Where The Fam is Staying

So, in a fit of panic yesterday, I went on a mad search for hotel rooms for the fam and Katie. Even though it's January, and this thing isn't until May, my tendency towards overplanning just couldn't be denied.

I used priceline.com to find hotel rooms--it was easier, because I was booking in bulk over multiple nights. We found a great hotel for a reasonable price, and it's extremely close to the Jurys--either a 3 block walk or a $3 cab ride if your feet are too tired from dancing... By the by, my parents are taking dancing lessons, as are the Scotts. I fully expect a dancing contest to take place between Jim Scott and my dad at some point during the night. They're very competitive.

Anyway, here's a link to the hotel--it's a Marriott Courtyard. http://marriott.com/property/propertypage/BOSDM If you do end up wanting to stay there, and you'd like me to book for you, please just let me know. Or if you'd like to be on the same floor as mom and dad so you can throw a late-night kegger or something, I can absolutely give them a call and ask them to do so.

Welcome to Boston

The Jurys Hotel is located in the Back Bay neighborhood of Boston, at the corner of Berkeley and Stuart Streets. I tried to draw a star on this map, but gave up after 20 minutes of messing around with MS Paint.

Anyway, the Back Bay is very easy to negotiate. It's located basically between Fenway Park and the Boston Public Garden east to west, and between the Charles River and Tremont Ave north to south. And the east/west streets are named alphabetically, from Arlington to Hereford. And then there's Massachusetts Ave. I'm not sure where that one came from. Within those borders are about a billion hotels, restaurants, clubs, and overpriced apartments in old brownstones. It's a nice, safe neighborhood to live in and visit, and any hotel in the area will be great.

I suggest that you try the discount sites, like priceline, orbitz or even expedia. Select locations for either the Back Bay/Copley or Downtown, which is right down the street, and even includes some hotels on the eastern edge of Back Bay. It's very likely there will be extremely reasonable prices for super-nice hotel rooms--I got a room at the Plaza for less than $80 on a weekend night, and that included breakfast. Also, any hotel in either of these neighborhoods will be just a quick walk or $3 cab ride away from the Jurys.

We've reserved a block of rooms at the Jurys Hotel, where the wedding and reception will be held. However, I'm not going to lie to you--it's wicked expensive, even at the reduced rate. There are a TON of hotels within just a few blocks of the Jurys that are really nice, unique and much less expensive.

Here's a list of some of the neighborhood hotels and their websites:
Back Bay Hilton - http://www1.hilton.com/en_US/hi/hotel/BOSBHHH-Hilton-Boston-Back-Bay-Massachusetts/index.do
Boston Marriott Copley Place - http://marriott.com/property/propertypage/BOSCO
Charlesmark Hotel - www.thecharlesmark.com
Copley Square Hotel - www.copleysquarehotel.com
Fairmont Copley Plaza - www.fairmont.com/copleyplaza
Boston Jurys Hotel - www.jurys.com
Lenox Hotel - www.lenoxhotel.com
Park Plaza - www.bostonparkplaza.com
Sheraton Boston - www.sheraton.com
Westin Copley Place - www.westin.com/copleyplace
Newbury Guest House (B&B) - www.newburyguesthouse.com
Courtyard by Marriot Copley Square - www.courtyardboston.com

If you find a great deal elsewhere, the public transportation system in Boston will get you to within a block or two of wherever you need to go. However, I would advise against staying anywhere in Dorchester, Roxbury or Revere. A lot of these areas just aren't too safe, and it's likely that hotels will be less than clean. But please just give me a call or send me an email if you have any questions at all or need some help!

Also good to know--www.cheaptickets.com appears to have inexpensive plane tickets (non-stop) from Detroit to Boston over that weekend. If you're planning on driving, please let me know and we'll see what we can do about getting parking set up for you.

Our Official Officiant

It was a dilemma. Eric and I don't belong to a church here, and it didn't seem genuine (to us or the church) to seek one out at this point for the sake of getting married there. But on the other hand, we didn't want some crusty old justice of the peace to do the deed either.

Enter KATIE McCARTHY-EVENBECK. One of the coolest women I know, and my best friend. She has graciously agreed to officiate our wedding, and I am SO psyched.

Katie and I met our freshman year of college at Franklin, when she came over to my dorm room to tutor my roommate in economics. I just remember laying there on my bunk, tuned out. After all, I was a Lit major (turns out, I should have listened... who'd've guessed I'd turn out to be an economist? Not me!). Anyway, while I didn't truly appreciate Katie's considerable skills in econ, I did think that she was really funny and very different than the average Franklin College freshman.

I guess I knew that Katie was my true "best friend," or "female soul mate," or what have you, during our sophomore year. You know, I STILL don't ever know what to say or do when a friend loses someone they love, but Katie gave me a really good example. When my grandma died, I was just devastated. I couldn't go home for a few days, and people just kept bugging me for stuff, not knowing that I was sort of going through something, and then giving me these weird looks, like why was I crying, why couldn't I give them the vacuum cleaner now, etc. (I was an RA. That position was the bane of my existence...). Anyway, Katie stopped by, and she didn't say anything at all. She just took me down to her room and put some movies in and gave me some pop, and let me just handle things. That was so important.

And that's been almost 10 years ago. She's as important to me now as she was back then, and I am just so honored and happy that she's going to be right up there with us. Wow--we're such lucky people!

We Set a Date!

This has been so much easier than I anticipated. Everyone told me that trying to get a place lined up for a wedding here in Boston was next to impossible, but we got in at the first (and only) place we wanted, and even got our preferred date. Soooo....

MAY 5, 2007!
Jurys Hotel (corner of Berkeley and Columbus, Back Bay)
7:00 pm

The hotel is really great (see pictures!) , located right in the middle of everything. It used to be the Boston Police Headquarters, so the bar is called Cuffs, and our favorite drink is called the Misdemeanor Martini. It's so delicious, it's criminal.

The reason we chose it for the wedding is because it also houses our favorite "fancy-time" restaurant, the Stanhope Grille, which we've rented out for the reception. My mom and dad wisely no longer send me clothing for my birthday, but instead arrange for us to have a really nice dinner at a place we wouldn't normally be able to go on our own. I think this is the best kind of present--it gives us a chance to chill out for a little while, have a GREAT meal (really, I think you will love the food--last time we were there, Eric had Monkfish, which is apparently "the poor man's lobster." I think he liked it better than lobster, and he's a Boston boy, so he KNOWS lobster), and go on a real date. Anyway, it's become our special place here, and I'm so excited that we're able to have our wedding there and share it with you.

Getting Started...

It's the 21st century, and I spend more time behind a computer than just about anywhere else (sad, huh?), so we're taking this wedding planning stuff all cyber-like. Sweet.

The picture here was taken on the beach in California in 2005. We're still on the lookout for a more recent picture that doesn't feature one of us making a silly face, either inadvertently or purposefully. Mutually flattering photgraphs just don't seem to happen very often...