring information and *promised* to come back to consummate the deal. I may not be able to stop the flood, but at least I can delay it a bit.

UPDATE: When we went back the following weekend to actually place the order for the rings, our little helper Danielle was abjectly shocked to see us. I asked why she was so surprised, and she said that it was very rare for people to come back after being sized, and even more rare for a couple to ask for the person that helped them the first time. I handed her a credit card, completed the transaction and guiltily skulked away. I have become that which I had feared most…

p.s. The first person who sees me walk by and says “He went to Jared!” will get slugged. Pow. Right in the kisser. (“To the moon, Alice. To the moon!”)

The Bride, the Groom and the Maid of Honor sat down tonight (and besides celebrating the Maid of Honor’s new job!) we ran through the ENTIRE wedding day schedule, mapping out what happens when. Unfortunately, the very first thing we noticed was that we are going to have to push the ceremony up to 10:30 am to fit all the partying in.

We’ll post more info about the schedule a little later, but in a desperate, pandering attempt to win your affection: (a) we are going to try and do the bulk of the pictures before the ceremony (yay!) and (b) while we are going to do a receiving line leaving the church, if you sneak out the back door and run over to the reception, the food and libations will be flowing long before we show up.

Mazletov!

“It was an emotional wedding. The mother of the bride cried. Even the cake was in tiers.”

HAAAA! I kill me. No, seriously folks … thank YOU. I’m here all week. Try the pork loin.

The only thing we have been enjoying nearly as much as finding a rehearsal dinner venue (which we are still using as an excuse for eating out MONTHS after we have actually found the place we are going to use) is cake tastings.

I feel like we have done 237, but it may only actually be 236. However, we finally appear to have settled on our champion this afternoon.

We went out to Lille in Herndon, Virginia, and had an appointment the owner (Moustafa?). A one-on-one sitdown with an actual craftsman was a welcome respite to the god-awful “open houses” we have frequented with 50 people packed into a small room in an industrial park on the outskirts of town.

He walked us through some options, and gave us a sampling board of cakes, frostings, fillings, etc. We have gone through this whole process under the assumption that we would end up with a chocolate cake, just based on personal preference. Lille, however, had this great white cake, with white chocolate mousse and a raspberry jam filling. I have never had cake so good.

AND, on top of it all, he suggested a cake design with cala lilies (which just happen to be the leading contender for the flowers in The Lady Sparkler’s bouquet).

We still have one last place to look at, but we took down Lille’s information, and will likely call back in a week to reserve the cake. We’d order it now, but there is this one place near Topeka that we haven’t tried yet …

Well, there are certainly a lot of details left to finalized but — because we know you are waiting with baited breath — here are the broad brushstrokes of the wedding weekend.

The wedding ceremony is scheduled for 11:00 am 10:30 am on Saturday, October 6th at Foundry United Methodist Church in Washington, DC. Foundry is located at 1500 16th Street NW, which is just north of Scott Circle at the corner of 16th and P Streets. We haven’t met with the Rev. Snyder to plan out the service yet — that starts in May — but we are very comfortable saying it will clock in well below an hour.

The reception to follow will be held at 15 RIA, located in the Doubletree Hotel at 1515 Rhode Island Avenue NW. Take a look at our location, location, location (part 2) post, but the reception site is just two blocks south of the church. The reception will feature a mostly traditional brunch spread — eggs / bacon type breakfast — with a smattering of lunch items. They kick us out at 4pm.

We have a block of hotel rooms at the Doubletree Hotel — see the hotel block details here — but there are also plenty of other hotels in the area if you prefer (see the original location, location, location post). For anyone who is thinking of driving to the wedding and / or the reception, there is plenty of parking available at the Doubletree Hotel for the whole day.

Speaking of transportation, the closest metro stop is Dupont Circle, which is located at (essentially) 19th and P Streets … about three blocks west of the church. It’s a nice walk if it is sunny and you don’t have luggage. 16th Street is also a major thoroughfare for taxis, so it’s never hard finding one … coming or going.

The final nugget of information for the day is about airports. Dulles Internation (IAD) and Baltimore-Washington Airport (BWI) are the farthest away — 30 miles — but will also be the cheapest. National Airport (DCA, or “Reagan” if you are Republican) is the closest — 5 miles — and is naturally a little more expensive. If you can find a good fare to National, absolutely take it. Otherwise, just make sure you factor ground transportation when you see that really great fare on sidestep.com (our favorite travel site).

(Oh, the airports, metro stations and all other points of wedding interest are on our interactive google map of wedding weekend event locations if you haven’t made it there by now already…)

We’ll give some more logistics suggestions as we get a little closer. Meanwhile, if you have any questions post us a comment or email us at .

Something to add to the 1001 reasons I love my bride to be: she can negotiate anything out of anyone, and this time she has out done herself.

