Welcome to the 411 on our Big Day :)

Guest Attire

Our wedding is a late afternoon/evening affair and semi-formal dress. Female guests will feel most comfortable in cocktail dresses, a dressy suit, or a nice dress. Men will feel most comfortable in suits or trousers with a sport coat.

Wedding Events Schedule

Friday, May 23rd
A hospitality suite hosted by Drew & Jen and sponsored by the Gallants and Blakes will be available for wedding guests upon check-in through Sunday morning. Please meet up with other guests for socializing, snacks, and beverages while the Wedding Party and immediate family members are rehearsing for the ceremony. Catch some dinner at The Dubliner Irish Pub next door if you'd like!

6:00pm: Ceremony Rehearsal for Wedding Party and immediate family at St. Joseph's
7:00pm-9:00pm: Rehearsal Dinner for Wedding Party & immediate family in private room at The Dubliner
9:00pm: The party moves to the Dubliner's bar. We hope to meet up with the rest of you there!

Saturday, May 24th (The Big Day!)
3:00pm: Wedding Ceremony at St. Joseph's Parish
4:00-5:00: Back to Hotel, Check-in for those who still need to
5:00pm: Cocktail Reception at The Phoenix Park Hotel
6:30pm-10:30pm: Wedding Reception w/Dinner and Dancing to the band "The Real Geniuses". If you'd like to check them out, click here
10:30pm-?: Night Cap at the Dubliner Irish Pub and/or the Gallant-Blake Hospitality Suite

Sunday, May 25th
10:00am-12:00pm: Casual Brunch in the Gallant-Blake Hospitality Suite
1:30pm-4:30pm: Washington Nationals vs Milwaukee Brewers at the brand new Nationals Park for those interested. Tickets provided by Meg & Bob. Please let us know if you'd like to go!
Evening Hours: Dinner options can be provided for remaining guests.
8:00pm (approx): Drinks at Kris and Justin's condo in Washington, DC. If DC is doing Memorial Day fireworks, we'll be able to view them from their terrace!

Monday, May 26th - Memorial Day
Information on events in Washington, DC can be provided by Meg & Bob for those in town until Monday. We'd be happy to help you out!

Travel Information

This is a one stop shopping kind of wedding. All events will surround the Phoenix Park Hotel in downtown Washington, DC and we encourage everyone to stay there. It is within walking distance to the ceremony site and many tourist attractions. The metro at Union Station is right across the street.

Booking Your Hotel Room
When booking your room with the hotel, please use group code 11186 to get the Gallant-Blake wedding rate. Single rooms are $139/night, double rooms are $169/night. This is an amazing rate for Washington, DC so the locals may want to consider staying for a night as well. Just click on the Phoenix Park Hotel under "Important Links" to book online. Here's all the info you need on planes, trains, and automobiles.

Getting to Washington, DC by Plane:
Washington, DC has 3 airports and any of them will work!

The most convenient is Reagan National Airport (DCA). It is a quick cab ride to the Phoenix Park Hotel and will cost you around $15. A cheaper option is to take the metro for $1.35 each way. Take the yellow line towards Mount Vernon Sq 7th St - Convention Center to the Gallary Pl - Chinatown stop. Transfer to the red line towards Glenmont to the Union Station stop. The hotel is across the street.

Dulles Airport (IAD) is 26 miles outside the city in Virginia and you can either take a Washington Flyer cab for $54 or a cheaper option is the Super Shuttle, where you share a ride with others. This will cost you around $30 roundtrip instead (be sure to purchase the roundtrip option at the airport), but will take you considerably longer to get to the hotel because the Super Shuttle will most likely have to drop off 3-4 other people before dropping you off. More information can be found at http://www.metwashairports.com/dulles/parking_transportation_3/ground_transportation

Baltimore-Washington Airport (BWI) is the farthest away, but still a pretty convenient option. Fly into BWI and take the shuttle from the aiport to the BWI Rail Station (very short ride). From there take the 30-minute train to Union Station in Washington, DC. On Friday, you can take the Commuter Train called MARC (Penn Line) and on the weekends you can take Amtrak. More information on MARC and Amtrak can be found at http://www.mtamaryland.com/services/marc/ and
http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=Amtrak/am2Station/Station_Page&code=WAS

All airports have rental car options, but we don't advise trying to drive in Washington, DC. If you're driving down, the way you go will depend on what day and what time you are arriving. Please contact us for directions.

