We finally received our wedding photos. They’re all online, and there are a lot of them. Have fun! If you want prints, feel free to help yourself! All you need to do is:
- Login to Flickr with your Yahoo account
- Add me to your friends/family
- Set your printing location
- Click “Make Stuff” from any set or “Order Prints” from any photo.
- They’re delivered to your nearest Target within an hour or to your mailbox within a few days. Sweet!
I finally finished my thank you notes. Woo-hoo, under six months! That’s within a good and decent standard, right? Right? Anyway, not sure why it took me so long. I certainly couldn’t be more grateful for our bountiful wedding. I’m sure if I could have emailed them, they’d be done a long time ago. In the end, when I really buckled down to do the last half (the rest had been written over the last three months, so check the yellowness of your envelope and carbon-date the ink to see where you rate), it was a rather pleasant passtime. Something about reminiscing about the specifics of each different relationship. That said, for any relevant situation in the future, Amy insist that she will be writing all the thank yous. Hers have been done since early December.
Wedding pictures are already starting to pop up. Amy and I are hoping that everyone who took pictures at the event will post them to Flickr and tag them with “Amy & Nick’s Wedding” – make sure to use the quotation marks. Then they’ll all appear in one easy to access area. Emily and Katie have already posted some!
Update: Now with more pictures from Patrick and Emily.
Wish you were here!
My step-cousin-in-law Jim posted a cool, short montage of wedding clips to YouTube. Anyone else have video?
Less than ten hours to go! After what I have to admit was a rather anxiety-filled week, everything really seemed to fall together very well at the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner last night. Now all that’s left is to spend a day with my boys while Amy spends the day with her girls until we have to show up at 4:00. I can’t wait!
A special thanks to my wonderful stepmother, Deb. She put together what had to be the most gorgeous and romantic groom’s dinner last night. Everyone was incredibly impressed, and Amy and I were deeply touched. Thanks, Deb!
30 days until we say I do! The plans are all coming together nicely, and we’re looking forward to a wonderful evening surrounded by friends and family. We crossed the 100 RSVP mark yesterday.
Speaking of RSVPs, if you haven’t sent yours in yet, you’re welcome to let us know “online” or via phone, IM or email. It also may be possible that your invitation lacked a reply card or the stamp on it. For this I apologize. After I had stuffed all the envelopes, I noticed that I had three postcard stamps left over. Oops. Dwight can be really distracting.
My bachelor party was last week. I can’t fully describe how much fun it was. We had a blast playing paintball and dodgeball. Relaxed at my place for a bit, enjoyed a cigar on the roof, and went out to dinner at Figlio. Some of us even got dressed up.
On the field and court, a couple of the boys learned the value of the cup, and for the next few days many of us were incredibly sore (dodgeball is very demanding!). That aside, the day was injury free!
I think my favorite moment came during the last game of paintball. The field had been narrowed down to Jason and me versus Marc and Carlos. Pinned behind a tree, I found myself caught in the crossfire from Marc and Carlos, with Jason in a similar boat. J started firing on Carlos, and I saw Marc’s bright white head sticking out from his hiding spot. In a few seconds, Jason shot Carlos, and I nailed Marc. Walking off the field, victorious, I went to shoot of my remaining paint only to find my gun already empty. I won the last game of the day by hitting the last guy in with my very last paintball! A very cool coincidence!
All in all, the day was just fantastically fun. I felt truly touched to be surrounded by so many good friends. Thanks to all of you, and especially to Ryan for putting the day together!
Well, the invitations should begin arriving today. I guess that settles it: we’re getting married!
November 11, 2006
5:00 PM – 11:00 PM
990 Summit Avenue
Saint Paul, MN 55105
Nuptials – The ceremony will take place promptly at 5:00. We expect to be fully wed by 5:30.
Cocktails – Enjoy drinks and hors d’ouevres immediately following the ceremony.
Dinner – A tasty Italian buffet featuring delectable pork, chicken and vegetarian options, to be served at 6:30
Dancing – Beginning at 8:00, dance the night away to the smooth sounds of the JoAnn Funk Trio, a great classic jazz group
Bride & Groom – Amy Kamenick and Nick Curran
Parents of the Bride – Duane and Audrey Kamenick
Parents of the Groom – Julita Jaramillo, Mike and Deb Curran
Matrons of Honor – Emily Lein, Gen Rycek and Julie Carnes
Best Men – Ryan Kessler, Jason Gott and Tim Boos
Bride’s Attendant – Jenny Nilssen
Ushers – Lance Kamenick, Carmen Curran and Carlos Curran
Officiant – The honorable Judge Harry S. Crump
Reader – Todd Kamenick
Ceremony Music – The incomparable Kevin Taylor (of Marcoux Corner fame)
DJ/VJ – Patrick Niemeyer
Reception Music – JoAnn Funk Trio
Photography – Andrew Vick
We’ve blocked off rooms at the following hotels. The listed rates
are good until October 27.