The Lady Sparkler has negotiated quite a deal with the hotel (Doubletree) that houses the restaurant (15 RIA) that is hosting our reception.

With only a little arm twisting, the Doubletree agreed to give us as many rooms as we need for just $129 a night. It’s hard to find a hotel in Washington, DC for under $200, so this is a pretty spectacular feat. And remember, the hotel is just two blocks from the church.

Couple of things to know: (1) our wedding is apparently on Columbus Day weekend and they expect the hotel to fill-up, so you may want to book early; (2) there is no deposit required and you can cancel up to 24 hours before the event, so there is no reason not to book early even if you aren’t sure you can make it yet.

(Notice a book early theme? They say you have to repeat a message three times in order for it to stick with even the most sophisticated consumer.)

If you would like to make a reservation, just call 1-866-984-6835 and ask for the Spindler – Parker Wedding Block. We have already reserved rooms for the bridal party (let us know if you have questions).

Two more quick notes: (1) the $129 is only for Friday, Saturday and / or Sunday nights; it’s more a little more on Thursday — $159; (2) they have a conference in the hotel starting on Monday so, if you are turning this into a longer vacation, just make sure that you book early. (That’s the last one, I promise.)

Finally, while this is the only hotel where we have arranged a discount, there are other hotels nearby so feel free to check them out if you have points you are trying to use. Be warned: nobody else we talked to was willing to give us a rate anywhere near as good.

That’s it! If you have any questions about any of this, please post us a comment or email us at . More details coming. Promise.

One of the things we are most proud about in our wedding is how close everything is to each other. The church is two blocks away from the reception, which is on the first floor of the hotel, which is across the circle from the rehearsal dinner, which is three blocks away from the metro … etc.

Click around our google map of the wedding weekend event locations and you will see what I mean. Hopefully, once you get here, you’ll be able to park the car (or taxi, or airplane, or train) and walk to just about everything.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh.

We have good news if you are one of the poor saps who has to sit through the rehearsal on the night before the wedding … if you make it through, you will eat well afterwards.

Beacon Bar & Grill, Washington, DC Photo © Esther Dyson (via Flickr™)

My parents came in town last weekend for my birthday and — as a happy side effect — we met with the people from Beacon Bar and Grill to talk about the rehearsal dinner.

We showed up for our scheduled appointment on Saturday, but it turns out that the person we were talking too was in the hospital the day before with second degree burns on her foot. (‘Twas a kitchen accident with boiling water … youch!)

With no one to entertain us, a very nice, and equally nervous, front of house manager showed us the private rooms — forgot to bring the camera, sorry — but we had to come back the following day to talk actually turkey. (ha … a pun! i kill me!)

When we came back on Sunday, the lady — Linda Davis — was very intelligent, gracious and “with-it” … and turned out she wasn’t even faking the injury (she had bandaged feet stuffed inside her as-comfy-as-i-can-be-right-now slippers). We loved her, loved the space, and even loved the menu possibilities.

Right now we are looking at four menu items: Seared Rockfish with lentil salad, Oven Roasted Chicken with grilled vegetables, Cajun Penne Pasta with chicken and sausage, and finally a Grilled New York Strip steak. Molton Chocolate Cake or Yankee Apple Crisp for desert.

Now, as someone who was a vegetarian for neigh-on eight years, I am a little nervous about doing a dinner without a veggie option. While the wedding reception will be veggie friendly, I can’t come up with a single person coming to the rehearsal (family and bridal party) who has even mildly vegetarian tendencies. That being said, the said the could handle dietary restrictions so long as they had advanced notice.

ps. Anybody know Esther Dyson? I had already scammed one of her pics from flickr before I realized she was famous. All that techie genius, and she still takes good pictures of our rehearsal dinner locale.

Boy, was I silly … and thankfully I have bridesmaids to straighten me out when I get off track.

Instead of trying to match the blog’s look and feel to the save-the-date stuff, I should have been trying to make the blog work with to the bridesmaids dresses — which are a glorious color of Peacock. Rule number one of marriage: the world revolves around women’s clothing.

With this lesson in mind, I have come up with a special, limited-edition “Peacock” design for our marital blog. All you need to do to experience this beauty is to click on this special peacock link and viola! Peacocks galore … (you might have to click the link twice)

If for some reason you would prefer to *not* match with our bridesmaid dresses — you renegage — click here be awash in flowers once again.

Well, if you are one of our three loyal readers, you will notice we have changed things up a bit. The big impetus is that we have to get “save the date” notes out to our adoring masses, and being a good marketer I want to (a) have everything looking pretty when people are looking, and (b) want to have continuity between what you get on the web and what you get in the mail.

