Tuesday, January 09, 2007

Dearest Friends,

Today is six weeks from Mardi Gras, and this past weekend included January 6th, the Feast of the Epiphany, the twelfth day of Christmas, and the start date for the Carnival season. And it’s now less than six weeks until Kristin and Peter’s wedding on Samedi Gras, February 17th.

We have been excited with initial responses to our invitation, and with so many making efforts to participate. Thank you for the universal kindness in your congratulations. We have been busy with planning what is sure to be a memorable February in New Orleans. We want to do everything possible to ensure that your time with us is completely unique and enjoyable.

As most of you are well aware, this event is in the midst of the New Orleans Mardi Gras celebrations, making transportation and logistics more complicated than under normal circumstances. A little planning before you arrive will help to make your experience “hassle-manageable,” if not hassle-free!

There is a lot of information in this note, much of it in response to questions we have received, and you may choose to print a copy for reference. In it we address the following aspects of our wedding weekend:

  • Guest accommodations
  • Transportation in the New Orleans area
  • Orientation and events, including directions
  • What to wear
  • Weather
  • Wedding Registry

A note will follow within a week containing supplementary detail for the wedding party.

Guest Accommodations

By now you may have heard Kristin and I suggest that you confirm hotel reservations or other accommodations post haste. Over the days since New Years, many hotels have become completely booked. Location may have a considerable impact on your logistics, so let us know promptly if you are still looking to secure accommodations.

IF YOU HAVE A VEHICLE, RESERVE HOTEL PARKING IN ADVANCE. Downtown parking is a hot commodity and is not always readily available.

Transportation while in the City

Unlike many other “big” cities, public transportation in New Orleans is not easy, especially after Katrina. During Mardi Gras, taxi service may be limited or unreliable for certain locations. We are advising our guests to share or have their own means of private transportation. This is especially true between the accommodations, the wedding ceremony, and the reception on Saturday. Please keep a hard copy of suggested driving directions. You may also be very happy to have a map of both the uptown and downtown districts, especially if traffic patterns unexpectedly change at the last moment. And be wary of computer-generated directions from e.g. Mapquest for they could send you straight into a closed parade route!

We are trying to ensure everyone has suitable logistics. If you are unsure how you will get around between events on Saturday, let us know.

Taxi or shuttle service from the airport to any of the downtown hotels is easily available. Shuttle service is $13- per person and may be obtained on the spot or reserved in advance at

There is also shuttle service available from the airport to the northshore for those staying at the Marriott Courtyard, Mandeville. This service through Coastal Shuttle must be reserved two or more days in advance by calling (985) 386-3861. The cost is reasonable at $50- for the first person and $25- for each additional person.

Saturday Orientation and Events

This is a daytime wedding and we hope you plan to be comfortable and have fun. Jacket and tie for men would be entirely appropriate.

The Ceremony – Saturday morning February 17th, 10:30am

St. Charles Avenue Presbyterian Church

1545 State Street at St. Charles Avenue, New Orleans 70118

Map 1: St. Charles Presbyterian Church

To get to the ceremony from downtown hotels, take Poydras past the Superdome to Claiborne Avenue. Take a left just beneath the overpass, and immediately duck left onto the up-ramp for Claiborne Avenue. Stay on Claiborne for 2 miles. Pass several stoplights, continuing on past both Napoleon, Jefferson and Nashville Avenues, also with stoplights. At the very next corner, State Street (Map 1), without a stoplight, take a left. Proceed up State for approx. 10 blocks to St. Charles Avenue. The church will be on the far left corner.

There will be ample street parking within a short walk to the church. Despite the short distance, do allow ample time for this drive should unexpected traffic be encountered, conservatively 30-45 minutes en route. St. Charles Presbyterian Church is outside of the parade district.

The church ceremony shall begin and end promptly as the pastor’s family is participating in a morning parade! Therefore, WEDDING PHOTOS WILL NOT BE TAKEN AT THE CHURCH, but rather at the RECEPTION. So,

Once the ceremony ends, all drivers need to get in their cars and line up in front of the church. We will have police escorts to the reception, scheduled for a prompt departure at 11:15. (Extended wedding party will have transportation provided to and from the reception.) Please keep on schedule!

The Reception – Saturday afternoon February 17th, 11:30am-2:30pm

The Elms Mansion

3029 St. Charles Avenue at 8th Street, New Orleans 70115

Map 2: Reception at the Elms Mansion

NOTE: This is in the midst of the parade district. On FRIDAY, public parade goers will begin “claiming their place” for the Saturday night parade, the Krewe of Endymion, on the St. Charles Avenue neutral ground (median)! The Saturday afternoon parades, the Krewes of Iris and Tucks, will also pass right in front of the Elms during our reception. Street parking may be exceedingly difficult. Guest parking for our event has been arranged in a grassy parking lot on the far corner of the block at 7th Street and Carondelet.

