Proposal

The proposal did not go as planned. At all. But luckily Kate still said yes. 

It all started with my sister and parents planning an elaborate trip to Paris for Christmas 2010, and since Kate was pretty deep into our family already, she was also invited. Which became a bit of a struggle for her, as she would be missing out on Christmas with her own family. So we planned for Paris for about 6 months, having meetings with friends who had recently been there, scrouing the internet for tips and places to go when we could sneak away from the rest of the Pisano family. And I got it in my head that I was going to propose to Kate in Paris, because I really wouldn’t have to do much. Paris would do all the romantic work! 

So I spoke with my parents, and we hatched an elaborate plan. My mother would carry our family ring to Paris with her (Elisabeth, Kate and I were flying separately from Seattle and they were flying direct from San Francisco). She would then hand it over early in the trip, I would do my thing most likely in front of the Eiffel Tower on the hour when it lights up and really makes a girls dreams come true. I spoke with Marilyn, Stan and Kerry the week before we left, telling them that I was going to propose to their daughter in Paris and everyone was very excited. 

Then disaster struck.  

Europe was hit by quite the snowstorm. Heathrow was shut down, people were spending nights sleeping on the floor. Flights were getting cancelled. Elisabeth, Kate and I were checking the British Air webpage every 15 minutes. My parents flight was direct to Paris, and their flight was going. Our flight through Heathrow was also flying, however Heathrow to Charles De Gaulle was cancelled, so we could only get as far as London, only to spend the holiday in the airport. The three of us decided that instead we would rather drive down to California and spend the holiday with Kate’s family. 

But now what about this ring? Speaking with my folks they decided to leave it on their dresser in their bedroom, so that I could pick it up when we dropped my sister off at home. 

So now instead of an 9.5 hour flight thinking about how to propose in Paris (where the city did all the work), I had 2 days of driving and had to come up with some sort of backup plan. 

We left the same day we were supposed to fly, and spent the night at our friends Stacy & Ray’s house in Eugene. I talked to Ray about his thoughts, and we hatched all sorts of plans, but none of them really felt right, though we did have some great burgers and beers that night. The next day was the long haul fro Eugene to San Mateo. I had quite a few hours to think through things and decided that once we got to San Mateo I was just going to ask. But I had to do it with Kate alone, so I needed a plan to get her out of the house and on a quick walk. 

When we got to San Mateo, I told Kate that I needed to stretch my legs a bit, and would like to go for a quick walk around the block. We had been in the car for roughly 10 hours so it only made sense. But Kate wanted to get back on the road down to Los Gatos to meet up with her parents. I kept pushing, and said told her there was a nice park two blocks away, and that I really needed a stretch since I was the one doing all the driving. So we went for a little stroll. I pointed out random things in the neighborhood while we walked, we talked about how weird it was that we were in San Mateo instead of Paris, and started to try and figure out some logistics of getting presents for people we weren’t expecting to see. Then we got to the park. 

We started walking through the park and I reached into my jacket pocket and pulled out a ring box. I didn’t even have a chance to say anything before Kate started crying. Mostly out of shock, as she was taken completely off guard, but I believe some of the tears were also happiness. I believe the first words out of her mouth were “what are you doing?” which quickly turned into yes. 

We headed back to the house, and Elisabeth was waiting for us, and would have had champagne chilled had we not blocked the other car in with mine. we took a photo of us and sent it off to our family in Paris and then headed to Los Gatos. Stan and Kerry were very excited to receive us, I don’t think they expected me to propose yet, so there weren’t sure if they should be super excited, or just excited to see us. Luckily Kate walked into the front door, hand and ring first, which took any question out of their minds. 

Moments after she said yes, and a 10 hour car ride.

While it wasn’t exactly the Christmas that we were expecting, it did turn out to be quite a wonderful holiday!

Groomsmen

Best Man: Sam McDonald

I met Sam McDonald my freshman year of college at Seattle University. He was a fellow 4th Floor Campion resident in those days and we became fast friends. So much so that we decided to be roommates our Junior, Senior and our first post-graduate year (in what was the best apartment in Seattle, until they turned it into a condo). We were both business majors, so we had a lot of our classes together and spent most of college studying. That and we spent the beginning of each week crafting elaborate e-mails for our Thursday night parties and hosted two epic Quadstock parties. We still see each other regularly, and though we don't have schoolwork to discuss, or parties to plan, we still figure out exciting topics to toss around. Mostly politics and changing the world.

Sam was my ride to the Halloween party where Kate and I met for the first time (see "how we met" post). Sam was also there when I got my first call back from Kate, since she screened my original call. Sam approved. And luckily Kate approved of Sam. 

Sam and Kate approving of one another.

Groomsman: Matt Zampella


I also met Matt Zampella my freshman year of college, though I had been hearing rumors about him all through my time at Bellarmine. I was friends in high school with his best friend Alex, but that never prepared me for what to expect when I first met Matt at Seattle University.

Matt was present at many of the parties that Sam and I threw, we even hosted a birthday party for his lovely wife Naomi at our place. Where we really bonded was over such things as Steak Night at his house, as well as the action packed blockbuster Bad Boys II. There was even a short period where we worked out together, which was really a ruse to grab subway sandwiches and watch How I Met Your Mother with him and his wife.

I also have Matt to thank for my love of Manhattans. It was at his wedding that a few friends and I decide that we were old enough to start drinking real drinks, and therefore decided to try out a brown liquor cocktail. And shot his bar bill through the roof.

Matt, Naomi and chest hair.

Groomsman: Chris Crazybull

I met Chris when I was in 7th grade. He is one of my oldest friends, even though we don't see nearly enough of each other anymore. Chris was moving down to San Mateo to live across the street and I was introduced to him and his brother while we watched Point Break, which naturally made for a great introduction. 

