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!!