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What should I wear? While the wedding party will be in historically influenced garb, our wedding is not a costume party nor are we trying to create a period piece. So save the historical outfits for later. Just wear whatever you would usually wear to a formal daytime wedding in March! For the ladies, this would include knee-length or tea-length dresses or suits, pantsuits, or dressy separates. Fancy hats (like those seen at British weddings) are very lovely. For the gentleman, a suit or sport coat with dressy trousers would be appropriate, and ties are always a nice touch. Etiquette may state that guests shouldn't wear all-white or all-black to a wedding, but we heartily disagree. Our guests are very welcome to wear all-black in particular (much of the wedding party will be in all-black outfits -- we think it looks quite classy!), and if someone wants to wear all-white, we won't mind (especially since the bride won't be wearing white). Oh, and don't forget your dancing shoes! We've secured an excellent DJ who will be playing modern rock favourites (with an emphasis on '80s synthpop, of course). Don't plan on being a wallflower -- you'll want to make extensive use of that dance floor ;-).
How do I get there? We included local maps in the invitations, and we have a printer-friendly version online here. If you want door-to-door driving directions online, enter your starting address into this MapBlast page.
Where do I park? The parking garage one block south of the Capital Club is free of charge on weekends. Coming down Third St., this multi-story parking structure will be on the left (between Santa Clara St. and St. James St.). From there, the Capital Club is a block north on the right. Also, street parking is sometimes available all along Third St., and it's unmetered on Sundays.
What's happening when? The ceremony will start promptly at 1pm, so please arrive 10-15 minutes before. Be sure to leave plenty of time to navigate downtown San Jose's many one-way streets. Here's a complete schedule of all wedding events and the actual wedding day itself.
What food and drink are you serving? Our reception will have a full and fairly lavish meal with two excellent entrees -- vegetarian lasagne and chicken breast with artichoke hearts and sun-dried tomatoes -- plus a pasta bar with a creamy lime pesto sauce. These will be served along with green salads, a side-dish of potatoes, and various breads. There should be plenty for both vegetarians and carnivores! The food will be presented buffet-style, so you do not need to make an entree choice beforehand. The Capital Club will be serving wine and sodas, plus coffee and tea with the cake. Speaking of which, the cake will be all chocolate with chocolate frosting.
Where are you registered and what's your china pattern? We've registered at Target, Avery's of California, and Macys. Complete contact information is on our registry page. Our formal china pattern is Old Country Roses by Royal Doulton, which is discounted at Avery's and is also available at better china shops in the US and UK.
What will the weather be like? San Jose in March is usually mild, cool, and somewhat wet. The average temperature range for March is 45.4° to 65.3° Fahrenheit (7° to 18° Celsius), and the average rainfall is 2.58 inches. March is the second rainiest month of the year here, so you might want an umbrella for the walk into and from the Capital Club. Local news channel KNTV has the current weather and a five-day forecast on its website.
We're traveling to San Jose from outside of the Bay Area -- can you recommend a hotel? Sure! We recommend the Doubletree Hotel. This is a modern, high-rise hotel near the San Jose International Airport, and we can heartily vouch for it's comfort and quality. Both of us have stayed overnight at this hotel many times -- it's the site of the Bay Area's annual science-fiction convention, which Trystan has attended or worked at for many years. The Doubletree has spacious rooms equipped with coffee-makers, irons, and hair dryers, plus the hotel has a pool, jacuzzi, two restaurants, a nightclub, and a relaxing bar that sometimes serves sushi. Currently, the San Jose Doubletree has a "Dream Deals" weekend package that includes a room and continental breakfast starting at $79 per night -- ask about it when you call for a reservation! Likewise, the San Jose Hilton and Towers has the same deal, which they call the "BounceBack Weekend" package. For those in a more romantic mood, the The Hensley House is a Victorian B&B just four blocks from the Capital Club. We haven't stayed there, but it looks incredibly charming from the outside! Here's a complete list of local lodging, including links to hotel websites and online reservations services.
We're traveling to San Jose from outside of the Bay Area -- should we rent a car? Depends. If you're staying at the Doubletree Hotel near the San Jose Airport, you can take the hotel's free shuttle to and from the airport itself, and you could take a taxi to the Capital Club. The hotel has restaurants and room-service, so you wouldn't really need to drive anywhere. Also, it's not that hard to get to the Capital Club by public transit. The spiffy VTA Light Rail system runs every 25 minutes between the Metro station and the St. James Park station, and the trip itself takes about 15 minutes. Walk two blocks from the hotel to the Metro station, buy a ticket from the vending machine ($1.25 each way), and ride the train to the St. James Park station, which is just two blocks from the Capital Club. Check out the VTA Light Rail website for up-to-date schedules and fares. However, if you're in town for more than just the wedding, you'll probably find it easiest to rent a car, especially if you want to go to San Francisco, Berkeley, Wine Country, Monterey, Santa Cruz, or Big Sur (all of which are a one or two hour drive from San Jose). Avis, Budget, Dollar, Hertz, and National all rent cars from the San Jose Airport location.
Random tips for guests:
Wedding Guests: How to Be a Great One
Wedding Guests: What to Wear? |
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