Houston Wedding & San Antonio Shower!

This is an attempt to catch up on all the blogging I intended to do in the past several months. Over Labor Day weekend we were in Texas to attend to attend a close friend's wedding. The wedding was a ton of fun and we were happy to be there to share in the celebration. Chris was especially excited to eat Goode Company BBQ for 2 out of 5 meals in Houston. Impressive.

After the wedding, we drove to San Antonio for a fabulous shower thrown by my Aunt Sue and cousin Jennifer. (Chris played golf with my Uncle Fred) Several friends and family members flew into San Antonio for the shower as a surprise. I was touched that they, along with so many of my "San Antonio Family" were able to come. It was great to see everyone.

The "San Antonio Family"... well maybe about a quarter of them. My great-grandparents started an empire!

My college friends that drove/flew in for the shower!

At one point we could see Uncle Fred and Chris on the golf course from the shower...but just their backsides. My Great Aunt Bebe commented that Chris "had a nice backside," and I have to agree.

Thanks again to all who were able to come! Also, thanks so much to Aunt Sue and Jennifer, I loved everything about the shower...especially the mango salad!

It's time to blog - Moving West, an update

We haven't blogged much, but we have an excuse. We moved. We left New York on Tuesday July 22 and headed west for California. Before we left, we had a great last week in New York seeing everything we'd been meaning to do in the last two years. Thanks again to Doug and Lauren who put together a dinner for all of our friends in the City. After leaving the Apple behind in our rented Chevy Impala, we finally took a trip to Charleston, saw some friends along the way, celebrated a couple of birthday's in Dallas (mine and Jenna's), got to hang with the Teter family, and then ventured to San Diego to see more friends and family. Then we rented a truck and took some furniture from my parents house - stopped off in LA to see Katy and Ben - finally making it to San Francisco about 8pm on Friday, August 1st. It was a great trip and we couldn't be more excited to be in San Fran. We both started work this week and are still in the process of unpacking in our new apartment. The calendar says August, but it feels like December in NY, so we're getting used to it. Feel free to stop by if you're in the neighborhood. I'm going to post a few pictures now. Just 4 months until the wedding, see ya soon!

California, here we come!

The wedding blog has suffered this last month. Our devoted readers (our moms, sisters and grandmothers) have been awaiting the next update. So here it is. We're moving! To San Francisco. I took a new job within StubHub, and it took Tara all of a week to find multiple offers at lots of interesting firms in the Bay Area. She settled on one that specializes in restoration and development, and is located just a few blocks from where we're living. Which is, (drumroll....) North Beach. The lovable Italian section of the San Francisco peninsula. Very cute, very vibrant, and dare I say, very New York. There are a few differences though, not least of which is the weather and a very California feel. This is a photo of St. Peter and Paul Church in North Beach. Not our photo - we're still working on some SF photos.

We are quite excited. We're also aware that we need to put up some more pictures of what we've been up to the last few months, so I think we'll do that in a separate post that is soon to come. So, yeah, the move has taken up a lot of our time. We're officially out of New York on July 22, and our first work-day in San Fran is August 4, so we'll have a little bit of time to get from Point A to Point B.

In June we had not one, but two engagement parties in San Diego. Thanks again to my parents, and Aunts Cindy and Bonnie for putting everything all together. It was really great...especially the Piñata, our leis, and the incredible Hawaiian carrot cake. Still waiting to get some pictures from the party at Aunt Cindy's house, but here are some from my parents' house.

Tara's Ladies

Jenna Teter, the Maid of Honor.
I've known Jenna since, well, since she was born. Growing up, we spent much of our time performing renditions of our favorite musicals and running a Barbie hair salon in our bathroom. It's been fun watching her grow up over the years, and she continues to impress me. After finishing up at Loyola New Orleans, she moved back to Dallas to become the staff photographer for the Texas Catholic. She spends most of her time as Maid of Honor doing valuable research for me. Dresses, photobooths, priests, and hotels - this girl does it all.

Lauren Reeves Wallace, the Matron of Honor.

Lauren and I first met in Ms. Dunne's second grade class, and what started out as pulling the chair out from under the class bully has blossomed into a lifelong friendship. Even though we later went to different schools, Lauren has always been there for me - whether telling me to throw the big stinky cheese as my catcher or making sure I about the best wedding cake in Dallas. She is now teaching 10th grade English and adjusting to married life with Robert.

