More blogging

Hi everyone!

Just a note to let you know that now that the wedding has come and gone, Bill has moved his blogging activities to a new location: Commonplace (http://wclaspy.blogspot.com/).

He has been known to microblog as well using Twitter at http://twitter.com/wclaspy.

So if you are interested in following our rambles and hear about exciting topics like home renovation, fishing, and living with teenagers, be sure to register for updates on these two sites!

Photo Gallery and Ordering Prints

Hello everyone!

It's hard to believe our wedding was nearly four months ago. Time most certainly does fly when you are having fun.

Our photographer Steven Mastroianni sent us a reminder that the online gallery of photos from our event will expire on November 11, 2009. If you want to order prints from this gallery, please do so tuit de suite! Here are the instructions for finding and accessing the gallery:

Getting to the gallery is a two-step deal (not unlike the Cha-Cha Slide).

Click on the following link: http://web.sendtoprint.net/proofbook/login.asp

You will see a box that says "Enter your event ID". Type the event ID: EC071109

Click on "Enter Gallery" and browse to your heart's content!

Photo Album

Our wonderful photographer Steven Mastroianni has assembled a photo album for us. The image above is the cover spread (back cover, spine, and front cover). The album can be previewed here:

Kim and Bill 7/11/09

We can't wait to see the book after it has been printed!

More pictures!

And when I say more, I mean A LOT more.

Photographer Steven Mastroianni has put up the complete gallery of all of the photos he and his assistant took during the wedding and reception.

They captured quite a few good shots of those of you who were with us on July 11, so please do go take a look, although be warned that the first 25 pages of photos are posed shots of Kim and Bill. We're gorgeous, but it might get old. Receiving line starts around page 25, reception starts around page 30. You can order prints of the photographs directly from the gallery site.

Getting to the gallery is a two-step deal (not unlike the Cha-Cha Slide).

Click on the following link: http://web.sendtoprint.net/proofbook/login.asp

You will see a box that says "Enter your event ID". Type the event ID: EC071109

Click on "Enter Gallery" and browse to your heart's content!

Official Pictures Preview

The man in black at our wedding was not Johnny Cash but our excellent photographer, Steven Mastroianni. Steven has created a special slideshow preview of our wedding pictures on his own blog.

I hope you enjoy the photos as much as we do. Our smiles surely show our love for each other, and our joy at having such wonderful friends and family, whether you were with us on July 11 or not!

Click here to see Steven's slideshow!

After the Leap

We would like to share some postleapsarian (sic) pictures of our fantastic honeymoon trip. We spent time in London, Oxfordshire, and Paris and enjoyed every minute.

Leapt!

We've taken the leap and in the intervening days have not stopped smiling.

Many thanks to all who shared the day with us, whether you were in Cleveland or not. We are grateful to you all.

Extra special thanks to Pam and Doug Smith, Dorothy Schendel, Jane Nesmith, and Ellen Vesey.

We Card!

Though Emily Post would cringe to hear me announce this, in the interests of saving you a trip (in, let's face it, less-than-comfortable strappy sandals!) back to the room or car, please bring your ID with you to the reception. The Hyatt tells us that their servers will check IDs both at the bar and as they seat you (for wine service during dinner). With such a vernal crowd, I just know they'll be extra busy checking for birthdays!

The Grandparents are coming...!

Pam and Doug Smith, a.k.a. Grandma Pam and Grandpa Doug, a.k.a. the return address on our invitation RSVP cards, are hoisting the anchor on their Airstream land-yacht and setting sail from Bremerton, Washington bright and early on the morning of June 21 with dog Haley and GPS at the ready. Destination: Cleveland, Ohio and points east!

Therefore, if you have not yet returned your RSVP card, or have done so very recently, please send your head count (and identify children's meals if necessary) to Kim and Bill via email to kke1210@gmail.com at your earliest possible convenience!

The Groom Tweets

Just for fun, I've posted a few tweets about matrimonial planning, which seems to be taking over our lives lately. (Kimberly assures me that SHE is taking over my life and that the wedding is but transitory. :-)

I'm not sure how long I'll keep up with the 140 character missives, but if just for now...