Best Western Bandana Square
Online Info
$99/night
2.6 miles and an easy drive to the St. Paul College Club
Directions:
Google,
Yahoo,
Mapquest
Comfort Inn Airport
Online Info
$79/night
Near the airport and Mall of America,
12 miles from the College Club
Directions:
Google,
Yahoo,
Mapquest
Bed, Bath & Beyond
A majority of our
registered
items can be found at BB&B, including all of our china and most of our other dining and cooking needs.
View Online
Target
At Target, we’ve registered for all of our bedding and bath needs,
as well as several other odds and ends.
View Online
Save yourself a trip to the mailbox! Click on one of the options below
or send an email to nick@tcob.com.
At what point will society finally deem it acceptable to use Evite or something like it to send out invitations to a formal social function, e.g. Nick & Amy’s wedding? Technologically, we’re already there. What are we waiting for?
We’ve spent a bunch of time recently organizing the guest list, and Amy has put some work already in to the invitations themselves with much more to come. No matter what we do, the nicest invitation we could ever come up with is still going to end up in the garbage. The reply card will get sent back immediately for some, for others (like me) it will sit around for a while, hopefully not get lost or discarded. All the paper and work involved seems to me the most wasteful part of the day.
I’ve mentioned Evite a few times, and I get laughed like I was joking. I suppose I was half-kidding. An event like a wedding deserves a bit more reverence than the advertisement-ridden Evite provides. I have to think there’s a market for elegant, fancy, romantic yet electronic-only invitations. Who wants to join me in bringing it to the people?!
Rant over. Look for your invitation in the mail somewhere in mid-September.
The honeymoon plans are all set. We’ll be spending two weeks in Colombia, including four nights in Cartagena. We couldn’t be more excited.
I’ve spent a lot of time looking at Cartagena pictures on Flickr, and from those and the Flickr community, I’ve found lots of fun ideas for the trip, like floating in volcano-heated mud or visiting Playa Blanca.
Most exciting might actually be our lodging, the Casa El Carretero boutique hotel. What a beautiful place! Chef-prepared breakfast everymorning, rooftop pool, balcony, plasma TV, and Bose sound in each rooms. Neat. Our suite in particular looks so inviting. I can’t wait!
Wedding plans are rolling along! Last night, Amy and I had the chance to hear our wedding musician Joann Funk play at The Dakota last night, and I knew immediately she had the gig. She’s a jazz vocalist and pianist, and she’ll be performing at our reception with her trio as she does every Thursday at the beautiful Dakota in downtown Minneapolis.
She had a great, smoky jazz club style, and everything the band played was beautiful. I was also impressed with how concious she was of our needs. Knowing we had tentatively planned on seeing her last Thursday, she had the foresight to call us and tell us that a private party would probably prevent that.
We’re really excited. She just seems perfect for the day.
Better late than never, I wanted to post a link to my favorite April Fool’s Joke this year (aside from my own): Google Romance really made me laugh and smile, especially since that’s how Amy and I met. I couldn’t be more thankful for online dating, but it certainly can’t avoid being a target for humor.
Amy’s parents were in town last night after a week in Charleston. We had dinner with them at the usual spot when they’re in town. As all conversations tend to lately, every topic discussed at dinner seemed to evolve in to questions of wedding planning. When are you going to buy your dress? The band is going to cost how much?! When are we going to meet Nick’s parents? The evening grew more and more frustrating, and I’m not ashamed to say that we both shed a few tears in the process.
Back in the car, Amy and I looked at each other, and, as if on cue, said, “Let’s elope!” Already spitting distance from the Mall of America, we raced to the Chapel of Love (not as bad as you think). The ceremony was surprisingly reverent and touching. More tears again! Afterwards, we toasted to our wedded bliss at the California Cafe.
We couldn’t be happier, and we look forward to celebrating with all of our friends and family soon!
Update: Indeed this was an April Fool’s gag. The first draft was funnier but would have tricked no one. Amy’s suggestion to make it more believable panned out on more than a few people. Planning is going very well, and our dinner with Amy’s parents was nothing but pleasant, as usual.
Looks like maybe I should do double duty and use the honeymoon to get those pec implants I’ve always wanted. Interesting quote from the article: “Add the quality reputation of Colombian medicine to the savings and you’ve got a good product to promote…” – from my understanding, that’s not a joke. Most of those Colombian doctors (my cousin is one) are very-well trained in the US. Beefcake, here I come!
When I tell people that Amy and I are going to Colombia for our honeymoon, they usually say something like, “Oooo, cool!” but I generally detect a bit of, “What?! You’re taking your new bride to the murder and cocaine capital of the world? Nothing like third-world poverty and the constant threat of kidnapping says romance like that.”
Sadly, even I occasionally wonder about the sanity of the idea. Perhaps a week on the Italian Riviera would be more safe. Even my mother, the original cartel connection, has a worriedness about our trip. “How would you feel if your aunt and I stayed in Cartageña at a different hotel while you two were honeymooning?” she asked recently. I’m not sure which is less romantic: honeymooning with my mom or with a gun to my head.
