Directions

Greetings! Last week invitations went out, and inside the invitation you'll find a map. What you won't find are written directions with the map, which is why I'm making this post! Below you will find a color version of the map along with directions to the Church, Reception Hall, and Hotels. Let us know if you need directions to other locations in the area!

To Church:

From I-55, exit Lemont Rd. south (exit 271A). Stay on Lemont Rd. for about 5 miles. After crossing the bridge, go left (east) at first stop light (Main St.). Make first right (south) on Lemont Street . The Old Stone Church is 1/2 black south on the right (west) side. Off-street parking is available on Lemont St. and surrounding streets.

To Reception Hall:

From I-55, exit Cass Ave. north (exit 273B). Go left at first stop light (Hinswood Dr.). Make first right (it will look like you're turning into the gas station). Follow the driveway (stay left) to Alpine Banquets. Parking available in rear of building.


To Extended Stay America - Darien:

From I-55, exit Lemont Rd. south (exit 271A). Turn left (east) on Westgate Road. Turn left on Frontage Road. Turn right on Sokol Court.


To Extended Stay America - Burr Ridge

From I-55, exit County Line Rd. south (exit 276A). Turn right on Frontage Road. Follow road to hotel (will be on the left).

Bridal Showers

I want to take a minute to thank all of my family members and friends who attended my bridal showers in person or in spirit! I had a great time and received wonderful gifts. Thank you.

For those of you who don't know, I was lucky enough to have two bridal showers....one in Illinois and another in Nebraska. I'll have to ask Christy if she took any pictures from the Nebraska shower, but below are a few snap shots of the Illinois one. I hope you enjoy them.

Finally, a quick update on the wedding planning. While in Chicago we met our Pastor and our ceremony musicians (both went really well). We also scoped out some nice outdoor picture locations at the River Walk, in case our wedding day is optimal for outdoor pics. We also started finalizing the guest list and put the finishing touches on how we want the invitations. Check back next week because we will be posting a map and directions to/from the church and reception hall from various locations in the Chicago-land area! Thanks!!!

UPDATE: Christy is sending pictures of my Nebraska shower. I'll post them as I receive them. For now, here's a good one....

Planning the Honeymoon!

As we continue counting down the days until the wedding, we've been busy planning for a very special honeymoon.....an ALASKAN CRUISE!!!!

We will be sailing with Royal Caribbean for 7 night Alaskan Sawyer Glacier cruise on the ship 'Rhapsody of the Seas'. We depart from of Seattle, Washington on May 30 and will return June 6.

While on our cruise we've scheduled several land excursions! In Juneau we will be going on a 3 hour rafting trip followed by a traditional salmon cookout. Then while in Skagway we will be taking a scenic railway trip and visiting a dogsled camp (yes, we get to ride on the sleds!).

We were sure to reserve a cabin with a large window so to be able to take in all the beautiful scenery. The boat has a ton of activities including shopping, fine dining, and evening entertainment. We hope to take advantage of everything the boat has to offer, but our main goal is to relax together on our first trip as husband and wife!

Looking for Airfare??

Right now Southwest Airlines is running a sale (book by Feb 21, 2008) with tickets for select dates ranging from $49-$99 (one-way)!! I checked a few dates around the wedding and some $49 (one-way) slots are still open, lots of $98 (one-way) are open.

http://www.southwest.com/hotfares/080205_mdw.html

This sale ends soon, but we'll keep a look out for more deals and will let you know what we find. Also, I checked yesterday and hotwire.com still had some $29 per night hotel rooms available for the Darien, Illinois area....but they won't last forever!

Also, Josh and I decided to create wedding registry at Bed, Bath, and Beyond (in addition to the one at Target). You can find the link to that store at the bottom of this page (on the right-hand side). Just click on the link and you'll be directed to the Bed, Bath, and Beyond website.

Other than that, everything is going well with the wedding plans. Just about 3 months to go! Josh and I will be home in March (from the 19th-23rd) to meet with our pastor, photographer, and ceremony musicians, and to tie up any other loose ends. Can't wait!

Just about 4 months to go!!!

Greetings! I can't believe it's already 2008 and the wedding is only 4 1/2 months away. All of our planning is coming along, what about yours??

If you're like most people you've probably thought about booking your hotel and airfare, yet you find yourself putting it off. Just don't forget that the wedding is over Memorial Day weekend, which means things can start booking up fast.

A few things have slightly changed regarding hotel reservations since our last post. Originally we had blocked a set of rooms at the Holiday Inn in Willowbrook for $100 per night, but today we were on Hotwire.com and found some incredible deals (starting at $29 per night per room) that made us decide to cancel that room block. We encourage anyone needing a hotel room to check out Hotwire.com, and if you need any help or advice give us a call!!

In case you were wondering, Josh and I (along with several other guests) have decided to book our hotel rooms at the Extended Stay America in Burr Ridge (just a few exits away from the reception hall off the Interstate). A few other guests have booked at the Extended Stay America in Darien, which really close to everything too!

I hope this information has been helpful. Keep checking back for more information about the weeding, and we'll let you know if/when we find some hot deals on airfare (in the mean time we recommend using Orbitz.com to find cheap flights!).

Welcome!

Welcome to our wedding information website! The wedding date and location has been set, and next year will be here before you know it!

Since many of our guests will be traveling from out of town, we wanted to put together some information to help you plan a fun, exciting, and stress-free trip to Chicago! We also thought this would be a great way to keep everyone up to date on our wedding planning progress, so please check back from time to time.

We recommend that you begin making your travel arrangements early so you can get the best deals possible and so you can make the most of your trip. Hopefully the information we have provided will help you get started, and if you have any questions or need more information, just let us know!

The information listed along the right side of this page will help you find hotels, food, entertainment, and more. Just scroll over the names and click on the link to get more detailed info. In addition, here are a few important things to know about the wedding:

• The wedding date is May 25, 2008 (This is the SUNDAY of MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND)

• The ceremony will be at the Old Stone Church in Lemont, Il and the reception will be at Alpine Banquets in Darien, Il (These are suburbs about 25 miles west of Chicago right off of Interstate 55)

• It's about 6 miles between the church and reception hall.

• We have reserved a block of rooms at the Holiday Inn - Willowbrook, IL (first link on the right under Hotel Info). The blocked rooms have a discounted rate and the hotel has a shuttle bus available to guests for an additional cost. If we fill 10 blocked rooms, you will get 1 free round-trip shuttle.

• It's about 8.5 miles between Willowbrook (hotel location) and the church, and about 3.5 miles between Willowbrook and the reception hall.

• If you plan to fly to Chicago, we recommend that you fly into MIDWAY AIRPORT. Chicago has two major airports, and Midway is much closer to the ceremony/reception location. Also, Southwest Airlines has flights between Omaha and Midway, and they offer the best deals for tickets (if you buy them well in advance of your trip).

Good luck and happy planning! Don't hesitate to let us know if there is anything else we can help you with!