theparkerfamily.org

Tag: Wedding

  • Wedding: Bridesmaids Dresses, oh my!

    Aloe

    Bordeaux

    Paprika

    Peacock

    Dark Red

    Aubergine

    So, dear reader, I am starting to get perilously out of my element, so please give me a wide berth as we discuss things … well, female.

    With most of the major decisions done (church, reception) or pending (rehearsal dinner) or at least started (wedding dress, band, photographer) The Lady Sparkler and her bridesmaids have turned attention to the bridesmaids’ dresses.

    My one request in this wedding journey was for bridesmaids’ dresses with large, taffeta “rear-end” bows. You know the ones that you see in the 80s wedding movies, where the bow sits right on the rump, and takes up the whole small of the back.

    Not surprisingly, the ideas was not warmly received. I believe that visionaries are never truly appreciated in their lifetimes.

    The Lady Sparkler and “the maids” have pretty much settled on Aria Bridesmaids as the place to get the dresses. Even my “groomsmaid” is on board … While I was pushing to put Chrissy the groomsmaid in a tuxedo, everybody else thought it would be more “traditional” for her to wear a dress.

    *Sigh.*

    The store they are looking at is online, let’s you pick a color, mails you a sample dress to try-on, and then makes all of the wedding’s dresses out of the same bolt of fabric so they match. All styles of dresses are in play (because they all use the same fabric) so everybody can buy the cut and style of dress that best suits them.

    Lots of the dresses have sashes, but no “rump” bows.

    The main focus (right now) is on color, because the color of the dresses is the next step to deciding the color of the flowers … which is the last, big, un-started project. The finalists are shown above. No word yet, but my money is on the Peacock or the Aubergine. Fabric swatches will be exchanged over Thanksgiving, so more info next month.

  • Wedding: Dueling Dinners


    Beacon Bar and Grill

    Local 16

    We have been scoping D.C. restaurants for the last month or two, working with a very patient, and gracious pair of friends (Sue and Jeremy) to find a couple rehearsal dinner spots that here located close to the church, that served good food, and had space for a private party.

    We are under this strange delusion that we might actually be able to walk from the rehearsal dinner, to the church, to the reception site (which doubles as the hotel) and back. Not sure it will happen, but that’s the goal.

    To make matters more interesting, my family has a strong background in dining (my father was a Chef for a number of years) and so mediocre food does not pass by an Parker unnoticed.

    Finally, D.C. isn’t exactly known for large spaces with plenty of private rooms for parties and events. Especially large spaces with private rooms that don’t look like the basement of the Hinkley Hilton.

    Anyway, what would be the point of the story if there was no happy ending? Probably to make you suffer as we have suffered, but fortunately that isn’t the case… Sue, Jeremy, The Lady Sparkler and I have two possibilities for rehearsal dinner spots that are looking promising.

    The first is the Beacon Bar & Grill, which is located at 1615 Rhode Island (the hotel/reception is one block west). BBG serves what it calls “Fresh Contemporary American Cuisine,” and (in some sort of incestuous irony) plucked its current executive Chef from 15 RIA (our receptions site) about a year ago.

    We took my parents her for a test dinner just this week (my mom was in town for her birthday) and the quality of the food and the service was just great. I had the pasta, and The Lady Sparkler had the fish. The place was a little empty for a Saturday night, but how many restaurants shut down in their first year of business anyway?!? (For the record, 25% in the first year. 60% within three years.)

    The other restaurant in the running is Local 16, a local, slow food, organic restaurant which is about four blocks up 16th street. We will give that a try in January.

  • Wedding: An excuse for total inaction …

    We have been in another bit of a lull, and this one wasn’t entirely our fault — our kitty (Emily) got sick.

    Not the normal, “take two aspirins” sort of sick, but the “in-and-out of the hospital for two weeks, start looking for things to sell to raise money”, wasn’t sure she’d make it through sort of sick

    Fortunately, it looks like she is going to pull through. Unfortunately, she has been on medication, every 8-hours for the last couple of weeks, so it has kind of kept us house-bound (and inwardly focused) a bit.

    We are lightly working on Rehearsal Dinner locations with our foodie-friends Sue and Jeremy, so hope to have good news on that front very, very soon.

  • Wedding: Done, aaaaand done (almost).

    So, our “come to Jesus” conversation work. Well, it worked if Jesus was a Capitalist and signed contracts for wedding reception locations (after he was done turning water into wine, I presume). Anyway, we have inked a deal for our reception, though no word on free heavenly booze as of yet.

    And the winner is…
    http://www.15ria.com/

    The reception will take place at 11:30 am on Saturday, October 6th, 2007. Eggs, bacon, made-to-order omelets, champagne, wine, bloody Marys … We are still negotiating loaves and fishes, but (while signing a reception contract is indeed miraculous) we aren’t expecting the second coming quite yet.

    We also finalized the paperwork for the Church, though I am honestly not sure what we are waiting on … let me check. This just in, we were waiting on me to say yes. Which I just did. So the contract for the Church will be turned in first thing in the morning.

    There IS one proviso. The church has this event called a “pre-Cana” weekend … which entails a group of soon-to-be-newlyweds getting together for a weekend of bonding, sharing their religion views and helpful tips on being married. This sounds like a wonderful experience for the more “expressive” portion of the Protestant religious spectrum, but sounds like cruel and unusual punishment for an Episcopalian. We are checking to see if what the refer to as “traditional wedding counseling” is available for those marrying more “inwardly focused” (ie. lily-livered) men.

    It also looks like we are just about set on a group rate for a block of hotel rooms. The reception location (15 RIA) is in the Hilton Doubletree, and it looks like we can have as many rooms as we want for $129 a night (which is a pretty fantastic rate for D.C.).

