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.

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.

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!! 

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.

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...

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.

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.