FAQs

Question

What should I expect?

Answer

We're genuinely excited to welcome friends and family to Durham, a place we both love and enjoy very much. We want the wedding weekend to be fun, special, and memorable, but low-stress and unpretentious. Phrases we've used to describe our aspirations for the wedding to our planner: modern but classic, romantic but fun, fancy but not formal.

Question

What time should I arrive at the ceremony?

Answer

Before we start walking down the aisle! The ceremony starts at 5:30 p.m., doors at The Rickhouse open at 5 p.m.

Question

Can I bring my kids?

Answer

We love little ones, but the reception will be 21+. There may be a special appearance or two by our nieces and nephew, but they're the only kids intentionally invited.

Question

What should I wear?

Answer

After consulting wedding blogs and websites, we're going to ask folks to dress in "cocktail attire." According to whatever site we looked at last, cocktail attire is described as "A fun option while still maintaining an air of sophistication. Think of this dress code as marrying casual comfort and elevated style."

Question

Will I need to think about transportation once we arrive in Durham?

Answer

Downtown Durham is just one square mile, so we hope everyone feels comfortable parking their car once throughout the weekend and exploring by foot or Uber the rest of the weekend. The farthest away hotel room block from The Rickhouse is the Aloft, which is only 0.8 miles away. We will have some kind of mini-bus-like vehicle ferrying folks from The Durham / Marriott / CCB Plaza area to The Rickhouse on Saturday. Check back closer to the actual date for a more formal schedule. Durham has plenty of Ubers and Lyfts available, too. We'd guess that an Uber on a Saturday night from Aloft to the Rickhouse would be, about.... $15?

Question

Is there parking available at the wedding venue?

Answer

Yes, technically? We will have access to the (very) small lot at the corner of Foster and Corporation as part of our deal with The Rickhouse as well as access to the parking lot at the historic Durham Athletic Park located just around the corner. It is mostly public street parking, though, in a popular downtown district on a Saturday night, so we'd recommend planning to take the mini-bus from the hotel(s) or Ubering.

Question

Will the ceremony, cocktail hour, and reception take place indoors or outdoors?

Answer

The festivities (ceremony, cocktail hour and reception) will take place at The Rickhouse. It is primarily an indoor space, with a covered patio out back that overlooks the historic Durham Athletic Park, the baseball field where the movie Bull Durham was filmed. We hope folks enjoy the covered patio in between the ceremony and reception for a cocktail hour. But there's no need to plan your attire or footwear for anything more outdoorsy than that.

Question

Do you have wedding parties?

Answer

Nope. We would have too hard of a time picking a reasonably sized group! Plus, we know it is a significant commitment for folks to formally be included in such an event. We hope everyone knows how special they are to us and that we plan to enjoy each of your company throughout the weekend.

Question

What type of food and drink will be served?

Answer

One of the first things we made eye contact about and swore to each other was that we wanted a wedding with an open bar. There will be an open bar with wine, beer and cocktails available for the cocktail hour and reception. We're also excited about the non-alcoholic options that will be available throughout the entire evening. Regarding food, we plan to have a full-service, plated dinner. There will be steak and fish main entrees with vegetarian/vegan options available. Please let us know of any additional dietary restrictions in your RSVP note. As an ode to our upbringings, without being too serious about it, we plan to have cookies instead of cake (in the likeness of a Pittsburgh cookie table, without asking anyone else to actually bring cookies to the event) and plan to have some form of Cinncinati chili over mini hot dogs available for late-night cravings.

Question

Have we booked hotel room blocks for guests?

Answer

Yep. Please see what's included under the 'Travel' section of this site. Please make sure to book before September 11 when the group rates expire at The Marriott and Aloft hotels!

Question

Can I bring my gift to your wedding?

Answer

You're too kind. Sure! We'll plan to have some identified place to leave anything you might want to bring. We have a registry online -- look for the 'Registry' tab of this site.

Question

Will there be an after-party?

Answer

TBD. We're hoping to potentially have a dance party at The Rickhouse after the live band ends, but we are unsure at this time. Please check back closer to the date to confirm.

Question

What's the best way to contact us if you have additional questions?

Answer

We hope that you have either of our cell phone numbers -- we'd love to hear from you directly and would be happy to answer your questions to the best of our ability!