More pictures...

Check out more pictures from the wedding...it's taken a little longer than we expected to do thank you's & calls during the move/move in process. Thanks to all who have been so great! If anyone wants any pics posted, let me know & i will send them your way!!

**SCROLL DOWN FOR MORE RECEPTION PICTURES!

Wedding Pictures

**SCROLL DOWN FOR NEW PICTURES! & ...

Our wedding pics posted! Go to www.Aprilrietze.com & click to enter site. Chose "Preview/order" then "Hallam Carrico wedding". Chose "my favorites" & type my email address when prompted "thallamky@hotmail.com" then you can view as a slide show or page by page the better shots of the ceremony/family/reception-party shots. Thanks again to everyone who made the day so special. FYI: Pictures will be available for 90 days to view/purchase. I also posted a few from Mike, Jason & Lee Ann at the bottom of the blog.

We're Back!

Yes...we made it back from our honeymoon adventure! We drove to cape cod and spent time in hyannis, provincetown & martha's vineyard. it was beautiful! we loved martha's vineyard...especially edgartown & south beach. we definitely want to go back, it's very pedestrian and bike friendly. this is a great family destination. the island is beautiful & eclectic, there were many french & italian families there...it's a huge european vacation spot. ted (kennedy) was out sailing everyday, we missed him the day we went sailing, but we saw the kennedy compound & the family sailboats. provincetown was cool, compact & very eclectic (if you're familiar with the area)...pubs, galleries & boutiques everywhere. we stopped by newport, RI on the way home & fell in love! the cliff walk was amazing & the wharf area/tames st. was fun. it has everything!

good news: it was fantastic! bad news: we lost the camera. i've been extremely upset b/c we had other pictures from friday night & saturday morning on there as well as our honeymoon shots. but we haven't lost hope & have a couple calls out...i am the picture freak, so this is difficult. but we are keeping our hopes up & picked up lots of post cards. i was hoping to have these pics posted until we can get the wedding pictures...

more good news...i just spoke with april & she said the shots look great. she took over a thousand pictures & just has to edit them & she will post 4 or 500 online. bad news: she needs 2 more weeks as this has been peak wedding season. i can't wait to see the reception shots & the wedding party shots on the golf course. she said the sunset shots of jeff & i in the hay & by the cobblestone bridge turned out well, too. we'll see! i'll shoot an email when they're up! ck out her sight & look at other wedding she's done...she takes alot of couple/group shots during the reception & dance floor shots. i'll try to post the ones i've been getting soon.

everybody keep fall keeneland run (october) in mind, i included the schedule in the hotel gift bags. we will be home the wkends of 9/6 (dog swim at woodland park...zadie, cooper & frisbee will take part), 9/27 for the uk vs. western football game (jenny & todd will be in) & we'll be in gatlinburg 9/13 on a family retreat with Will, Emme, Sophie, Rena & Pete & my parents. we all know october starts the holiday halloween-thanksgiving-christmas-new years-winter downslide...so keep in touch & come visit! We will definitely be in Owensboro sometime in the fall...we'll keep you posted.

thanks to all again for a great august 2nd!

tracy carrico
(weird, huh?!)

*melisa reminded me...next year will be a fun-filled anniversary/birthday weekend...our wedding anniv 8/2, zach morris's bday 8/3, jeff's bday 8/4 & ellie reece's bday 8/5. please post other blessed events to add to '09's celebrations!

**SCROLL DOWN FOR ANOTHER NEW ENTRY.

Thank You...