I've put a gadget on the bottom of the right hand column on this page if you are interested. Or if you frequent Twitter like Lance, Ashton, Hodgman and me, you can follow me there.

Nota bene: I will not be tweeting during the service.

University Circle Activities

If you find yourself in the University Circle neighborhood (where Amasa Stone Chapel and Case Western Reserve University are located), we recommend some or all of the following:

• Cleveland Botanical Garden: http://www.cbgarden.org/
  Beautiful outdoor gardens and butterflies inside.


• Cleveland Museum of Art: http://www.clemusart.com/
  The new east wing opens in late June- see the museum's 19th century masterpieces in their beautiful new home.


• Cleveland Museum of Natural History: http://cmnh.org
  Always a fun place to visit- be sure to visit the Perkins Wildlife Center and our friend Lucy the otter.


• Western Reserve Historical Society: http://www.wrhs.org/
  For an in-depth look at local history, as well as the Crawford Auto Aviation Museum.


• Cleveland Children’s Museum: http://www.clevelandchildrensmuseum.org/
  Lots of fun activities for the youngest visitors to Cleveland.

Tremont & Ohio City Eats

If you are looking for a night out, Tremont and Ohio City are Cleveland west side neighborhoods directly- or kind of indirectly- bordering downtown.  Both are within a very easy drive.  And if you are staying downtown and want to experience Cleveland's Rapid Transit train system, you can take the Red Line one stop from downtown's Tower City station to West 25th Street, where you can exit and walk across the street to Great Lakes Brewing or McNulty's Bier Markt.

• Tremont Tap House This simple bar/restaurant bills itself as Cleveland's first gastro pub. The food is simple and delicious and the selection of beers- both draft and bottles- is first rate.
  
• Grumpy's Cafe We had lunch at Grumpy's one cold afternoon and fell in love with the place. Simple foods- brunch, burritos, sandwiches and soups, served up in a charming space by friendly wait staff.
  
• Lava LoungeA hip place to be- great for a drink and/or a bite to eat early in the evening and you can stay late when the scene heats up!
  
• Prosperity Social ClubThis swank Tremont spot has a first rate bar and tasty eats from the kitchen.
  
• Lolita The original location of Michael Symon's restaurant, you'll long remember your visit here. The kitchen is in the dining space so you can see the cooks working. Food and wine list is superb. A little on the spendy side, but totally worth it if you want something special.
  
• McNulty's Bier Markt Belgian food and beers in Cleveland! I've enjoyed every visit to Ohio City's Bier Markt. Many Belgian and U.S.-brewed Belgian-style beers on draft. The food is delicious, and yes, you can get Moules-Frite! (The fries here are to die for.)
  
• Great Lakes Brewing Company Making tummies happy since 1989, this brewery/restaurant's menu features local produce and their own fantastic beers, right near the intersection of Lorain and West 25th Street in Ohio City, just across from the West Side Market.
  

Upgrade!

Not strictly wedding related (though it does sort of involve a name change :-), but this is DEFINITELY blog worthy news!

Kimberly Emmons is now officially Associate Professor Kimberly Emmons, an award of tenure and promotion for her.

For Kim, it's a summer of two sets of golden handcuffs:



date for life and job for life.

HOORAY, Kim!

All Kidding Aside

We specifically want our events - both the wedding and reception - to be kid friendly.  After all, we have a couple of them ourselves!  And many of you have elementary or pre-school aged kids whom we want to feel welcome.

So the wedding is no problem.  It's not going to be particularly long, the organ music is going to be awesome.  There will be plenty to look at, and if necessary, the chapel sits on some lovely green-space for running about before/after (or during) the proceedings.

The reception at the Arcade will include some mingling (accompanied by drinks & hors d'oeuvres),  a sit down dinner, and more drinking & dancing.  Nevertheless, we hope it won't be stuffy!  The reason we like the Arcade is that it is HUGE and can easily handle a kid who needs to go off for a (chaperoned!) walk, with both kid and chaperone feeling like you're still at the party.  A lot of the other venues we looked at were just one room, which are not good for a kid who needs to wiggle, scream or otherwise escape.