Chris was there to help share the awkwardness of life, girls and high school, discussed over long games of billiards on his pool table. Chris became a part of our family, coming over every Friday for our spaghetti and meatball dinners and having long conversations with my mother and father. He became the Native American son that my parents never had. 

Whenever Chris and I get together these days, we easily slip into our old roles as great friends looking out for one another, though the topics vary slightly from the old days. Chris is now married with 3 beautiful kids, and spends a lot of time at sea as an office in the Navy. I am starting to embark on my marriage to Kate and now have a job and a house and all that goes along with being a respectable adult. But deep down... we are still those two kids who bonded while watching Johnny Utah learn to surf and shoot bad guys.

Chris and JW.

Where to Stay

For those of you traveling in from out of town, we have blocked rooms at two lovely Seattle establishments, The Silver Cloud Hotel – Seattle Broadway and Hotel 1000. 

The Silver Cloud – Seattle Broadway is right across the street from Seattle University which means it is just blocks away from both our ceremony and reception sites. In addition to being within walking distance of our wedding, the Capitol Hill neighborhood offers a different side of Seattle outside of the Market and the Space Needle - where the locals go to eat, drink and catch live music. 

To reserve a room online

1.       Visit their website at: http://www.silvercloud.com/broadway.php

2.       Select desired arrival and departure dates and search for availability (rooms are blocked for both Friday the 22nd  and Saturday the 23rd)

3.       Type in “Group ID” BEN-PIS

4.       Type in “Password” BEN-PIS

5.       Complete reservation with your credit card information

To reserve a room via phone

1.       Call the hotel at (206) 325-1400 or Toll Free at (800) 590-1801

2.       Ask for the “Benkoski & Pisano Wedding” rate and the group ID “BEN-PIS”.

We also have rooms blocked at Hotel 1000 in downtown Seattle. It’s a short drive or a cheap cab ride away from both the ceremony and reception sites. The downtown location offers more of the classic Seattle experience within walking distance of the famous Pike Place Fish Market and the first Starbucks. And don’t worry there’s still plenty of great restaurants, bars and coffee to be had here too. 

To reserve a room

1. Call the hotel at (206) 957-1000
2. Ask for the “Benkoski & Pisano Wedding” rate

Please note, rooms are blocked for June 22nd and June 23rd at both hotels. If you are planning on coming in early or extending your stay, discounted rates will not apply. It's probably best that you call the hotel rather than book online in this situation as well, noting that room block for the 22nd and 23rd.  

Alternatives

If you are looking to do VRBO, Airbnb or another rental site, the wedding is taking place in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle with the ceremony and reception site within walking distance of each other.  It is also easily accessible by cab from the downtown, Belltown, Queen Anne and Fremont neighborhoods. It’s a bit further from other neighborhoods, like West Seattle and Alki (where there are a lot rentals) while easily doable, we might recommend renting a car.    

Registry

Registry

Macy’s

Macy’s is a pretty standard place to register, since they have everything that a new young couple might want. Plus they are always having a sale. 

http://www1.macys.com/registry/wedding/guest/?registryId=626969

Crate & Barrel

There are a few items that took us quite a while to compromise and pick for our life together, and Crate & Barrel was the place that had those pieces of silverware, and dinnerware that we feel will live with us a lifetime. 
http://www.crateandbarrel.com/Gift-Registry/Guest/View-Registry.aspx?grid=4792467

Honeymoon

Since we have set up house for a few years now, we thought if you didn't want to get us a blender (which, hey, we still need) you could help give us the gift of a wonderful honeymoon.  
Traveler's Joy

What to See and Do in Seattle

The first of a couple of posts about what to see and do in Seattle, here is a link to a nice article from Travel + Leisure.

http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/what-to-see-and-do-in-seattle-washington

Some of the bar suggestions are a very "hipster", so if you have a beard and skinny jeans they might let you in, otherwise stick to places like Zig Zag or Canon.

Frist Date - Kate's Perspective

Our First Date - Kate’s Perspective 

Joe covered most of the basics of our first date but he left our one major detail - his ex girlfriend was there. 

Now I should say, Joe didn’t know or expect her to be there it was just one of those it’s a small world things. Sun Liquor is a small place, we got a table near the front door and since it was a week night it wasn’t very busy. I had this strange feeling that people were staring at us but I chalked it up to obviously being on a first date.

I came to find out later, when we walked in a group of Joe’s ex’s friend were sitting at the bar and toward the end, his actual ex joined them. At the time I didn’t know a thing - Joe handled it well because I’m sure he must have been freaking out. 

But we had a lot of fun, I remember laughing and giving each other a hard time throughout the evening. I remember being excited that he called and I was sad I had to put him off a week for our second date. 

I should also say that TO THIS DAY, Joe complains about not being invited to this out of town wedding I was going to.  I think mostly because he has now met Stacy and Ray, now considers them good friends and is probably pretty sad to have missed their incredibly fun wedding. However I maintain that if I would have asked him (not that I had a plus one anyway) I would have thought I was INSANE and run screaming for the hills. 

And yes, I totally threw him to the wolves on the second date but I had a good feeling about this guy and I didn’t want to get too attached if my friends didn’t approve.

Save the Date - June 23rd, 2012

Keep your eyes on the mailbox, our Save the Date's are heading out via USPS in the next couple of days.

We enlisted the help of our good friend Bryan Chackel to design these for us, since he had some experience creating logos for a multinational coffee chain based here in Seattle. And as it turns out, working on our invitations got him thinking about love... so much so that he recently proposed to his girlfriend and she said yes.

Thank you and you're welcome Bryan!

And congratulations.