Well, knock on wood, there’s no reason to worry! According to this article on cnn.com, Colombia is the new tourist hotspot! Yay. I can’t wait! Now, where did I put that ransom insurance form?
My fiancée still has some of her baby teeth. No, I’m not marrying a 12-year-old; she’s twenty-eight. Sounds freakish to me, but she’s convinced that it happens occasionally.
I just found out today that November 11, the day Amy and I chose for our wedding, is also the anniversary of my mother’s arrival in the United States from Colombia. On our wedding day, she’ll celebrate 38 years in the US.
Many thanks to Ryan and Jess for throwing a great engagement brunch for Amy and me and all of our friends. Worlds collided with little fall out. It was a lot of fun, and I was reminded of the brunches Jess used to throw back in the day. This was basically the same, but gone were the screwdrivers, matchmaking, and hangovers. In their place we enjoyed toddlers, home improvement tips, and grey chest hair.
Wow, we’re getting old. Thankfully, we’re not much more mature.
“Marriage is a great institution, but I’m not ready for an institution yet.” – Mae West
Not me, Mae! Bring on the straight jackets and rubber rooms!
On Sunday, September 4 at 6:45 PM, Amy and I became engaged. We’ve spent an amazing year together, and we couldn’t be happier. Details haven’t been set yet, but stay tuned to the wedding page for the latest news.
The long story begins with our Labor Day Weekend vacation to Madeline Island. We had decided months ago to do some camping there at Big Bay State Park, where we hoped to enjoy beautiful hiking, kayaking, and bear-sighting. When I first reserved the campground, I though it would be great to have a walk-in site, and of course I had to get those most remote location. As the trip approached, I started to get a bit anxious. Walk-in site?! What was I thinking? Despite our best intentions, we don’t pack light. Thinking of hauling everything but the kitchen sink to and from the campground had me wishing we had opted for a hotel or drive in site. Alas, Amy talked me down, and we got ready for the trip.
Despite Amy’s morning sickness (not that kind, calm down) on the day we left, we got packed up and hit the road in good time. The drive up was pretty and uneventful. The weather was cool but nice. I was shocked to find that round trip ferry service from Bayfield to Madeline Island was about $20 for the Protegé and $10 for each of us. Arriving at our campsite, my anxiety was shortly relieved. The site wasn’t that far away, and it was wonderfully secluded and set back from the main trail. We were unpacked and set up in no time. Best of all, there were two perfect trees from which to hang my hammock.
We then commenced in enjoying our long weekend. After getting a few forgotten supplies in town, we spent the late afternoon hiking around the park. It was dark by the time we arrived back at our campground, so we built a fire, cooked burgers over my new camping stove, enjoyed the evening and retired early. It was a bit chilly that evening yet perfect for outdoor sleeping.
On Saturday, we biked around the island. Biking seemed really popular around the area, but I can’t imagine why. There are no offroad trails, and the few streets are miles and miles long and straight with little variation in the scenery. I don’t recommend it. It would certainly be more fun on a scooter, easily rented in La Pointe (the only town on Madeline Island). That afternoon we drove back to La Pointe and walked around, stopping for margaritas at Tom’s Burned Down Bar (very fun place) and appetizers at the Beach Club (very nice looking place with horrible food and service).
In search of a kayaking adventure, we ferried to Bayfield on Sunday morning to see what we could get ourselves in to. Trek & Trail seemed like the most professional, thorough outfit by far, and we decided to sign up for their “full day” sea caves tour on Monday. That left us with the morning and early afternoon to explore and relax in Bayfield. I was perfectly happy to sip espresso and wrestle with the Sunday New York Times crossword puzzle. After browsing art, antiques, and books, we headed back to the campground for a nap on the hammock. Paradise.
After our nap, we decided to go for another hike. Listen up, because here’s where it gets good. Instead of hiking shoes and bug spray, we opted for bare feet and sunscreen while wading and bouldering through the shallow water of the rocky shore line. We started at the gorgeous hidden beach we discovered on Friday night, and made our way around the coast. The clear water and rocky scenery around the park were just gorgeous. The rocks were polished smooth and cut sharp. The water was ice cold but felt great as we waded up to waist deep around the rocks.
When we arrived on the on the rocky precipice from which we had begun our hike, the sun was beginning to set. I knew it was time. I led Amy to the end of the jutting rock, dropped to my knee and said, “Will you marry me?”
“Are you sure?!”
“Of course!”
“Yes!”
Then she wet her pants. That yes was actually exclaimed and whispered all at once, so I asked to hear it again. That amazing moment… this amazing year. I love you Amy!
Barf, I know. Anyway, enjoyed a nice romantic dinner in town afterwards, and then Amy proceeded to just beat me at darts – our first game in our pre-betrothed state. Our kayaking yen was finally sated the next day, when we joined the Sea Caves tour from Trek & Trail. That was a lot of fun, despite getting stung by a bee on the beach. Over the next week, we gradually let our friends and family in on the news. They seem almost as exited as we are!