Getting to Washington, DC by Train:
The Phoenix Park Hotel is 1 block from Union Station where you can arrive by Amtrak or metro via the red line. Details on Amtrak and Untion Station can be found at http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=Amtrak/am2Station/Station_Page&code=WAS

Getting to Washington, DC by Automobile:
The Phoenix Park hotel has valet parking for $30/day. A more affordable option is the ample parking surrounding the hotel. Across the street from the hotel on N. Capital Street is a US Senate parking lot that is open on weekends and free to the public. There are also meters all along Massachusetts Avenue and N. Capital Street that are free on weekends. Directions to the hotel are located on the hotel's web-site at http://www.phoenixparkhotel.com/directions.html

Memorial Day Events Schedule

Memorial Day Weekend is packed full of events in DC. This brings on lots of fun and lots of headaches due to traffic and road closures. We'll keep everyone informed as we learn more about the weekend events. Here's a run down on what we know so far:

The Rolling Thunder Motorcycle Rally will take place on Sunday, May 25. Literally thousands of motorcycles ride through Washington in an annual demonstration seeking to improve veteran benefits and resolve POW/MIA issues. The schedule has not been posted yet, but they usually take off at noon from the Pentagon.

The National Memorial Day Parade will take place on Monday, May 26 at 2:00pm.

The best run-down we've been able to find so far on Memorial Day Weekend in DC is listed on About.com

Engagement Gifts for Guys?

Who has ever heard of such a thing? For my unmarried friends, be warned! If your guy is anything like mine, he may be expecting one right after he buys you a nice shiny present. Of course he won't want jewelry. It will be more much difficult to pick out than that. The engagement gift will need to be adequately manly.

The hints for a guy engagement gift actually started before our engagement. We were talking about our good friends Gregg and Taresa. The preemptive strike began -

Bob: "You know, Gregg got an authentic MLB Carlos Beltran Mets jersey from Taresa after they got engaged...."

Meg: "That's cool. Was it his birthday? Christmas?"

Bob: "No, Taresa just thought it wasn't fair that women get a beautiful, expensive gift and guys get nothing for becoming engaged"

Oh, that Taresa... :-)

So fast forward, we're engaged and I've forgotten all about the authentic jersey thing -

Bob: "You know, Gregg got an authentic MLB Carlos Bel...."

Meg: says nothing

Because at this point two things have happened. Bob is not very subtle and I know I have to get him an engagement jersey, but more importantly, I've now drunk the koolaid that Taresa drank and I actually agree that it is, in fact, not fair for me to get a beautiful gift and for Bob to get nothing for our engagement.

So the research begins. Where does one go to get an authentic jersey and what the heck does that mean? I go straight to the pro. Taresa tells me to purchase through the MLB web-site. This is where I learn that any baseball nut can purchase an *authentic* (there's that word again) jersey worn on-field by "the players for Major League games". But what's the difference between these really expensive *authentic* jerseys and the other ones? Taresa clues me in on the importance of getting the real deal after she inquired the same thing to Gregg's dad. He said that buying a replica jersey is like buying a cubic zirconium when you really wanted a diamond.

A-ha! Thanks, Mr. Schmidt! 10-4!

But it's not that simple. Do I get one with a player's name on it or personalize it with his name? Home jersey? Away jersey? Throwback jersey? This is all much too confusing. Does he want a Phillies jersey or a Giants jersey? He loves his Phillies, but has been glued to the television waiting for Bonds to make home run history and it just happened. Taresa brings in reinforcements - Gregg. I'm waiting to hear back.

But here's where things get messy. I go to Boulder, Colorado to hang out with my very good friend, Brie. My other good friends Kara & Jeff from Boston meet me out there. Jeff just so happens to be another baseball nut. So I ask his opinion. He says that it needs to be Phillies, but warns me against getting a player on it in case they leave the Phillies. Uh-oh. Jeff suggests a throw-back Mike Schmidt Jersey as well. Cool idea! I check my email and Gregg has indicated Phillies was the way to go as well.

