Hope

& Carly

RSVP

Welcome

Excited for some beach vibes?

Welcome to our wedding website! We’ve created this website (from scratch!) to share everything you need to know leading up to our wedding day. Please continue to check our website for the most up-to-date information. Enjoy some of our favorite music we listen to as a couple in the meantime 😊

Thank you for your love, encouragement, and support. We can’t wait to celebrate with our friends and family as we enter this next chapter!

Love, Hope & Carly

Details

Saturday, August 12, 2023

Ceremony

5:00 pm @ Corona del Mar Community Church

611 Heliotrope Ave, Corona Del Mar, CA 92625

We are honored to have friends and family witness our exchange of vows as we officially become husband and wife!

Attire: Cocktail

Saturday, August 12, 2023

Reception!

6:00pm @ Orange County Museum of Art

3333 Avenue of the Arts, Costa Mesa, CA 92626

Join us for dinner, drinks, and dancing among the art galleries of OCMA! Our reception will be both indoors and outdoors, so please dress accordingly.

Attire: Cocktail (Get ready to dance!)

Getting Here

Orange County, California is home to some of California’s most beautiful beaches, and we hope that you will take some time to explore a place that holds great meaning to both of us!

Flying

If you will be flying to Orange County for our wedding, please consider the following options:

The closest airport to our wedding ceremony and reception is John Wayne International Airport (SNA), which is just 2.5 miles (10 minutes) from our reception venue. Although it is a smaller airport, there are regular flights to SNA from many major metropolitan cities, including Chicago, Houston, and New York.

Long Beach Airport (LGB) is 20 miles (30 minutes depending on traffic) from our reception venue. Although LGB is a smaller airport, non-stop flights, particularly on Southwest, are available to/from some cities.

Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) is 40 miles (45 minutes-1.5 hours depending on traffic) from our reception venue. LAX is a large international hub with many affordable flights from all major airlines. Los Angeles is also a fun and exciting city if you would like to extend your travel plans! To get to Orange County from LAX, consider any of the following options: 1) Rent a car 2) take an Uber/Lyft ($60-70 one-way), or 3) take the FlyAway bus from LAX to Union Station and connect to either the Metrolink or Surfliner trains which both make stops in Orange County.

San Diego International Airport (SAN) is 86 miles (1.5 hours) from our reception venue. Although this is a bit farther than the other options, if you are interested in exploring San Diego while out on the west coast, this could be a great option!

Getting around while you're here

Please note that there is very limited public transportation in Orange County. Depending on your plans, you may want to consider renting a car. Uber/Lyft is also readily available, which may be a good option for those guests who will only be in town for a short visit.

Lodging

Hotels

Here are some options of places to stay nearby. We recommend booking early - the hotels will be very busy in August and accomodations can book up months in advance.

The first option (Costa Mesa Mariott) has a room block for our wedding and the second option (Avenue of Arts) has a 15% off discount. Both are within walking distance from OCMA, the instructions for booking each are in the description.

Costa Mesa Marriott

500 Anton Blvd, Costa Mesa, CA 92626

(714) 957-1100

Website link for $199 stay per night and $20 parking per night

Avenue of the Arts Costa Mesa

3350 Avenue of the Arts, Costa Mesa, CA 92626

(714) 751-5100

Website link for a 15% off Standard and Deluxe guest room rates and free parking per night

Airbnbs

Airbnbs are a great option, especially for those interested in staying on or close to the beach. The most convenient locations for our ceremony/reception are the following: Newport Beach, Corona del Mar, Costa Mesa, and Irvine. (Please note that Orange County is comprised of many small towns, so pay attention to the distance to our ceremony and reception locations, rather than the name of the city, when booking an Airbnb.)

Things To Do

Check out the beach!

Beach bod ready?

Although you really can’t go wrong with any of Orange County's beaches, we recommend Newport Beach Municipal Beach, Aliso Beach, Crystal Cove State Park, and Huntington City Beach.

Balboa Island

Drive or take the ferry to Balboa Island for a classic boardwalk experience, where you can rent bikes and ride the ferris wheel in the Balboa Fun Zone, and be sure to try a frozen banana (”There’s always money in the banana stand!”).

Laguna Beach

Home to 100+ art galleries, Laguna Beach is a beloved, local “art colony.” Take a stroll through downtown Laguna Beach and check out the independent shops, restaurants, and art galleries that dot the coastline.