The Hyatt is also planning for kid-food (chicken tenders, mac/cheese that kind of thing), so if your kids are more into that than the other yummy things we're planning, please just let us know on the reply card (e.g., 4 attending, 2 child's plates).

The reception starts at 6:00 p.m. with passed hors d'oeuvres and an open bar, dinner will probably be around 7:30 p.m.. Dancing commences when we're too full to eat any more. (We tasted the menu last week and it's going to be FANTASTIC.)  The party wraps up at 11 p.m. (Arcade rules), but there is a lovely hotel bar available for those who wish to carry on over more drinks or coffee.

We're not sure just how many pre-tween kids will be there.  The invitation list included something like 80 children!  Some friends and family who have young ones are opting to turn the weekend into one big "date night" and leave the kids home.  Others are bringing them. There will be some kids, we're just not sure if it will be TONS of kids or a half-ton.

If the kids do come along, don't forget some of the fun things to do (besides the party we're planning) in University Circle (Botanical Gardens, Children's Museum) and downtown (Great Lakes Science Center, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame)!  We're looking forward to seeing you and your kids (if you wish to bring them) on July 11!! 

Trial run- food!

We had the opportunity to taste test some of the dinner options at the Hyatt yesterday. They hosted us for a late lunch and had us sample several of the options for our reception dinner. It was awfully difficult to pick, as they were all delicious. Rest assured, we'll be eating well on July 11.

Kim also had a trial run with Marengo Spa at the Hyatt, had them create an up-do with her beautiful auburn locks, and apply makeup. It was quite the transformation, only adding to her natural beauty.

Registry - Part 2

Gift Registry - Part 2, Wherein the Nearly Newlyweds Negotiate Linens and Wine Glasses

After much hemming and hawing, we've created a registry for gifts. 

This link will take you to weddingchannel.com where we've listed items from several retailers which you can purchase online.  There are quite a few things listed today, and we plan on adding a few more things in the next week or two.  Simply click on the graphic for each retailer and you'll be shown a list of what we've registered for.  At the moment, this includes items from Macy's, Crate and Barrel, REI and Amazon.  Additionally, we've registered for a few items at Bed, Bath & Beyond, but it doesn't seem to appear at the weddingchannel.com site.  That registry can be found here.

In addition, you can visit a brick-and-mortar retail location of these stores (save Amazon, of course!) and our registry items should be listed at the store, under either (or both!) of our names (Kimberly Emmons and William Claspy).

Here is Kim's description of how we went about choosing what we did:

Having combined two full kitchens, we have amassed a motley assortment of glassware. You can help us regularize our lives (and our wine pours) by visiting Crate and Barrel, where we've registered for everyday wine glasses and a few other items.

We enjoy being outdoors and would like to do more hiking and camping, so we have registered at REI to help Kim round out her equipment closet (Bill's outdoors closet already bursting at the seams!)

Finally, we have registered at Bed, Bath & Beyond and Macys for linens and a few other essentials that could use some updating.

Using Cleveland's Public Transportation

Our wedding is VERY well set up for using public transport, for those of you who are flying into CLE, or if you just want to park your car at the Hyatt and leave it there.  

You can catch the RTA Red Line (Rapid Transit train) at the airport- to find it, just follow the signs.  The fare is $2.   The train runs pretty frequently on Saturdays (schedule is here)  (you will be going EAST from the airport).  The Hyatt is a mere two or three blocks from the downtown Rapid station (Terminal Tower/Tower City).  You'll come up out of Tower City to Public Square, hang a right and walk two blocks or so to East 4th and Euclid.  Cross Euclid and you are at the Arcade, which is where the Hyatt is.  

Here is a MAP of how to walk from the station to the Hyatt.

Getting from the Hyatt to the chapel is even easier!