But time is running out. While I'm in Colorado I get an exasperated call from Bob who happened to be hanging out with Pat and Erika that night.

Bob: Guess what??? Erika bought Pat a MOUNTAIN BIKE after they got engaged! Can you believe that?

Meg: gulp

Bob: I almost fell out of my chair!! Am I going to get an engagement gift??

Meg: Well, that Erika. She's a sweet girl.

So as soon as I get back home, I need to make the call on what to do and make the purchase before Bob flips out when he hears that another guy friend of his got a guy engagement gift. Throwback Mike Schmidt or Home Ryan Howard? A few more emails with my DC consultants reveal that they think my Boston consultant's throwback jersey concept is a really good one. This is not good because I need to act fast.

Ultimately, I decide to do pinstripes home jersey, Ryan Howard. Gregg promised me Ryan Howard will not leave the Phillies for a while so he can wear it and, to me, the pinstripes is just more classic. He'll get Mike Schmidt later because I still love that idea.

Before I can even get on my laptop to make the purchase, my plans take a turn for the worst. Bob comes stolling in, happy as a puppy, because the PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES are in town and we're going to the game. Yup. Playing the Nationals. This week.

Now, I couldn't possibly get him the jersey after the series. In my mind, that's just lame. He needs it now to wear it to the game. So it's back to Taresa because I need an authentic MLB Ryan Howard Phillies home jersey STAT - meaning, tomorrow. The game is 7:00pm tomorrow night, but I have the day off. The next morning Taresa polled the entire Schmidt family on where I could get Bob's jersey in the greater DC area. Modell's, Dick's, Sports Authority, Majestic, RFK shop, Orioles shop, etc etc. I call them all. No luck. They all carry just Nationals and Orioles gear (and the greatest team on the planet gear - my Red Sox, of course... :)

And this is where things take another turn and I officially loose my mind for about 8 hours. I don't give up easily and once I get something in my head, I'm gonna make it happen. After hours of research, I finally find a place that sells his jersey. There's just one little problem....it's in Delaware. For those of you who don't know the DC area, that's at least 2 hours. Without traffic. And it's now 12:30pm. I need to act fast.

I hit the road and I haven't showered. Luckily, my car is fast. This is not the first time I've sped up to Delaware. Coincidentally, we were running very late for G&T's wedding up there last year, so racing up to this lovely small state was familiar to me and my car.

I get to Modell's in Newark, DE around 2:45pm. I rush in and purchase the jersey. Success. But it's now 3:00 and I need to beat DC traffic back in. Bob will be home at 5:30 and I really want to be home first. I ask if I can use the restroom and the girl points towards the back. In the back, behind the athletic shoes, I find two young guys. I ask them if I can use the bathroom. They tell me no because they're doing inventory and there are boxes everywhere blocking the restroom. My eyes are all crazy now. "You don't understand....I just drove up from DC to purchase a Phillies jersey and I reeeaaalllly need to go the bathroom and if I don't get on I-95 in, like, 2 minutes, I'll never make it home for the game tonight!!!" They just stare at me for a second. I'm not looking very cute at all (remember, no shower). "uh, okay....just be careful". So I hop over boxes, use the ladies, and hit the road.

I get home at 5:00, Bob is home early at 5:15. I left the jersey in the living room to surprise him while I finally showered. I think Bob did a few laps around our 700 sq feet in excitement. It was definitely worth the research, the drive, and the two young men in Delware who think I'm a nut. I owe a big thanks to Gregg, Taresa, Jeff and the rest who helped me out with this.

He wore it to the game that night. I wore my ring. We cheered on Ryan Howard and the rest of the Phillies. I was a Phillies fan for a night and had a blast.

(disclaimer: this does not make me less of a Red Sox fan :-)

An Engagement BBQ for Meghan & Bob

Pat and Erika are hosting a local barbecue engagement party on Saturday, July 21, 2007. We are so lucky and blessed to have great friends like Pat & Erika!

We are looking forward to the first meeting of the Rents (aka - our parents). Yes, the two (2) Gallants (Charlie & Rivka) get to meet Mom Blake (Mary) for the first time next weekend :)

Bob popped the question.
Meghan said "Sure thing!"
Now she is wearing a fancy ring.

Let's celebrate with love and cheer.
And wish them good luck in the coming year.