Please stay with the motorcade to get to the reception. IF YOU GET SEPARATED, do not go south of St. Charles. Parade staging may prevent transiting Napoleon on the river-side of St. Charles Ave. Your best approach is to take a left (heading north) on Jefferson Avenue for one short block, to Dryades. Take a right on Dryades heading east. This will be a long drive on a small street, past Napoleon Ave. Continue further until just past Louisiana Ave (Map 2). Take a right on 7th. In two blocks you will get to our parking at the corner of 7th and Carondelet, one block from St. Charles and the Elms Mansion.

The reception will end promptly at 2:30. Guests choosing to stay later to watch the tail end of any daytime parades are free to do provided they have coordinated their transportation back to their accommodations. Cars may remain in the grassy lot for an hour after the reception provided others are NOT blocked.

To get back downtown from either the reception or from St. Charles Presbyterian Church, take Louisiana Ave or Nashville Ave respectively heading north to Claiborne Ave. Take a right on Claiborne for several miles to the Martin Luther King stoplight. Just past the light, Claiborne will fork. Do NOT take the left overpass fork, but rather stay on the surface streets to the right and continue approx. 4 blocks to Earhart. Take a right, and parallel the expressway overpass for about three blocks. Do NOT go beneath the freeway. Instead, take the upramp on the left onto the expressway. Go PAST the first exit which leads to parade traffic along St. Charles. Descend the SECOND EXIT, Tchoupitoulas. At Convention Center Blvd take a left to get to the downtown hotels, e.g. Hilton.

Palace Café Dinner and Parade Watching – Saturday evening February 17th, 6pm-11pm ($50; $70 including a place on the viewing stand)

After the wedding…

the bride and groom have made Saturday evening plans, and many from the wedding party will be there. We believe the evening will be a real taste of Mardi Gras in New Orleans and would love for other guests to participate with us. Please let us know if you would like to join and we will include you in our reservations—the more the merrier, but we need to know of your interest soon, or at least by the start of February!

The Brennan family has for decades been an institution in the New Orleans restaurant industry. Their Palace Café is a favorite in fine, casual dining and the location at 605 Canal St. (Map 3) is right on the parade route, adjacent to the French Quarter and near the downtown hotels. (Kristin almost refused to leave after we had lunch there over Christmas week.)

Again, please attempt to arrive early. Suggested parking would be at or near the Hilton where Poydras meets the Mississippi River, or along Convention Center Blvd. Endymion is guaranteed to make parking a challenge. You can expect to walk several blocks to the restaurant, and with the crowds, this can take longer than you might expect. Be patient, and enjoy the wonder of the experience. If you are fortunate to have spare moments, enjoy them as there will be plenty to see on your walk to dinner.

Map 3: Palace Cafe

The four-course meal will overlook the parade-goers and includes your choice of andouille crusted gulf fish, or a grilled pork porterhouse steak. While it is never a certainty when the parades will arrive downtown, we will attempt to have dinner conclude as the first floats arrive. Our party can then go out front to the private viewing stand to watch Endymion, one of the season’s three most extravagant parades, in style.

Attire for this meal is “smart, casual,” e.g. jeans and a blazer.

Sunday Plans for the Bride and Groom

We plan to stay in New Orleans through Mardi Gras, February 20th. Sunday morning we will head across the lake to see our families for church, morning brunch and a boat parade in Mandeville, La. That evening we will be back uptown to see the Bacchus parade.

It is our sincere hope that we will be able to visit with everyone who is making the effort to be in town to celebrate with us. Our honeymoon will be three weeks hence, sailing in the British Virgin Islands, mon.

Weather in New Orleans during February

While we are planning for blue skies and temperatures in the 60s, it is still winter and we encourage you to be prepared for anything, even to the point of freezing rain. With visitors coming from every corner of the country, please check the weather before your departure and plan accordingly.

Gift Registry

Kristin and Peter have begun the process of consolidating two complete households, and consequently we do not have a traditional gift registry. In fact, we are most pleased to have so many of you joining us and would be thrilled to consider that your gift.

There is however one thing that we both really want to do, with which we welcome help should you wish to participate. That is to actually build and drive our very own Cobra race car. Crazy as it sounds, we have been working on this project for several months, have been on the racetrack in these cars, and have opened our account with Factory Five Racing ( As we shop for our next home, an important criterion includes space for building and maintaining the car.

A direct link to our wedding registry page including vehicle components, tools, and build-school classes is forthcoming.

Website

We will send another short note once our website is posted, by mid January. It will include detailed information on our registry as well as local maps, parade maps, the sites for the wedding, and the weather.

LAISSEZ LES BONS TEMPS ROULLER, Y’ALL !!!