You can take the train, but the bus is simpler yet.  The RTA's new HealthLine runs along Euclid Avenue from Public Square through University Circle and uses high tech, energy efficient busses.  It also runs pretty frequently on Saturdays (schedule is here, you'll be going eastbound from the Hyatt) You'll get on the Healthline at either East 2nd or East 6th, on either side of the Arcade.  Pay at the machine at the stop ($2 fare) and take the line to the Adelbert Road stop which is RIGHT IN FRONT of the chapel.  You'll see Severance Hall on your left and the chapel on your right.  To get back to the Hyatt, just take the Healthline in the opposite direction.  Easy!

If you prefer a tad more walking and want to take the train, you'll get back on the RTA Red Line (Rapid Transit) at Tower City.  Take the Red Line going EASTBOUND and get off at the University/Cedar stop.  Exit the platform on the University side.  You'll walk along Cedar, back under the tracks, and then MLK Boulevard to the chapel on Euclid.  It is not a particularly scenic walk, although you'll get a glimpse of the back of CWRU's Glennan Building, where Bill's dad Paul spent his career teaching and doing research.

Here is a MAP of the walking route from the Rapid station to the chapel.

The Red Line train back to the airport run on Sunday as well, the Sunday schedule is here, and you'll be going WESTBOUND from Tower City to the Airport.

Schedules and fare information for the RTA can be found here:  http://www.riderta.com/

Registry - Part 1

In the fun of combining two nearly complete households, we have found only a very few things lacking. We are grateful to our friends and family who want to mark the occasion of our marriage. So, in the spirit of giving you a little insight into our lives (and especially our plans for the future!), over the next few weeks, we plan to post a few notes about potential gift ideas.

Gift Registry - Part 1, Wherein the Nearly Newlyweds Tackle Home Improvement

With 2 teenage girls sharing our space, one of our first priorities is to fix the bathroom situation! Our home on Briarwood currently boasts only one full (and very much in need of rehabilitating) bathroom, so our first home improvement project is to add a 3/4-bath to the basement in preparation for tearing out and starting fresh on the 2nd floor. While we haven't had any luck registering for shower tiles, faucets, or light/fan-combos, we know we'll be spending some time at the local Home Depot, so if you're so inclined, gift cards to help us along the way would be more than welcome. (We don't know what the finished color will be, but we are all agreed that it won't be purple!)

Coming Soon - Part 2, Wherein the Nearly Newlyweds Negotiate Linens and Wine Glasses...

Booking rooms at the Hyatt

So here is an update on getting the group room rate at the Hyatt, should you chose to stay there.  Calling the front desk appears to be kind of "iffy" for getting the correct rate.  Here's the scoop.

You can book online at the following link:

http://cleveland.hyatt.com/hyatt/hotels/index.jsp

Use the code G-EMCL -put it in the group/corporate number box.

Kim and I tried it this way and the $109 rate came up (and other rates for other size rooms).

Alternatively, you can call our event coordinator directly and she'll book the room for you.  Her number is 216-776-4563 and her name is Meghan Luckso.

Wedding shower

Last weekend Kim's aunt Kathy hosted a wedding shower for Kim at her home.  The four of of traveled to Washington and enjoyed not only the shower, but a chance to catch up with friends and family on the left coast.  Many thanks to Kathy for throwing the party, and to Pam and Doug for their hospitality.

More pictures here.

Let them eat cake!

Our wedding planner (a.k.a. Pam) was in town last week, and one of the more delicious tasks on the list was to sample a few cakes prepared by a prospective baker.  Who knew there were actually several kinds of butter cream frosting???  Now we know.  Here are a few pictures of the carnage.

Eats in University Circle

If you find yourself in University Circle, there are quite a few places to calm your appetite:

Budget:

If you're with the kids or just need a quick bite, the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Botanical Gardens and the Museum of Natural History all have reasonable cafeteria-style food.  The latter two require that you pay admission, so are probably best only if you are already inside!  The Botanical Garden has particularly tasty selections.

There are several quick-eats options near the intersection of Mayfield Road and Euclid Avenue.  Rascal House pizza isn't bad, Qdoba will wrap a burrito for you, and Falafel Cafe has some interesting Middle Eastern fare.