    T-minus 389 days and counting. Next up is the Photographer, Florist and … hmm … something else that will have to wait for another day.

  • Wedding: And now for something completely different …

    Bet you thought we forgot about updating the blog. Sadly, not the case. Instead, we did exactly what all couples with 18 months to plan a wedding do: we procrastinated for two and a half months … and then changed our minds.

    About a week ago — when it was 411 days and counting — The Lady Sparkler and I had what we like to refer to as a “come to Jesus” conversation. In it, she admitted that she had some doubts about Clifton, and would really like to think about an option (a “Plan B” if you will) within the DC city limits.

    I said, “Aww shucks sweetie pie, half the reason we had decided on Clifton was that you liked it so much … If that’s not the case, why don’t we start looking around for options in DC!” (For the record, that was pretty close to what I said … 30 minutes of “inconsequential minutia” has been edited for length.)

    The first lego in the “Plan B” construction was already in place. The Lady Sparkler is a member of the historic Foundry Methodist Church at 16th and P, and was keen to try and pull off a wedding there. In fact, Foundry is the home church of the minister that she was going to cajole into doing our service in Clifton, so it actually simplified a step.

    The church is stunning inside (and recently renovated!) Seating 450 of our closest friends, it has a soaring dome and some of the best stained glass in DC. It is also arguably the most progressive church in DC, which means we can get in and out without complaining about the sermon (which is apparently something noteworthy if you are a Democrat in Texas, or so I have heard.)

    We did a little research over the weekend, and the church was available … if only we could find some place to do an brunch — it’s remarkably hard to find breakfast places in DC, but that is another tale — with eggs & bacon nearby! (Stick with me, there is a happy ending.)

    Over the course of two days, The Lady Sparkler did some research, found a place half a block from the church, organized (& executed) a small drinking expedition to scout the location and then setup a meeting with the Director of Catering (and yours truly) for this past Thursday. BTW, someone in this story was once an event planner … you make the call.

    The restaurant — 15 RIA — is located at 1515 Rhode Island Avenue (where DO they get those crazy names?!?) It is a posh, trendy little place best known for its modern decor, great “Continental Cuisine” and it’s head chef … who was just plucked from The Greenbrier resort in White Sulfer Springs (the fancy resort with the underground Congress bunker).

    The reception space was beautiful (and recently renovated! see courtyard, indoor pictures on the right) and the menu was even better … French Toast with Warm Maple Syrup, Applewood Smoked Bacon and Sausage, Penne with Rock Shrimp and Tomato Pesto, fresh cooked Omelets and Eggs any style, etc. It turns out the place is actually the entire ground floor of a Hilton Doubletree hotel, which means in this scenario the church, hotel and reception place are literally right on top of each other.

    So, there we stand. It’s a pretty safe to say that this plan, formerly known as “Plan B,” is now the top choice and Clifton (whose church STILL won’t let us know if we can get married there in 2007) has now been relegated to the second tier.

    404 days to go, and we’ll keep you posted.

  • Wedding: Full Steam Ahead

    Success. My parents just left after a really nice six day visit. We’re still engaged. During their time here we managed to tackle quite a few wedding details in addition to sight seeing, touring museums, and eating lots of crab cakes at Eastern Market.

    Last weekend we took them to see the leading contender for the reception, The Heritage Inn and also look at the Primitive Baptist Church and Presbyterian Church in Clifton. Everyone was in agreement that Clifton, VA is a beautiful town and perfect spot for our wedding.

    Right now we’re leaning toward using the Presbyterian Church. They are in the middle of expanding the church facilities but we were able to see the sanctuary. We loved it — the wood pews with carvings, the huge windows, and a bell with a real bell pull in the back of the sanctuary.

    The biggest challenge will be picking out bridesmaid dresses that work well with the deep, vibrant red front curtain, pew cushions, and carpet. Oh, and there’s no center isle, so we’ll need to research if there are rules or superstitions that determine if it’s better to walk down the left or right aisle.

    This past week I also finally managed to ask my bridal party to be part of our wedding: Christy is my m.o.h. (maid of honor). My bridesmaids are Melissa and sisters, Joanna and Nadine. Thankfully everyone said yes! Photos will follow soon … maybe.

  • Wedding: The Attendants, Part I — A New Hope

    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 …

    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).

  • Wedding: Arbitrary Climatology Research

    It’s still pretty early in the game (T-minus 523 days) but we decided it was about time to pick a random date to pursue with the church, reception and rehearsal-dinner people.

    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 …

  • Wedding: Clifton, Virginia

    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.


    IMG_0315.CR2
    Originally uploaded by evancparker.

    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.


    IMG_0305.CR2
    Originally uploaded by evancparker.

    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.


    IMG_0308.CR2
    Originally uploaded by evancparker.

    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.

  • Wedding: Required Reading

    We’ve been engaged one week and I have started to discover the vast quantities of wedding material that exists. First, thanks to Marja we have 435 pages of New and Improved Bridal Bargains — as seen on Oprah, of course! It’s filled with tons of obscure facts. For example you can look up the least popular months for weddings by state. Surprisingly, all of this information makes for some really good reading.

    Then this weekend, a huge package arrived from m.o.h. Christy with the latest wedding magazines. I am now the proud owner of about 15 pounds of wedding advice that I can haul around on the metro this week. The selection includes In Style Weddings, Martha Stewart Weddings, and Modern Bride.

    So that he isn’t left out, Evan and I picked up The Pocket Idiot’s Guide to Being a Groom. He’s dutifully read it cover to cover already. It’s the third edition of the book so the advice has to be pretty good — right?

    Other friends have offered to give me their supply of wedding planning materials and books in the coming weeks. I think we will be the best-read couple in DC by the time we get married.