Looking for some adventure?

El Moro Canyon Loop

Hike the El Moro Canyon Loop for spectacular views of the coastline. Located inside Crystal Cove State Park, El Moro has several trails ranging from 3 to 9 miles, which take you through the canyon with views of the ocean.

Catalina Island

For a real adventure, take the Catalina Flyer, a 75-minute ferry ride, from Newport Beach to Catalina Island. Catalina Island is known for its wildlife, beaches, and hiking. Make it a day trip, or you can camp or stay in a hotel for an overnight visit.

Anyone say grub? 🍖 🍗 🍔 🍟 🍕 🥐 🥖 🫓 🥨

We’re big fans of some of the food around the area! While in town, enjoy Playa Mesa, which has some bomb Mexican food. Try anything on the menu with Birria; you won’t regret it (unless you’re vegetarian). Tacos Manuel is pretty delicious as well. In-N-Out continues to divide popular opinion as the best fast-food burger to exist (apparently). You could try their burger “animal style” and let us know your thoughts!

If you’re itching for sweets, we suggest a doughnut from Sidecar Doughnuts. One of us loves the CHOC-A-LOT, and the other loves the MAPLE BACON.

Los Angeles

We legit know nothing about L.A. Womp!

(kidding...) While we aren't LA experts, we're happy to give a few recs based on our limited experience! Los Angeles is about an hour away from Orange County (if you’re lucky with traffic). It’s home to some amazing museums, including The Getty, The Broad, and Griffith Observatory. Grab a bite to eat in Little Tokyo or Koreatown. Venice Beach and Santa Monica are oceanside neighborhoods with a lot of character and dozens of restaurants and shops. And, of course, you can enjoy the glitz and glamor of Hollywood with a backlot studio tour, the Walk of Fame, and the Chinese Theatre!

Love Story

As told by her...

For me, Hope’s and my love story started months before we actually met. After I submitted my application, Peace Corps headquarters ignored my ranked country preferences and decided to send me to the Dominican Republic, which was nowhere on my application. I now consider this “glitch” to be fate. By the time I got to the D.R., Hope had already been a Peace Corps Volunteer for a year, and throughout training I just kept hearing stories about this larger-than-life guy named Hope.

When I finally met him, I confirmed the rumors were true: he was unlike anyone I had ever met before, and in the best way. Hope has the ability to light up any room, quick to make friends with strangers and fill silence with his distinct laugh. One night, after coming back to the Peace Corps hostel after a volunteer Thanksgiving celebration, I (as a Christmas fanatic) followed the sound of Christmas music to the hostel lobby, where Hope was curating the perfect Christmas playlist.

We stayed up until 4am debating the greatest Christmas hits, discussing Zingerman’s and Ann Arbor, and exchanging stories about our Peace Corps experiences. I left our conversation determined to get to know Hope better.

As our host communities were two long bus rides apart, we fell in love over hours and hours of flip phone conversations, never running out of things to talk about.

Hope and I hit pause on our relationship when he wrapped up his Peace Corps service a year ahead of me. After a year of zero communication between us, I was pleasantly surprised to receive an email out of the blue from Hope in late 2018, asking to reconnect. We set up a phone call (this time using iPhones, not flip phones) when I got back to the U.S., and Hope pulled a move from a rom com, revealing that he had never lost feelings for me and asking if he could visit me in California the following month. Of course, I said yes, and the rest is history!

Since picking up our relationship again stateside, we have laughed, loved, and grown together over the past 4.5 years. We have lived in D.C. and now Brooklyn, added a dog, Romeo, to our little family, scoured the nation for the best fried chicken sandwich (it’s Roaming Rooster!), and begun to start our own traditions.

We can’t wait to celebrate our love among family and friends so soon!

As told by him...

I’ll elaborate on the series of random events that led me to Carly. I remember seeing Carly in 2016 around the time she was swearing in to be an official Peace Corps volunteer. I had been in the country (Dominican Republic) for a year, acting a fool. Most of the current Peace Corps volunteers always come to the capital of the country to watch the 'newbies' take their oaths to become official Peace Corps volunteers. I saw her across the room during some post-swear-in activities and crudely thought, 'Wow, she’s a babe.'

I immediately wanted to talk to her.