Thanks to all who came to the wedding and made our day so special. From the smiles i saw when walking down the isle...to the hugs and kind words during the reception, we appreciate all of you who participated in our wedding day. I've already received some amazing pictures from Cassie, Mike Sego & Lee Ann Jung that I will post soon! Everyone looked so beautiful! April took many pictures of the reception & guests on the patio. All of these will be available online...go to www.aprilrietze.com & choose "Preview/order" & choose "carrico wedding". She has them categorized & makes it very simple. I will shoot an email when they post. I want to apologize for the sparkler injuries including Marjie Pippin (foot), Cris Whelan (hand) & Misty Miller who got her hair singed. April said these pictures did not turn out well! But the effort will not go unappreciated...thanks guys for being such great sports! Thanks to those who joined us on the dance floor...we had a great time! For those of you who could not stay or could not leave the perfect weather on the patio...the "Come on ride the train" choo-choo & the two lines on the dance floor were awesome. & thanks to Emme & Sophie Page for the "Kidz Jam"! You girls were great! & Owen's relentless break dancing was a sight to see...incredible. I don't want to forget Richard Drier (Mike's old friend), Lana & Robert Soza, Lee Ann & Chris Jung, Mom & Randy & the Owensboro crew who also busted some major moves...it's great to see people having fun & lettin' loose! We had a great time & can't wait to see everyone's pictures! I'll keep in touch & hopefully we can all get together soon to reflect on the weekend and our family & friends who shared this day with us.

I want to especially thank Rena, Emme, Sophie & Pete for their time (showers, parties, driving from knoxville), effort (bachlorette party, engagement party, wedding prep-dresses, etc) & support during this time-they all were amazing in their individual roles in the wedding; Will for his enthusiasm, excitement & awesome toast as best man; Jenny, Todd, Stephanie & Tom for helping so much with Friday night; Jenny & Stephanie for tolerating my stress Saturday morning & keeping me together; Todd for helping Will & expediting the golf excursion; Mom & Randy for helping Friday, Saturday & Sunday-cooking, cleaning & running last minute errands all weekend; Barbara for bringing the sweets/supplies & taking care of Zadie & Mike for his beautiful reading; Jon for making the trip from Milwaukee; Cassie & Mike for helping Friday afternoon; Mark & Misty for being here for everything; Kelly (flowers) & Melisa (DJ, etc) for everything!; Robyn, Zoe, Anna & Tony Risley for making the trip; Charlie & Katrina for driving in early saturday for golf; Heath, Michelle, Sydney for driving from Chicago & Sydney rocking her role as flower girl! & thanks again to Dr. Points who took time out to spend time with our family and officiate the ceremony. You guys are awesome! Tom & steph who traveled from texas & leo, ju & alexander from new york get the longest trek awards! & jason wilson gets the "can't wait to see you" award from the group (thanks for making the trip from memphis!). & misty cartwright from atlanta...we're still laughing about "brown chicken-brown cow"!

We are still reminescing the day, laughing at ourselves and misty-eyed about how special it turned out...our families together and old friends enjoying each other's company...we love you all!

tracy & jeff

*in lieu of wedding favors, we chose to donate to the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church in your honor. If you are interested in participating in their recovery process, please visit www.tvuuc.org for details.

Friday Night

We've decided to move the rehearsal/dinner to 6pm if all can make it. Still not sure if it will be at the hotel or Jeff's...dinner is definitely at Jeff's. We look forward to seeing you guys! I'll send an email midweek when the blog has been updated with specifics. Jeff has arranged golf for saturday morning at 9am for the guys.

RSVP'S

We've had so many responses & only a few regrets. if you haven't sent it in, just email or post here to respond. i'm meeting this week to finalize food and drink details. More pictures! scroll down...they're not necessarily in order. see ya in 2 weeks!

Deadline for room discount extended

We have extended the deadline for the room discount until the day of the wedding...but please reserve before so we can plan to leave you some treats in your room! If anyone from Owensboro or Louisville is interested in carpooling, please post a comment for others to respond.

More updates!

The wedding party is our family and oldest friends. The bridal party consists of Rena, Emme, Sophie, Jenny Inman & Stephanie Repine. Will, Jon Carrico, Mark Miller & Charlie Whelan are the groomsman. More pictures coming soon! We'll have to dig out some embarassing pictures of Charlie since he wasn't able to make it for our pictures so far.

April Reitze will be the photographer. She's from Louisville, very talented...check out her work www.aprilreitze.com. She will start 1 hour preceremony, 5pm, and stay through the reception. We will try to take all pictures before the ceremony but some of the wedding party (individuals with spouse/family) may be immediatley following. The pictures will post 1-2 weeks after the wedding and will be available on-line for everyone for 60 days.

Dr. Phil Points will be officiating the ceremony. He is Lucy's father and one of Rena's mentors from Transy. He is so kind and generous to do this for us. We are so excited!