If the weather is fine and you don't mind walking a few blocks (or moving your car), remember that Cleveland's Little Italy is just east of University Circle, up Mayfield Road, and is home to several good eating options.  For a quick bite, our favorite is Presti's, on the north side of Mayfield Road, just past Holy Rosary Church.  They've got excellent sandwiches, pasta, and glass cases filled with sweet temptations.  Even gelato!

A little fancier:

If you want to sit down for a fancier meal, try Sergio's near the intersection of Ford and Bellflower Roads.  Some of you former Clevelanders might not recognize Sergio's as the place that used to be the home of Lick's ice cream parlor!

Just down the street from Sergio's is a place we haven't tried yet, also in a memorable building for long-time Clevelanders.  Zack Bruell's L'Albatros Brasserie is in the old "That Place on Bellflower" building and promises to be a great place for a tasty meal.

Up in Little Italy, try Mama Santa's for pizza, or head just a bit further up Mayfield to Primo Vino.

Date Night - Lola Bistro

Valentine's Day is nearly upon us, so we've got a romantic suggestion for summer in Cleveland.

If you're looking for a night out, Bill and I recommend  Lola Bistro. It's an easy walk from the Hyatt, just exit the Arcade at the Euclid End and stroll down East 4th Street to Michael Symon's justly famous restaurant.  The food is divine and the atmosphere hip, though we were surprised by the lack of neckties and fancy dress (what has happened to date night in this town?!). Our entrees were wonderful, but we're not ashamed to admit that the maple-bacon ice cream (our new answer to the sweet-or-salty conundrum) and the rosemary fries (the secret is the duck fat in which they are fried) were our favorites. You'll probably need reservations for a table (or try eating at the gorgeous bar- see and be seen!), so plan ahead.

Dresses for the bridesmaids

Today was SHOPPING DAY! With the redoubtable help of Dr. Jennifer Perry, the girls got to look at bridesmaids dresses today. We pulled a half dozen or more for them to try out. We won't spoil any surprises here, but the final choice is a definite WINNER!



After the fashion show, fitting forms were filled out.

Then each of the kids got the tailor's attention.

Other Downtown Hotels

We haven't stayed at any of these, but if you would like more ideas of places to stay, here are a few within walking distance of the Hyatt where the reception will be held:

• Holiday Inn Express
• Marriott Downtown at Key Center
• Renaissance Hotel

Two choices closer to University Circle than downtown:

• InterContinental Hotel at the Cleveland Clinic
• Glidden House (on the CWRU campus)

Location, Location, Location

After spending both morning and evening clearing feet of snow from the drive, Bill and I are finding it hard to remember how lovely Cleveland is in July...but we look forward to sharing our city with you this summer!

Our ceremony will be in the Amasa Stone Chapel on Case Western Reserve's campus (10940 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44106).  For a bit of information about the Chapel, the Case Music Department offers a very short history.

Our reception will be at the Old Arcade downtown, which is now part of the Hyatt Regency Cleveland (420 Superior Avenue

Cleveland, OH 44114).  The Arcade, built in 1890 (and pictured to the right in 1937), is one of Cleveland's historic landmarks, and it was one of the country's first indoor shopping malls.  If you're anxious to learn more, the Arcade itself has a website with additional information.  For an audio walking tour of Cleveland's two historic arcades, please visit: Cleveland City-Prowl's review.

There are a variety of downtown Cleveland hotels (a few of which we'll mention in a later blog post), but the convenience of the Hyatt might be just the ticket for a worry-free evening.  We have secured a block of rooms at the Hyatt for the wedding weekend - you should be able to reserve them by calling 216.575.1234 and mentioning the Emmons-Claspy wedding. The very reasonable rates you should receive are: $109/night for Single/Double Occupancy; $134/night for Triple Occupancy; and $159/night for Quadruple Occupancy.  

Welcome!

Hello and thanks for visiting our blog! 

We'll be using this space to share updates on plans for our wedding weekend, to send information about lodging and things to do in Cleveland, and to publish goofy pictures like the one on the right.