What did I just get in the mail!?

If you made it this far, you probably figured something out. Still, questions may remain, so here are a few answers, in no particular order:
They are us.
They are robots (sort of).
They are also our save-the-date cards.
It is on October 6th.
Formal invitations are to follow.
You really should put them together.
We got the idea here.
We really aren't that squat.
This is our website.
It has our our registry, hotel information, a map of things we like to do in Portland, and regular updates on wedding details.
It may soon have a video tutorial on how to make your robots.
Yes, if you send us a picture of your constructed robot, we will post it (paper narcissism?).

See? There really are no silly questions.

Presents!

And now for a little story (apparently I can't help but tell stories):

When I was about four, I was on an outing with my mom and older brother, Brandon, and, as is often the situation for young children on outings, something did not go my way. Perhaps we had gone to a toy store and my mom had ignored my pleas for the brand new doll that I simply had to have, or perhaps (more likely) I had wanted something delicious to eat. Whatever made me upset, I proceeded to throw a monstrous tantrum to the point where my mom, totally exasperated, finally said, "Amanda, I am finding your presence in this car very annoying at the moment."

My crying/whining/tantruming stopped almost immediately. With a slight whimper, I said, "Where are you finding my presents?"

Oh so punny. Thankfully, I have grown out the of the tantrum behavior that probably plagued my parents during my younger years. And yet... And yet... I still find myself asking you, "Where are you finding my presents?"

All joking aside, the greatest gift you can give us is to grace us with your presence on October 6th. However, if you follow the link on the sidebar, you will find further links to our wedding registries, which just so happen to have some very fine presents. We tried our best to pick local and small-scale businesses, so we hope you enjoy taking a look at their websites and at what these companies offer.

Sooooo sleepy.....

If you're coming into town for our wedding, the non-stop onslaught of fun is bound to wear you out, so you're going to need somewhere to stay. Luckily for you, we have taken it upon ourselves to find you the best of accommodations in town and we've even blocked aside a few rooms at special rates. Just know that our wedding is on the same weekend as the Portland Marathon, so space will be tight in hotels around town. We have a limited number of spots at the hotels we blocked, so if you are having trouble getting a place to stay, let us know. Here is our run-down of discounted hotels (and a few we just really like).

Mark Spencer Hotel
Just a stone's throw from one of the coolest bookstores in the country, Powell's, and the restaurants and galleries of the Pearl District, this hotel is a great option for those people who would like to walk to entertainment when you're not blessed with our presence. (And if you get peckish, breakfast and afternoon cookies are included). We have single queen bedrooms for $109 and queen bedroom suites for $129 - just call 800-548-3934, 503-224-3293, or email hospitality@markspencer.com and ask for the "Peden-Leonard" wedding rate.

Park Lane Suites
On a quiet residential street blocks away from the baseball (and soccer) stadium and the bustling NW neighborhood (home to us), this is a good place for families or groups traveling together and anybody who would like to have a small kitchen (Portland does have a pretty sweet farmer's market). While we don't have specific rooms blocked, they have given us a special rate of $120-150 for multiple room suites. Breakfast (and free parking) are included. Ask for the "Peden-Leonard" rate when you call 800-532-9543.


Though we didn't block sets of rooms at these next two hotels, they are our favorite hotels in town. You may want to check them out if you are looking for something hip and uniquely Portland.

ACE Hotel
Set in the recently renovated old Clyde hotel, the ACE is a design-conscious, Euro-style option for the hipster set to stay downtown. A block away from the Mark Spencer, it is on the edge of a recently redeveloped part of town with a sushi restaurant, a chocolate "bar," and an entirely digital independent movie theater that serves beer and wine. The hotel has a mix of rooms with shared and private bathrooms, a vintage photo-booth in its lobby and a bottom floor that houses a Stumptown Coffee (great local roater) as well as a soon-to-open restaurant and Jewish deli.

Jupiter Hotel
If you are willing to cross the river (come on, its only 8 blocks away), the Jupiter is a revamped 60s motor lodge that hosts an annual art fair in the hotel rooms (hopefully not on the same weekend as our wedding). The rooms overlook a great courtyard that it shares with the Doug Fir, a pomo log cabin serving truck-stop food and booking great indie bands. If you want to keep the party going after our wedding, its probably the place to be.

Sleep well!

This is not my wedding dress.