As many of you know, I opted not to have an engagement ring (I've had lots of questions...). We looked, but I couldn't find anything that I loved (but I am leaving this option open for later :). When we looked for wedding bands, we wanted something simple, less traditional and more reflective of our style. We found a wonderful company through Artique in Lexington. It's a company out of northern california that is environmentally conscious, fair-trade with a stellar reputation (cruelty-free diamonds, etc.), Studio 311.

Tom found out his partner's deployment has been delayed. He & Steph will be in town on Thursday! They also have great news that Tom has accepted a position in an oncology practice in Kansas City...they will be moving next summer!

Until now, I wasn't aware I had blocked comments. Now anyone can post comments...so have fun. Also, please forward songs you would like to hear at the reception. There are some must have's on my list...a list will be posted soon. So start the requests! (no Britney, Whitney or Christina, please!)

**Please scroll down for current accommodation information.


tracy

And they're out!

Finally...the invitations went out Tuesday. Jeff & Will did a great job putting them together. Don't worry about the July 12th on the RSVP...that was the date when we thought the invitations would be on time! We will be finalizing food the week before, so July 20th is fine. & of course this is kid friendly event. Please continue to book rooms, we have extended the discount rate, just haven't gotten a deadline date yet. As the date gets closer, I will post a map of the hotel location.

& we have more pictures! Thanks to all who attended the showers in Owensboro. Thanks to Celelia for the great food & shower saturday. & thanks to Barbara, Lana & Debbie who hosted the shower Sunday. The food was awesome, everything was wonderful...& we received so many great gifts! It was so nice meeting friends we've heard so much about. The rain held off so we could enjoy a great day outdoors.

Hope everyone had a great July 4th!

Kidz Jam

Every kid is invited to dance for a surprise song (to be played at the reception) that will be revealed later with your hosts Emme Page,Sophie Page and Ellie Reece. It's a current song from a Disney Channel original movie. Check the blog after July 4th for a clue. So all kidz are welcomed to the kidz jam.

by Emme Page

Update on Accommodations

The deadline to get the block discount is July 6th, but since the invitations are delayed (will be in on Monday & sent out on Tuesday-the invitations are part of hotel package...) we have asked for an extension on the discount. We will post and/or email the new deadline. The price after that date will return to $259 (now $129). Please check back or call us if you have questions. There are PLENTY of rooms with king-size beds, but running out of double beds, they will accommodate a roll-away bed in each room that needs an additional bed. If you need a double, you can request to be booked at the Marriott Courtyard which is 1 mile away & get the wedding discount & be shuttled back & forth by our hotel. This has been a crazy process with double rooms that we were unable to get in the contract. The hotel knows the reason we are having our event at one location is to make things easier for our guests...especially those from out of town. Let us know immediately if you need special accomodations. If you're bringing the kids...there's an indoor pool & outdoor pool, so bring the swimsuits. If anyone is interested in a spa treatment, manicure/pedicure or salon service, they recommend to make your appointment before the event. We are trying to organize a golf day, but Charlie (our golf pro) won't be in until Saturday. So please call Jeff, we have reserved a Friday afternoon time, but may change to Saturday morning for the groomsman & anyone else who would like to play. We will be making frequent updates to the blog, so check back. Some of the Keeneland pics have been posted, I have printed copies of the good pics for all & have burned CD's of all the pictures (many could not be published to the blog...Mark Miller!). As you guys know, this is a very busy but exciting time for us! We thank you for your patience & willingness to take time out of YOUR busy lives to share this day with us!


*also...please everyone send positive vibes to Steph & Tom in El Paso that his partner in his practice does not get called to Iraq before the wedding & Tom is able to join us!

**scroll down to see family vacation pics at Folly Beach!

Directions to Wedding & reception @ Marriott Griffin Gate

From Owensboro & Louisville, take 64 East to Lexington. Take the Newtown Pike Exit. The address is 1800 Newtown Pike. From Knoxville take 75 North to Lexington. From Atlanta take 65 North to Lexington. There are a few ways to get to the hotel. From New Circle, it's right off the Newtown Pike exit on the left. From downtown, take a right on Newtown Pike & follow about 3 miles & the hotel will be on the right. Please use mapquest for exact directions from your house. I always call 511 to check construction & traffic before leaving in case you may need to take an alternate route. Please call Jeff (859-396-9954) or I (502-836-8173) if you need help! Be careful & we can't wait to see you!

