More from the blogosphere

It's been nearly a year since our engagement shoot, but our photographer (Jenny from Capture Photography - although we booked her through George Street) recently submitted the pics to a wedding blog, and now they are published! Check out the post at 4Real equality weddings. And Go Blue!

And from the blogosphere...

We were recently featured on the queer wedding blog A Bicycle Built for Two. The post featured our story as well as several photos from the wedding. Check it out at Wedding: Emily & Stacy.

Washington Post story

A couple of weeks before the wedding, we got an email from Ellen McCarthy at The Washington Post saying that she'd like to write a story about our wedding. (Yes, we'd sent in the initial announcement, so this didn't come out of the blue.) So we sat down with her before the big day to tell our story, then she attended the ceremony to get some additional information. The story will be published in this Sunday's print edition - but the online version is already live on WaPo's website. Our photographer, Jenny McQueen, did a lovely job of capturing a few key shots, so you'll also get a preview of the wedding photos :)

Engagement photos are here!

Yes, it is after the wedding, but we got the engagement photos back the day after the wedding...and now we're sharing! Here are a few of our favorites...

Check out the full album here.

Safe travels, everyone!

For those of you traveling to DC from out of town, we wish you all safe travels, and we're looking forward to seeing you this weekend! And if you are already here in town, we hope that you are enjoying the sunshine and have fun exploring the sites (or, if you live here, that you are soaking up the not-too-humid weather before real summer begins...).

Sneak peek of the engagement photos!

We won't have the digital files for our engagement shoot for several more days, but we did get a link to view the (low-resolution version) photos online. Here's a sneak peek...

We got the scoop before Robin Roberts

Barack Obama may have made news today when he announced his support for marriage equality, but we've known about his support since last week, when we received this in the mail...

Hair band

This morning we had a very special visitor - our friends' son, J. J's mom went to law school with Stacy, and his dad will be the pianist for the wedding. But today, we needed a very sincere style critic, since we had a second very special visitor - Carina, our hair and make up artist, came down from New York to  do a trial run on our hair.

What is...a game show love connection?

By now, you know how the two of us met (and if you don't, check out the About Us page).

Although we never get tired of telling our story, and we sit down together to watch Jeopardy! whenever we get the chance, we aren't so obsessed with J! that we're planning a themed wedding. We did, however, send invitations to Maggie Speak, the contestant coordinator who kept us calm during the rehearsal and taping, and to the host himself, Alex Trebek.

Engagement photo shoot

The day that we got engaged, we were surrounded by a bevy of amateur (and perhaps some professional) photographers, one of whom was nice enough to take a few impromptu engagement photos for us.

The engagement day photo shoot
at McKee-Beshars Wildlife Preserve

However, we didn't get around to taking formal engagement photos until this weekend. We considered several venues, and even did some practice shots at each...

You're invited!

The invitations for the wedding in DC and the post-wedding reception in Michigan are winging their way toward guests...and if one has landed in your mailbox, you've probably found your way to this site because you're looking for more information about the celebrations.

If you haven't seen us for a while, you'll find more about our story About Us page. And if you're more interested in the entourage that will be standing up beside us during the ceremony, check out the Bridal Party page.

For those who will be in DC for the wedding, the Wedding Weekend page has all you need to know about where to stay [UPDATE: the special rate at the Marriott Wardman Park is now available for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights], Shabbat services at Temple Micah, and the pre-wedding dinner on Saturday evening. If you're from out of town, head on over to In and Around DC for information about getting to DC, transportation once you're here, and what to do if you've got time for some sightseeing. Finally, details about Sunday's wedding are available from the Wedding Day page.

Once we finish in DC, we're taking the celebration on the road. For those joining us in Michigan, Party in the Peninsula will tell you what you need to know  - there's even a link to RSVP using a fancy Google form! (You can also go directly to the RSVP form by clicking here.)

We are looking forward to seeing everyone in June! If you have any questions between now and then, just drop us a line at stacyandemily@gmail.com.

Dance lessons

If you are coming to the wedding, you might want to follow the advice of KC and the Sunshine Band...



That's right...put on your boogie shoes for the reception, as you are now on notice that there will be dancing! We started dance lessons this week - and despite some pre-class jitters related to the amount of natural grace needed to avoid complete embarrassment, we both had lots of fun and are looking forward to the remaining sessions.

See you on the dance floor!

Getting to and around DC and where to stay

For those of you traveling to DC for the wedding, the most common ways are by plane, train, bus, or automobile. We've outlined these options at the top of the In and Around DC page. That page also highlights transportation options once you've arrived in DC and points out some of our favorite sites around town. Once you're in DC, you probably won't need a car, as most of the things we've listed are within a short walk of a Metro station (or you can take a cab if you aren't up for the walk).

We've reserved a block of rooms at the Washington Marriott Wardman Park - if you'd like to take advantage of the room block, click on over to the Wedding Weekend page for more information. You'll also be able to find out about other activities we have planned for the weekend of the wedding at that page.

Finally, the Wedding Day page has all of the details about the wedding - the date, the time, the place, and how to get from the Marriott to Temple Micah (hint: there's a shuttle bus).

The legal stuff

When we tell people that we're getting married, the immediate response is usually "Congratulations!" or "Mazel tov!" or "Are you going out of your minds with all of the planning?" Sometimes, especially if the person isn't from the DC area, this is followed by a question - "Is it legal?"

The short answer is yes, at least in DC. The longer answer is yes, but the rights, privileges, and responsibilities of marriage do not apply equally in all cases and all places.

We're looking forward to seeing you!

If you're just finding our website for the first time, it might be because you received a save the date postcard in the mail recently. If that is the case, welcome! We hope that you'll be able to join us in June for the wedding.

This website is your online guide to our wedding. In the posts below, you'll see reports on some our early attempts at winning a free wedding and buying bridal gowns. You can use the links at the left to learn more about our story, our bridal party, and all of the fun things that we have planned for the wedding weekend in DC and for family and friends joining us in Michigan for the party there.

See you soon!

Happy New Year!

We hope that you all have a wonderful 2012! We're looking forward to the wedding - only 5 months and 8 days to go :)

Venues!

We are really happy that we'll be able to celebrate our wedding in Washington, DC with many members of our families and many of our friends. For the wedding and reception, we'll be at Temple Micah, the temple where Stacy is a member. More information about the DC celebrations is available on the Wedding Day and Wedding Weekend pages.

However, we know that not everyone can make the trip down to DC, and since we both have friends and family back in Michigan, we've decided to have a casual reception in the Wolverine State. For this, we'll be at the church that Emily attended for the majority of her childhood, Lutheran Church of the Master. More information about the Michigan celebration is available on the Party in the Peninsula page.

We've set a date...

Sunday, June 10, 2012! We're planning a late-morning ceremony followed by brunch.

Outtakes from wedding dress shopping

Two brides means twice the fun of picking out dresses, right? Here are few outtakes from the dress shopping. (Don't worry, none of these are the dress that we'll be wearing at the ceremony!)

Get Hitched in Georgetown?

On August 22, Stacy sent Emily an email with the subject line "should we enter this?" - with a link to "Get Hitched in Georgetown", a contest being sponsored by the Georgetown Business Improvement District, offering "an epic wedding giveaway" for one lucky couple.* With a quick reply of "sure, why not ;)" we were off and running - and on September 2, we found out that we'd been one of the first 50 couples to enter, and thus had been selected for the competition. The email inviting us to compete didn't offer many hints about what the competition would entail, only the suggestion that we assemble a team of four (Stacy, Emily, and two friends) and that we wear colorful (and fashionable!) shoes.