Spent a cloudy day touring the National Arboretum in extreme Northeast DC. The trees and plants were wonderful, but due to the heavy clouds blotting out the sun, it was very hard to get anything to “pop.” Definately going to make a return trip some afternoon when the sun is a little more cooperative.
Every six months or so, my father and I try to take a couple of kayaks down the Shenandoah, using a great outrigger near Bentonville, Virginia. Despite how it looked in the pictures, we had pretty spectacular weather both days.
Short of my father trying to kill himself in Compton’s rapids (it was his turn this year, mine was last year), it was nother great trip. I look forward to it each time.
Part of our planning retreat was a lunchtime tour of the Cheasapeake Bay, including a discussion about its ecological significance and uniqueness. It had been a looong time since I was last on the water …
My department had a planning retreat in Annapolis, in a suite of hotels right by the State House. We had about half an hour of free time in between events where we could wander the grounds.
With The Lady Sparkler out of town reprising her role as big muckety-muck at a “conference” in some posh resort in the hills of Virginia, I took the opportunity make a couple of “Hey, I’m throwing a wedding, do you want to be an attendant?” phone calls.
Actually, my brother Collin came on board as best man when we talked the night after the proposal, but the rest signed on yesterday and today.
Chrissy, my best friend from William & Mary, happily agreed to join the very selective society of groomsmaid. (Does my use of the gender-ambiguous word “attendants” seem less awkward, now?) John (remember that “h”, it will become more confusing in a moment) also seemed very happy and willing, though this probably makes him eligible for some kind of veteran / valor / danger pay as he’s been putting up with me since sixth grade. Finally, I asked Jon (without the “h” and very territorial about it) today at work, and he agreed as well … tho he IS my Siamese twin, so it would have been pretty awkward if he had said “no.”
Pictures of the group below, with me showing off my stunning range of haircuts and complete inability to smile on film …
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| CLOCKWISE, FROM TOP LEFT: Collin (at my W&M graduation, 1997); John (camping on the Shenandoah, 2001); Chrissy (at her wedding, 2002)’ Jonathon (at a 2005 Nationals’ game). | |
So, we went to Weather Underground’s History page and did some research. Three minutes (and one excel spreadsheet later) we had something that looked like this:
| 22-Sep | 29-Sep | 6-Oct | 13-Oct | |
| Mean Temp. | 65 °F | 62 °F | 59 °F | 56 °F |
| Average High | 77 °F | 74 °F | 71 °F | 69 °F |
| Average Low | 53 °F | 50 °F | 46 °F | 43 °F |
| Record High | 94 °F (1980) | 85 °F (1986) | 85 °F (1997) | 84 °F (1998) |
| Record Low | 38 °F (1997) | 34 °F (1978) | 28 °F (1968) | 30 °F (1985) |
| Avg. Rainfall | 0.13 in | 0.12 in | 0.11 in | 0.11 in |
| Record Rainfall | 1.57 in (1982) | 2.23 in (1963) | 0.68 in (1972) | 0.85 in (1983) |
After much deliberation (three, maybe four minutes) we decided to target October 6, 2007. Not too cold, not too hot … and it didn’t hijack one of our attendants (Melissa Merens) 30th birthday (missed it by a week). It’s a shame, she would have gotten one heck of a party …
We spent the morning in Clifton, Virginia (map, two sites) looking at potential wedding and receptions sites. A friend of mine from work got married in the town, and absolutely loved it. It’s a tiny town (population: 185) about 25 miles west of Washington D.C. (about 15 miles south of Dulles Airport) with a very strong small-town America feel.
The only reception place we visited here was The Hermitage Inn, which seems to rule the town as far as weddings are concerned. Spent an hour talking to Serge, the French-speaking owner of the establishment, and was really impressed by the stunning decor and the strong brunch menu (still planning on a morning wedding so far).
The prices seemed affordable (for Washington D.C. at least, where everything is relative) and they were clear for the two months (September, October 2007) that we are leaning towards. It’s definitely at the top of (what is currently) a very short, short list.
Immediately behind the Hermitage is the Clifton Presbyterian Church… and by “immediately behind,” I mean “shares parking lot with.”
While neither of us are Presbyterian (Methodist and Episcopalian, respectively, but both seem to be AWOL in Clifton) it doesn’t really matter, because they are B.Y.O.P. (bring your own priest) to non-members.
The church is under-construction (well, renovation actually) and have told the lady sparkler that they aren’t accepting reservations until September of 2006. This makes us a little nervous, because it would sorta suck to pick a reception place in Clifton, and then get married at Foundry United Methodist in D.C. We weren’t able to get in (again, the construction) but will swing by later in the process, assuming we are as infatuated with Clifton as we currently are.
There is one other church option in Clifton, called Clifton Primitive Baptist Church. The church has a strong cultural history. Built in 1869, it was the first African American church in Fairfax County. The church hasn’t had regular services there since 1957, but was renovated in the last couple of years for use in weddings and special occasions.
It’s small (even by Clifton standards) with 1 aisle, 10 or 11 pews per side, seating 4 or 5 to a pew. By my math, that’s 80 to 110 rear ends, and not a whole lot of room for breathing and such. On the other hand, the lady sparkler and I are trying very hard to break the land-speed record of my best friend from W&M (Chrissy, with a svelte 22 minute wedding ceremony) so if we have to stack you all in like lumber, at least it will only be for a few minutes.
The good news is that the church is (primatively) gorgeous, available for the whole day, and we don’t have to compete with a congregation for attention.
One thing that is good the WHOLE way round is that all three locations are within an easy walking distance of each other. This means no limo (yay!) and no problems with parking. Not to mention, all three places are within 30 minutes of home and 15 minutes of a major (and cheap) airport. Finally, there are 25 hotels within 9 miles (Manassas, Centreville) of the town.
We’ll keep you posted, but T-minus 524 days and things are looking pretty okay.
After much debate about the tact of posting pictures of hypothetical engagement rings, the Spindler-Parker family has hereby (and forthwith) decided to post the “money shot” of the ring as provided through the ring’s proprietor’s web site.
The Lady Sparkler would like (at my earliest convenience) to replace this picture with one of the ring on her actual hand. I, on the other hand, am advocating for this picture’s to remain indefinitely. Without a finger for perspective, the ring looks much bigger than its actual size (which is a little smaller than the head of a pin).
P.S. Two words: BlueNile.com. It’s heaven for geeks-in-love who want to avoid being hard-sold by gemologists/used-car salesmen. The “build your own engagement ring” has cool little sliders that makes the whole thing vaguely less terrifying than it otherwise would be…
It happened some time around 3:30 on Saturday… I proposed to The Lady Sparkler while we were in New York City for a long weekend. The proposal itself took place in a part of Central Park overlooking the lake called the Ramble (see map).
For the record, she did say yes… and part of the following day was spent purchasing a bridal planning book from Barnes and Noble, which I took to be a good, reinforcing sign.
We are open to bets on when the wedding will be, and if the pool gets large enough, we promise to throw the pool and split the proceeds with the “winner.” Even money says that it won’t be in ANY spring (too miserably busy each and every year), so the smart gambler would be picking D.C. weekends in the autumn of 2007.
Pictures coming soon from the trip to NYC, and maybe even the ring if we can find a way of doing it without looking completely superficial / gauche.
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Engagement Day