what to expect on june 16th

hello esteemed invited guest.

it's the soon-to-be groom checking in and flexing my once-strong blogging muscle to let you know what to expect once we finally reach the third weekend in june and get these nuptials underway. by now you have (hopefully!) received your invitation. in this post, i'll lay out what you can expect to happen june 16th.

 plan to arrive at eastern market in time for our 6PM ceremony (translation: arrive earlier). dress is cocktail attire; us groomsmen will be in suits and ties, and the ladies will be in cocktail/evening dresses. there is limited street parking near the north hall, but it's a take-what-you-can-get situation. if you don't mind spending a few minutes looking for a parking space and would like to drive, please do. but if you are planning on staying in the city (like at our beautiful reserved hotel), you can take a 15-20 minute cab ride($10-15) or the metro rail to eastern market station ($1.85). seating will be set up inside the north hall for our ceremony, which will run a scant 15 minutes or so.

(yet another shot of the building)

once our ceremony is completed, during that seemingly endless time where the bridal party and other associates are taking pics outside, we will kick off a cocktail hour in north hall(all drinks are free, by the way). 


during cocktail hour, have one of our signature cocktails while tasting some of the many passed hors d'oeuvres. eat as much as you'd like; our caterer will be passing these 'heavy' hors d'oeuvres all night in lieu of a sit-down dinner. 

after the bridal party is done with their photos, we'll do a few quick toasts and the first dance. 


and that's it. we'll open up the ceremony space for you to continue to enjoy the delicious locally sourced passed foods and the abundant free drinks. and even though there's no formal dinner, we'll have assigned seats during the toasts just so you know where to sit. don't worry. we sat you by someone cool. 


up next? it's time to wild-out on the dance floor, which will hopefully definitely be jamming with revelers. a dessert table with several selections will also be on display at this time. feel free to try everything!

we'll be partying most of the night (till about 11PM), but we understand if you aren't the type to dance the night away. feel free to come and go as you please. we just love that you decided to come and see us dedicate our lives to each other. 

as a failed disc jockey, it was imperative that i virtually 'deejayed' the party via a playlist of mp3s. we have scoured the internet for what has amounted to six hours of music, and we are in the process of whittling it down to something coherent for you all to get down to (nothing too obscure, i promise!). but that doesn't mean we aren't still looking for music options: if you have a song that you are dying to dance to with us, post its title or a youtube link in the comments, and we will be sure to include it on the playlist if it's funky enough (translation: no death metal).

i can't wait to see all of you, and i can't wait to finally marry my best friend in your presence. if you have any other questions about the ceremony or if you have any special requests for the event, don't hesitate to shoot me an email (bobby.sumner@gmail.com). 


47 days to go!