Of course, the funny thing here isn’t that I am a slave to online engagement best-practices, but that we have *so* much done … but haven’t done the guest list, which is usually a pre-requisit to both save-the-date cards and, well, wedding planning. We have a church, a reception, a hotel, a dress, attendants, bridesmaids dresses, a band, a photographer, as well as solid leads on a florist, a cake, an after-party, a honeymoon and the rehearsal dinner … but don’t know who is going to see any of it.

In other news, over the weekend we did our very first cake testing. We went up to Custom Cake Designs (in Gaithersburg, Maryland) who did the cake for our foodie-friends Sue and Jeremy’s wedding. It was about what you would expect — histrionic brides as far as the eye could see — but it was interesting to talk about cake decoration as if it were an art form up there with “ballet” and “lying to White House reporters.”

Courtesy Google Maps

Courtesy Perry-Castañeda Library

Well, we have been bouncing all over the place, but we may finally have a honeymoon.

We went into the wedding with three thoughts on the honeymoon: (1) international — or someplace we can’t go with 5 kids in tow; (2) someplace neither of us had been too before; (3) someplace were we would NOT felt like we had an agenda, or had to get up early every mourning to “tour.”

We started out thinking about Costa Rica, but The Lady Sparkler had already been. We then toyed with St. John’s and the US & British Virgin Islands, but that fell through at the last minute. We think we have now settled on Belize, a small, Central American country once known as British Hondouras.

A friend of a friend of a co-worker thrice removed (or something like that) recommended we talk with Timothy Burke of Burke Travel out of Kansas City, Missouri. Always suckers for recommendations, we called him up and have had great luck. Very helpful with ideas.

I mentioned earlier that the only “remorse” of our married friends was not spending enough on photography, and that is mostly true. The “other” remorse seems to be (a) leaving for the honeymoon too quick, and (b) not taking enough time off for the wedding and honeymoon. So, it looks like we aren’t going to leave until three days after the wedding, and will be gone for a little under 10 days.

For those in the Belize “know,” we haven’t finalized anything yet, but we are looking at the Turtle Inn in Placentia, and Chaa Creek Lodge outside of San Ignacio.

Photo Courtesy of Voisin Photography

Well, we have signed a contract with Sarah Voisin of Voisin Photography. We just loved her work (The Lady Sparkler literally the first time she saw them) and the only “remorse” we had heard from any of our friends was “we wish we had spent more for our photographer.” So we kinda splurged and got the one we really wanted.

We also got full rights to all the images, as soon as they are available … so we will be able to share them with everyone almost immediately after the wedding.

Photo Courtesy of Voisin Photography

Photo Courtesy of Sandi Foraci Photography

This week we met with our two finalists for wedding photographer, and I am not sure they could be more different. Fortunately, both are uniquely exceptional, but making a decision between the two is going to be difficult.

On Sunday, we met with Sarah Voisin of Voisin Photography. In the last decade, the term “photojournalist” has been hijacked by people who like taking pictures of other people’s feet, which has caused the word’s origin (a journalist who uses photography) to be kind of lost. Voisin is the consummate photojouralist under the proper, original definition.

Voisin works full time for the Washington Post, and it shows. Her attention to “the moment” is very strong, and the quality of her photography is just better than anyone else I have seen in the business. My one hesitation is that her personality is more reserved, and she might have problems corralling our family and friends into some of the more “required” pictures that don’t just occur naturally.

On the other hand, tonight we met with Marylinn Spindler of Sandi Foraci Photography and she was clearly the consummate professional. She was well prepared, thorough, with an absolute knowledge of weddings and what can, might, and should happen on the big day.

Her photography was great, but I believe her strength was in the bridal and wedding management areas. She was very helpful in mapping out our thinking, extremely accommodating to our desires (and sincerely, it didn’t seem forced) and seemed like she would be in complete control of any situation. The Lady Sparkler immediately took to her, and the two of them seemed to really click.

So, in the end I think we would be extremely happy with either of our two finalists. We are just not sure what is most important … Do we want A++ in photo quality and a B+ in wedding management, or an A- in photo quality and an A+ in wedding management. It really is going to be a tough call.

Photo Courtesy of American Music Caravan

We have got a LOT moving forward now.

After (literally) months of searching, we are getting ready to settle on a band. At various times, we thought about jazz, big band, swing, dixieland, bluegrass … really, pretty much anything that didn’t have a vocalist. Finally, we seem to have settled on the idea of a “little” big band, one can do a mix of just about all of the above.

Fortunately, there appears to be a band that is willing/able to do that … the Sultans of Swing (they also trade up instruments to become the Sheiks of Dixie, but my family is from New England … and nothing with the word Dixie is particularly well received).

We are still in the contract phase, but are pretty optimistic. If you want to listen a little, there are sound clips of the both bands, as well as play lists for each (Sultans, Sheiks).