Before I went dress shopping, I made a mental list of the things I was looking for in a wedding dress:

1. Simple, elegant and not too flashy. No beads, please.
2. Something local, whether it be locally made or purchased in a locally-owned business.
3. Something that could either be worn again, or was simple (and affordable) enough that I wouldn't feel badly for not ever wearing it again.
4. No trains. Seriously. The aisle is going to be somewhat narrow and (possibly) flammable as we are considering luminaria/pyrotechnics. Email us if you have a license from the fire department and/or are interested in bringing the fireworks.
5. Something that I could eat and breathe in. The food is going to be awesome (check out the caterers, Simpatica). As for breathing, well, that's pretty self-explanatory.
6. Something off-white or un-white. As most of you know, I'm pretty pale, so I was thinking that looking pasty and washed out on the wedding day might not be the best idea. Down with tradition!
7. Something pretty.

The first outing was a fairly informal affair - just my mom and I running through a few dress shops on 23rd Avenue in between her flight into Portland and her train ride out of town (probably a total of two hours).

A few weekends later, Patrick, his parents, and I went suit shopping and, of course, went to the fancy-schmancy suit store first. Turns out that the fancy-schmancy designers are the only ones that make suits that fit Patrick's slight frame - or so he oh-so-conveniently claims - so he has a damn fine suit for the wedding. While we were at the suit store, I decided to venture upstairs to the women's department - just for fun, right? - and happened upon an absolutely stunning dress. One (I) might call it the perfect dress. My mom was coming up the following weekend to do a second run of dress shopping, so I put the dress on hold, Pat bought his suit, and we went home for the day.

I hate to admit it - and I swear I'm not normally so concerned with a piece of clothing - but I thought about the dress most of the week. I was still eating and sleeping, so I wouldn't say it was an obsession, though I may or may not have pestered Patrick with musings about it and may of may not have dreamt about wearing the dress.

The next Saturday, I took my mom, Patrick's mother, Karen, and my friends Kate and Eva, on a second dress shopping trip. We started off at Tres Fabu, a bridal shop that carries somewhat more modern bridal gowns. Walking into the store (a place that was filled with dresses that did not fit most, if not any, of my aforementioned criteria), I had what can only be described as a bridal stoke.

(A not-so-quick interjection here. During my summer job, I came across a monthly newsletter called the Porcelain Press featuring health-related information that one could peruse while using the office toilets. What a find. One month, the main headline read, "KNOW THE SYMPTOMS OF A STOKE!" Rather than being a description of the symptoms one might display when truly excited (i.e. stoked), the article instead outlined what to look for in a stroke victim. However, I found this glaring typo exceedingly amusing and proceeded to invoke the expression at every possible occasion. When Patrick and I went to Disneyland with our friends Macy and Ann, you can only imagine the number of stokes we witnessed and experienced. Truly amazing.)

But I digress. Though I had not expected to be remotely interested in the dresses and accessories that are found in a traditional bridal shop, I was suddenly pulling out dozens of dresses to be tucked and bustled into. I even looked, for a very brief moment, at the Just Married wedding flip-flops. So many to choose from. So very few occasions to wear them. I probably tried on a dozen dresses in that shop and many of them were surprisingly attractive. In fact, I very nearly purchased one. This dress went against almost everything that I had been looking for. It was white. It was not at all local (from Spain). While it was simple compared to other dresses I had tried on, it was still, very much, a bridal GOWN. It was definitely not something that could be worn again and I wouldn't call it "cheap." Finally, it had a simply enormous train. Cascading. Flowing. Fire-hazard.

We returned to the fancy-schmancy shop and I again tried on "the dress." I liked it as much as I had the first time, but after trying on the more traditional gowns, I suddenly felt very confused. The bridal gown, while not representing what I had been looking for, still drew me. People don't wear dresses like that anymore and part of me (the part that loves Jane Austen) is still attracted to the romance of being swaddled in yards of exquisite fabric on my wedding day. Still, most of me could not understand how such a dress would fit into the wedding I had been imagining since Patrick and I decided to get married. When it comes down to it, the bridal gown was beautiful, as all bridal gowns are beautiful, but the less traditional dress was as beautiful and probably (definitely) more "me."

That was that. I bought the dress and it is now sitting in our hall closet. Now that I have it, I may or may not spend long hours gazing at the dress. I may or may not have christened it, "my precious." I may or may not still have dreams about it. And soon, you will too.