I didn't though. I even had a friend come up to me at a Peace Corps party we were both at, and she asked, 'Who are you eyeing?' I said, 'That girl right there.' For reference, I was pointing at Carly. My friend offered to talk to Carly and facilitate a chat, but I chickened out and said, 'Naw.'

Would be crazy if that’s how the story ended! Fair warning, the following obtuse amount of information may seem random, but I attribute every random occurrence to meeting my forever love and best friend.

Fast-forward two months, a whole bunch of volunteers were heading to the capital of our country of service to celebrate Thanksgiving. I dropped in the day after Thanksgiving (hence late) to the festivities for honestly no reason. I was only planning to stay in the capital for a few days, so I packed terribly light, so light that I had, in fact, two pairs of clothes, one of which I was wearing.

Later during that visit, a few friends wanted to grab dinner at a casual spot, so as a joke and as a person with no clean clothes, I just went to our Peace Corps lost and found and put on any and all things that were green. I found a green bucket hat with a 'Dokey The Bear' logo, some random football jersey for a high school that I didn't attend, and some goofy University of Oregon basketball shorts that were (you guessed it) green. I looked pretty stupid. My friends promised we’d come back to the hotel for me to change into some other clothes before we went out dancing.

Well, we didn't return to the hotel.

After dinner, my friends wanted to directly go dancing. Looking like a green idiot, I was (of course) stopped by the bouncer from entering the (honestly not that nice) dance club all my friends wanted to get into. Not trying to ruin the fun, I just headed home and planned to take an L for the night.

Being honestly pretty bummed and not at all tired, I decided to lounge in one of the common areas of the hotel all of us volunteers were staying at. In a particular mood and in my feelings, I put on Christmas music on some portable speakers and sat in the completely empty common area by myself. After an embarrassing amount of time, I hear someone heading my direction, and what will you have it, the gorgeous, curly-haired, blue-eyed bombshell I chickened out on speaking with two months prior approached me, interested in what I was doing.

It was an immediate connection, and I’m beyond shocked considering I looked pretty pathetic (remember, completely green mismatched outfit, listening to Christmas music, by myself, in a Dominican Republic hotel).

We talked for what felt like forever that night, and I wanted forever to last.

For the next couple of months, I’d do anything I could do to talk to this amazing person. I’d climb hills around my volunteer site, waving my phone in the air like an idiot trying to capture any sort of cellular signal to talk to her for any amount of time. I could stand around for hours listening to her voice, learning what made her tick, nailing down what made her laugh, and falling deeply in love. I marveled at how deeply she cared about others, how goofy she could be around me, and how sharp her focus was on what she wanted and how she wanted to make a difference in this world.

Through Peace Corps, graduate school, living in D.C., and now in New York City, I’m so glad the most random series of events led me to the best thing that’s ever happened to me. I’m continually in awe of how our love has seen growth and evolution through many different versions of the people we have been the last 7 years and the different versions we will be throughout the rest of our lives.

I’m excited for every minute of it.

FAQs

Are kids invited?
1. Outside of family members and a few exceptions, we unfortunately cannot accommodate children. If you will be traveling to Orange County with your little ones and need a childcare recommendation, please let us know! Carly’s family is local to the area and happy to pass along contact info for their go-to sitters.
Can I bring a date?
1. If your invitation says “And Guest,” then yes!
What is parking like?
1. For our ceremony at Community Church Congregational, there is street parking only. Because of the time of our ceremony, we expect there to be limited parking options. Please consider taking an Uber/Lyft, carpooling, and/or arriving early to leave plenty of time to find parking. For our reception, there are several paid parking garages close to the Orange County Museum of Art. More information about parking can be found on OCMA’s website: https://ocma.art/visit/directions-parking/.
What is your dress code?
1. Our dress code is Cocktail Attire. We suggest suits and ties, midi or cocktail dresses, and dressy pantsuits or separates.
Will your reception take place indoors or outdoors?
1. Our reception will take place both indoors and outdoors. Cocktail hour and dinner will take place on OCMA’s outdoor terrace, and dancing will be inside. California nights can be chilly once the sun sets, and we suggest bringing a sweater or light coat for a temperature dip.
Can you accommodate my dietary restriction?
1. Our caterer will be serving vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, and kosher options. If you have one of those dietary restrictions, or something else, please note it on your RSVP so we can be sure your needs are met!