We drove through Scott Circle today — on a journey completely unrelated to the wedding — and noticed that were two “extra” hotels that we had missed previously: the Courtyard Marriott Washington Embassy Row and the Holiday Inn Washington Central/White House.

These, not to mention that our rehersal dinner location is itself attached to the Beacon Hotel and Corportate Quarters.

Up to this point, we had just been thinking we would encourage everyone to stay in our block at the Hilton Doubletree (which owns 15 RIA, which is where the reception is) because we can have as many rooms as we want for $129 a night (which is an abjectly fantastic rate for D.C.).

That being said, we will check with a the other hotels near-by in case you want to use your miles or points or the like. Obviously, if you have rewards with a particular hotel, you will probably want to use those regardless.

Click on the map to the right to poke around the neighborhood, and see where everything is.

The headline tells pretty much the whole story. Except we have pictures. And I have permission (dare i say encouragement?) from the missus to post said pictures.

So, as you can probably tell, The Lady Sparkler has kind of turned the full time blogging-reins over to me. She loves blogs, loves to read about blogs, and loves to tell her clients why they need to have blogs … just not so much into the blogging-thing herself.

So, the dress …

The one you see pictured to the right is kind of exactly like the dress, but not exactly. The Lady Sparkler has decided to do off-white instead of white, and the embroidery / beading will be in the same off-white (here the embellishments are shown in silver).

She has also special ordered some straps for the dress in case she doesn’t want to fight with dress-slippage on the happiest day of her life.

The Lady Sparkler’s mom came up from Houston to help, and between the two of them (with a special guest appearance by Melissa for one of the boutique days) plowed through their list of stores and dresses, and had the whole thing wrapped in less than a week.

Amazing.

Needless to say, the dress has amped up the wedding expectations around the Parker-Spindler household a little … almost like the wedding — in the words of one bride who shall remain anonymous — is “really happening” now.

Personally, I will match The Lady Sparkler in that state of euphoria once we get the band and the photographer nailed down. Florists and cake makers can “do” a dozen weddings in one weekend if they have to. It’s pretty tough for a band or a photographer to be in two places at once.

So, on to the next big project … either finding us music and pictures, or finding us a physicist who can bend the space time continuum. Frankly, two weeks ago, in the order of “completion difficulty,” I would have placed music and pictures first, space time continuum bending second, wedding dress purchasing third.

I guess that’s a good sign, huh?

So, my parents are up in town to take advantage of the birthday present I gave my mom last November for her birthday: tickets to the Kennedy Center’s production of Copeland’s Rodeo.

With them in town, we decided to have dinner at Local 16 (a current contender for the rehearsal dinner) which was kind of my pick for the one they would like the best. It has a great atmosphere, is a little more old-world and traditional, and it’s been open in some form or the other for nigh on a decade.

Boy, what do I know?

We arrived a couple of minutes before our (early) reservation to find the front doors locked. Peaked inside and people are sitting at the bar drinking, but no one at the host stand and no one seemed to be interested at me peering through the window.

After about 15 minutes of waiting in the Starbucks next door for the restaurant to unlock its doors, we sat down and ordered some drinks and an appetizer. The drinks (mercifully) were strong and helped everyone get through the rest of the meal.

I don’t even remember what was ordered, but whatever my mom wanted was out of stock. The waiter came back, explained the problem, and she picked something he recommended. About five minutes later, the waiter popped back out to say THAT was out of stock too.

When the food finally DID arrive, the fish was small and flat, and the pork looked like it had been pumped with something. To make matters worse, dessert didn’t come within 35 minutes of us placing the order, and we had to flag down the waiter to cancel it.

Now, truth be told, I love Local 16 … love the service, love the food, love the locally-grown mission. And, truth be told, they comped the ENTIRE meal. That being said, if the experience had (pardon my french) sucked even a LITTLE less, it might still be in the running for the rehersal dinner.

I will happily take my chances with the new kid on the block (Beacon Bar & Grill), because after three meals with three different groups of people, we have absolutely zero complaints. Amen.

If you thought it was uncomfortable reading my posts about bridesmaids dresses, it gets worse: Flowers.

I was practically a theatrical design major in undergrad, so I have a background in dresses and clothing (even if it is suppressed in the deep, dark, nether-regions of my brain that’s been reserved for NASCAR and Debbie Gibson appreciation up ’til now).

When The Lady Sparkler was looking through Aria for bridesmaids dresses, she tripped on a series of flowers that she liked the look of. Fall colors (appropriate for that whole “October” thing) and very natural looking. No soccer-ball shaped bouquets that look like all the flowers have had the life squeezed out of them.

The Lady Sparkler and I are both (for the most part) minimalists and traditionalist. Especially with nature, less is more, and simple is better that a veritable cacophony of color and organic matter.