Wedding FAQ
Here are some answers to questions we're frequently asked. If you have a question you don't see the answer to here, ask us and we'll add it.
Where will the wedding take place?
The Greek Orthodox Church of the Holy Cross in Belmont. That's about half an hour south of San Francisco.
And your reception is in San Francisco?
Yes. It's at one of our favorite restaurants in the city.
Why are the wedding and reception so far apart?
April's church is in Belmont. She can't imagine being married anywhere else or by anyone else than her priest at Holy Cross. Our favorite restaurant is in San Francisco. Therefore, driving must happen.
Does everyone have to do all that driving?
Certainly not! Carpooling is encouraged. In fact, as soon as RSVPs start coming in, we'll be contacting folks to see who might be able and willing to provide transportation to others. Public transportation is discouraged, as the church is not located near a convenient bus or train stop, and BART does not travel near there either.
What about parking for the reception?
The best place to park, if you don't find parking near the restaurant, is at the Fifth and Mission Garage, located (you guessed it) at Fifth and Mission streets. To get there, follow the directions that we included in the invitation, and that we'll also include in our wedding program. If you didn't bring the directions and you're looking at this on your Blackberry, then follow Fifth Street up toward Market and make a right on Minna street to enter the garage. You'll have a shorter walk back to the restaurant that way. If you miss Minna, just make a right on Mission and enter the garage at its main entrance.
So the reception: It's just dinner, right?
Yep. Dinner and perhaps a few toasts. Since our wedding is on a Sunday, we don't want to keep our guests too far into the evening.
Erm...No bouquet toss? No dancing? No garter diving?
No, no, and no. Our reception venue is very small, and there's not even room for us to invite everyone we'd love to have with us on that day. So we couldn't see using up valuable guest space with a dance floor. No bouquet toss because let's face it: what single gal loves being herded into a big group and made to scrabble madly for a bunch of flowers that symbolizes she will be the next to enter coveted wedlock? Please. Singlehood is not a disease. April would rather have her single friends sit and enjoy another cream puff. And there'll be no garter dive 'n' toss because April is much too shy for such a spectacle. And she will be wearing no garter.
Wait. Did you say cream puffs?
Yes! We can eat cake any day. But cream puffs, those little custardy gems of wonderfulness, are April's favorite dessert. And the reception will be at a French restaurant, so a little piece monte (also called a croquembouche), a pile of cream puffs veiled in caramelized sugar--a traditional French celebratory dessert--will be presented to April and Bob. They will break the strands of caramel, each take a cream puff, exchange bites, and then everyone will get their own dish of puffs. We can't wait.
It's just my name on the invitation. Can I bring a friend?
Sadly, no. We have extremely limited space at our reception, and are unable to invite everyone we'd like to have with us on our wedding day. We look forward to meeting your friend on another occasion.
How come you didn't have entree preferences on your RSVP cards?
We will be working with the restaurant's chef to devise a menu for the reception that mirrors Le Charm's regularly varied menu. If you RSVPd on this web site with a meat preference, that will inform our menu design. We expect to have offerings for vegetarians as well as omnivores. We want to make our reception experience close to a regular night out at Le Charm. This means each guest will get a menu he or she will choose from in the "prix fixe" format (only there'll be no prices, naturally). You'll choose from a selection of appetizers, salads, entrees and wines. Dessert will be the cream puffs.
