st. francis hall.

oh, how i love thee.

polotek and i got to visit the site during our east coast tour with schniz.
 :::sings the song from top gun::: "take my breath awaaaaaay..."

i'm definitely excited about the venue. and things are really coming together -- the venue is beautiful. our caterer has a relationship with the venue. our minister is also familiar with the venue. happiness abounds.

they really don't do it justice, but here's a couple rough photos i took with my iphizzle....

view from the front

to the right of the hall is the franciscan monastery with drop dead gorgeous arches that we WILL be taking photos under!!! this photo was taken from the parking lot across the street. so there is accessible parking for people that want to drive and it's also metro accessible. 

first glance into the hall

the ceremony will happen on the lawn outside (unless the weather is no bueno), but when you walk into the hall (where the reception/party will be) you see this lovely open space! it may seem a bit lackluster with the empty tables and stacked chairs, but if you use a little bit of imagination, this can be reeeeeally cool once decorated. helloooo, tall centerpieces!

making it "officiant".

tick another day off the calendar! only 352 more to go.

no, i didn't count it. it's just that every time i log in on the knot, i see this countdown calendar blaring at me. it has no real effect on me now while it's almost a year out from the wedding, but something tells me i'm going to log in one day in early september next year and have a panic attack.

anywho, we now have someone to administer our vows. hence my lame and punny title to this post. and i'm not sure how this reads, but i'm actually really excited about this. exclamation point!

so i don't want to offend anyone reading, but polotek and i are more secular-minded in the way that we lead our lives. to those who know me, i'm sure that my beliefs can seem somewhat agnostic, but i am actually roman catholic (polotek is baptist), and i'm not sure if many of my friends know that. i'd say we're pretty casual christians.

therefore, the fact of the matter is that my church-going in the years since school has pretty much been for going to funerals. and messiah sing-a-longs. gotta love handel.

does that make me a bad person? man, this conversation is getting heavy. so long story short, the reverend who will administer our vows has a special connection to me. he is the reverend of a church in the small town of haymarket, va (the real virginia, for those reading in the dc area), which is the family church of my stepmother. i first heard him speak at my nana's memorial service, and was so extraordinarily touched by him. i had the privilege of hearing him speak two more times since then. and each time i felt that the things he said weren't "preachy", but poetic. beautiful. poignant.

i remembered afterward making the joke that "if i went to church, i'd go to THAT church to hear him speak." ha.

so you get the point. i think he is perfect for our wedding. now i really can't wait for showtime!