Wedding Pics Now Posted

The first batch of pics from our wedding are now online. To reach them, simply find our photo album here:

http://picasaweb.google.com/steffens.richard/WeddingPics

It's DONE!!!

Our wedding took place on the 17th, and the entry for it is over on the main weblog, but as we start getting pictures in from the photographer (in roughly 2 weeks), we'll start putting them up here.

Parking Update

Hi all,

In a previous post, I mentioned that the church we are having the wedding at does not have very much parking. Since then, we've talked to the manager of the Dollar General store next to the church, and she will let us use the row of parking spots next to the street. This is only 12 more spaces, but it's a little bit more parking. She cautions us to not use the spaces close to the store or close to the rail tressle between the parking lot and the church parking lot, because there will be some truck traffic (trash truck and a shipment truck) loading and unloading that day.

There is also a park nearby that you may be able to park next to; the north side of the park is open to parking; however, parking is prohibited on the remaining 3 sides.

Otherwise, we would suggest trying to car pool from the hotel as much as possible or parking at the campus near the student union and car pooling to the church from there.

Wedding Weather

According to the Weather Channel forecast, the weather for next weekend will be dry, with temperatures in the high 40s (48 and 49 on Friday and Saturday), and lows in the high 20s-low 30s (28-32), so dressing warmly will be the order of the day.

We really wish that we would have the weather for this weekend (highs of 53 and 56), and sunny on Saturday, instead, but at least it's not going to snow. We've had enough for this year.

EDIT: Small change in the forecast: it's going to be a couple of degrees warmer next weekend. Weather Channel is now predicting rain/show showers on Thursday, but Friday and Saturday the temps should be in the low 50s. Yay!

It's Two Weeks ... OMG, It's Only Two Weeks to Go

Hard to believe, but it's two weeks and counting ....

The major freaking out hasn't happened yet ... just a few minor episodes, though.

Deadline for Hotel Reservations

Hi everyone,

We were just informed today that Comfort Inn can only hold the block of rooms we reserved until tomorrow. So far, only 5 rooms out of the 18 have been reserved. If you are coming, are staying, and would like a discounted room, please call Comfort Inn at 1-800-789-2002 ASAP and reserve your room. Also, please make sure you are reserving under the Leach-Steffens party. Otherwise, we will have to let those rooms go.

Thank you!

Richard

Wedding Itinerary

For the benefit of everyone attending, here's a rough itinerary of the wedding weekend.

Thursday Morning:

• Best Man arrives in town; lunch at Bubbas, the best BBQ in town (this may move back to Friday, if he arrives on Wednesday instead). I may be picking him up Wednesday in St. Joseph, if he drives by rental. In which case, lunch would be at Fuji, in St. Joe, while dinner would be at Bubbas.
  

Thursday Afternoon:

• Best Man and I will go test-fix tuxes at the formalwear shop that afternoon, and we'll wonder why we're not the same sizes as we were in high school.
  

Thursday Evening:

• Lauren's parents arrive in town.
• Bachelorette gathering at Applebees. This will consist of margaritas and will hopefully be more spirited than your average wake. ;-).
  
• Bachelor's gathering at the house. This gathering will consist of pizza, sci-fi movies, and pop. If the Best Man brings his D&D manuals and dice, this will become a futile attempt to recreate the groom's high-school days.
  

Friday Morning:

• Best Man and I will pick up the flower bundles and wine (non-alcoholic, since we're holding the reception at the college campus, and it's a dry campus), from Hy-Vee and deliver to the church and the student union, respectively.
  
• I will probably be thawing the communion bread for the wedding, which will have been baked the previous weekend.
  
• Half of my immediate family will arrive with their friends from KC (we think ... this is still up in the air). They may not arrive until the afternoon.
  

Friday Afternoon:

• Lauren's sis' family arrives in town.
  
• Most of the afternoon will be socializing with family and such, but:
  
• Lauren and Jenny (the bridesmaid) will be doing flowers at the church early in the afternoon, followed by their mandatory manicure/pedicure appointment.

Friday Evening:

• The rest of my immediate family should arrive.
  
• At 6, we'll start the rehearsal at the church ... the church is not very far (about 10 minutes) from the house, maybe about 15-16 minutes from the hotel. The rehearsal dinner will follow the rehearsal at the church at approximately 7:00 and be catered.
• We'll likely be hiding the car from Lauren's bridesmaid after that ;-).
  

Saturday Morning:

• Wake-up call for us @ about 8:00ish.
• 9 AM: Lauren and Jenny will be getting their hair done.
• 10-10:30 AM: We'll drop by the ballroom on campus to see how the decorations and setup for the reception are going. We'll drop off the CDs with the reception music as well and make sure their CD player works. The person doing the cake will deliver it to the ballroom that morning around this time.
  
• 11 AM: Arrive at church dragging proper outfits along, with the bread and wine for the ceremony. Begin decorating the church (which won't take that long).
• 12 Noon: By now, decorating should be done and prospective parties dressed and made up (in the case of the ladies); photo shoot will commence so there's plenty of time before the event. We may beg the photographer to do some shots at the kissing bridge on campus as time allows (or this could be done quickly before reception).
• 1:30 PM: The ceremony begins.
• Approximately 2:30-3:00 PM (following the ceremony): Reception starts on campus at the Student Union ballroom, probably going for a couple of hours. Please be aware that the location is a dry location; we will be providing non-alcoholic wine for the toasts, but please DO NOT bring alcohol on campus.

Late Saturday Afternoon and Evening:

• After the reception (approximately 5:30ish), our families and anyone who wants to continue the festivities with us can gather at the Comfort Inn, where we have the reservations for the bridal party and families. Dinner may (at this point, subject to change) be a mass order to Applebees.