Wedding Journal

If you're coming all the way to D.C., you have to go out and see the sights.

We've put together a guide to some of our favorite places in D.C., including must-visit places of interest and spots that have particular significance to us. We hope you'll find it useful!

The City Guide at washingtonpost.com also offers a helpful listing of events going on in the D.C. area the weekend of our wedding: April 28 | April 29 | April 30

Also, if you're staying at the Hilton Garden Inn in Arlington, we're putting together a map of amenities near the hotel, including restaurants and Metro stations.

If you have any questions about getting around D.C. or general tourist tips, send us an e-mail -- us [at] robandaly [dot] com -- or just leave a comment here!

Posted by Aly at 9:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We've confirmed a group rate with the Hilton Garden Inn at Arlington Courthouse Plaza, one of the closest hotels to the wedding site. The hotel will provide guests with shuttle service to and from Hendry House for the wedding.

Hilton Garden Inn – Arlington Courthouse Plaza
1333 North Courthouse Road
Arlington, Virginia 22201
Tel: 1 (877) STAY-HGI | (703) 528-4444

Our group rate is $105/night for April 27-May 1.

To reserve, call 1 (877) STAY-HGI or reserve online using group code HPW. To get the group rate, you must reserve your room by March 27, 2006.

We’ve reserved a block of 30 rooms, some with one king bed, and some with two double beds. If you have any particular preferences, or if you want adjoining rooms, please let the reservations agent know when you book the room.

The Hilton Garden Inn is located two blocks from the Courthouse Metro station (on the Orange Line). The hotel offers free parking, depending on availability. All rooms include a microwave, minifridge, iron and hairdryer.

More Local Hotels
Distance based on proximity from the wedding site.

• Holiday Inn – Rosslyn (2.1 mi)
• Marriott – Rosslyn (2.4 mi)
• Best Western – Key Bridge (2.5 mi)

Posted by Aly at 5:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We have a postcard! Many thanks to Doug for the illustration.

Posted by Aly at 11:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

We have a date! And a venue!

As Rob mentioned earlier, our visit to Hendry House last weekend went very well. He talked to Sharon on Monday about available dates, and we sent in our deposit on Tuesday. Since an official confirmation letter arrived in the mail on Saturday, it's safe to announce the official details:

Date: April 29, 2006
Location: Hendry House, Fort C.F. Smith Park, Arlington, Va.

We've rented the house from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m.. Since that time includes set-up and clean-up, we're tentatively assuming that the ceremony will begin around 4:30 p.m., with the reception to start immediately afterward. The ceremony likely will be held outside, on the patio in front of the house, while the reception will take place inside the house and on the large porch.

Our original tentative wedding date — April 8 — coincided with the end of the National Cherry Blossom Festival, so we'd tossed around the idea of going with a cherry blossom "theme" for the wedding. Now that the official date is much later in the month, we've decided to discard that idea and try something entirely different.

More details to come, as we figure them out.

Posted by Aly at 1:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)