Accommodations & Invitations

As you may have noticed, the invitations are delayed...good thing we sent the save the dates 4 months in advance! The ceremony is at 6pm & invites will be out soon. All those needing double bed rooms please request when calling 1-877-204-8020 or 1-859-231-5100 @ Marriott Griffin Gate Resort & Spa under "Hallam/Carrico" wedding block. They may say they may not have it...ask them to document the request. We are requesting additional double rooms now. All those out-of-towners, we are having an informal dinner at Jeff's on Friday & all are welcome along with family & the wedding party. Just email me or Jeff. Mike & Barbara will be co-hosting with horseshoes & cornholing in the backyard. Invites will go out later with details. If anyone would like to bring old pictures, please do. Jenny, Dana, Misty, Steph & I had so much fun going through old pictures the weekend of the Keeneland shower! But I've seen very few pictures of Jeff...so PLEASE focus on the awkward years! Thanks for all who have been so kind & patient during this process!

Keeneland Day: Brunch, Race Day, Murray's & Shower

Thanks to all who came to Lexington for a GREAT day! Misty from Atlanta, Steph from Texas, Dana, Jenny, Mark & Misty, Marjie & Andy, Kristi from Owensboro, Rena & Pete from Tenessee...and the local guys Melisa & Alan, Ty & Kelly! Thanks for sharing a special day with us...these pics are fabulous. Thanks to Jenny, Dana, Steph & Misty for the amazing brunch...we're still eating the chicken pasta salad! We got lucky for the most part with some sunshine at Keeneland! Dinner was fantastic at Murray's...& thanks for all the thoughtful gifts! We are so excited and can't wait to share more eventful days with all of our family and friends leading up to the wedding! We are planning a family shower (girls only) in Owensboro June 28th at my aunt Cecelia's house at 2 pm. There will also be a shower the 29th at Barbara's house (boys may come). The bachlorette party is TBA...looking at July 12th in Lexington.

Directions

For those coming to the Keeneland day/shower...take 64 east to Lexington, then use the downtown exit (Rupp/Transy) vs. using the Versailles Road way to avoid Keeneland traffic. Hope the weather holds out! Jeff's address is 228 Chenault Rd (in case ya need to mapquest it).

tracy

Update...

Hey guys...found out that you have to use the 1-800# to reserve the room instead of making the reservations online (make sure you mention Hallam/Carrico wedding to get the discount). Use the Marriott link below.

Can't wait to see those of you coming to Lexington for the Keeneland day! & keep your eyes open for mail from us this week!

The Plan So Far

Here's what we know...the wedding will be at 6pm and the reception immediately following. The ceremony will be outside on the grounds and the the good stuff will be going on inside the (climate-controlled) tent and patio. We will have loads of food, drink and great music! The hotel is on a golf course with a pool, spa, restaurants,bars and even Starbucks! We have blocked 10 rooms (can add more) for Friday...but we can only block 25 rooms at at time for Saturday at the hugely discounted rate of $129.oo. Once those are taken, we can block an additional 25 rooms at the same rate. So reserve early under "Hallam/Carrico Wedding" (see link below).

Here's what we're working on...Friday night there will be an informal rehearsal with times forthcoming. We want to have the family, wedding party, and out-of-towners to Jeff's afterwards for dinner. We will probably have Billy's BBQ (a Chevy Chase favorite) to cater. There will be a suite for all to eat, meet and greet both nights and breakfast on Saturday.

We are so excited to see all of you and hope you will join us to celebrate this special day! So bring your kids or come alone...but plan to stay late!

tracy & jeff

As most of you know...

we're getting married! The ceremony and reception will be at the Marriott Griffin Gate Resort and Spa in Lexington. All details of the wedding with links to events with maps and pictures to all locations will be here. We will also list and link you to our wedding registry. So keep checking back...you may also see YOUR face from parties and showers here!

We are so excited and looking forward to seeing all of you! We want to thank you in advance for clearing your schedules and sharing this day with us. August 2nd is right around the corner!


tracy & jeff