The Bridesmaids:
Katy Regnier (also Chris' middle sister)
I met Katy my freshmen year at Rice - where we, along with Jean Daly, hung out in the architecture studio and rowed on the crew team. We ate Taco Cabana and had Bubble Tea nearly every day. It was a wonderful existence - if you ignore the lack of sleep. Katy married another archi, Ben Regnier, (one of Chris' Dudes) and the two together are unstoppable. They just had their first child(ren) at the end of September! We are very excited to have Amelia Ann and Paul Joseph present as our youngest and cutest guests.

Allison Dankberg (also Chris' little sister)
I first met Allison when she came to Rice to visit Katy, and we've been great friends ever since. "Meeting the family" was pretty easy for me since I had been friends with Chris' sisters for about 5 years. This year will be a busy one for Allison - she just got engaged to Mark DeGeorge! Apparently this sort of thing runs in the family, since Mark is one of Chris' friends and also making an appearance as one of Chris' Dudes. Be sure to watch your grammar around Allison, she teaches 10th grade English. She's also an accomplished artist!

Avanti Tamhane
Avanti was my roommate for three years at Rice. Since I am a full year older than she, I like to call her my behna, which means little sister in Hindi. Being the big sister, I made her do everything I did - like crew, powderpuff, Beer Bike, etc. A chemical engineering degree wasn't enough for this one. Nope. A masters in environmental engineering has made her realize her lifelong dream - saving the environment by making all the evil oil companies in Houston clean up their act. Avanti just moved to San Francisco and I am thrilled to live to close to her again!


The Crew
Tracy Bachman
Tracy was my roommate my freshmen year at Rice and since it was such great fun, we ended up living together again our junior year. Tracy is one of those people that just gets things done. Once she makes up her mind to do something - study abroad, graduate early, Teach for America, move cities, travel to Costa Rica, Singapore or Malaysia - she just does it. It's incredible. Tracy married Frank Bachman last May; they had a gorgeous wedding in Savannah. Tracy is currently working in HR for a company in Atlanta and preparing to move into a new house with Frank!

Veronica Herrera
Veronica was my roommate at Rice for technically just two years, but that's if you don't count the time she lived on our futon freshmen year. Vero is a fantastic chef and any real meal I ate in school was most likely hers. She also has an eye for fashion, so she'll make sure you look great before you leave the house. (She'll still look better, but really who cares?) She's currently doing recruiting for a big time law firm in Houston, Greenberg Traurig, and staying busy with her many organizations.

Jean Clare Daly
I also met Jean my freshmen year at Rice, where nearly all our time was spent in the architecture studio or on the water rowing. A native Houstonian, Jean knows all the best places for birthday cakes, coffee, and antiques. You'll also get to hang out with her awesome family - for free! In a single day, Jean will take a road trip from Houston just to see the water gardens in Ft. Worth or watch me try on wedding dresses. Now that is dedication. She JUST moved to San Francisco to take a new job at an architecture firm. :)

Jennifer Bartz
I've known my cousin, Jennifer, since she was born. (Such a cutie!) Being the eldest cousin, I made everyone (Jenna and Christopher too) play whatever games I invented. I think the best ones were "ambulance" and "newsroom." Despite the fact that I am ten years older than Jennifer, people mistook her for being the graduate at my graduation! Jennifer is one smart cookie and a natural athlete. We can't wait to see her moves on the dance floor!


Victoria (Large), Julia (Medium) and Olivia Teter (Small)

These are my super cute cousins who live outside of Philadelphia. Chris and I got to visit them often when we lived in New York, and we miss them!! Victoria is the big sister and a total sweetheart. She does about a million activities (girl scouts, field hockey, etc) and still has time to chat with her friends. Julia is technically the youngest, (Olivia beat her by a few minutes) but beware: she plays a mean game of pool volleyball and is a soccer star. Olivia is very talented and impressed us with her omelette-making skills...when she was 9. She is also the star pitcher for her softball team and an origami guru.

The Magnolia Hotel is awesome

UPDATE: We're hearing that the Magnolia Hotel may be booked up Friday night - we'd suggest giving them a call just in case something opens up. There's a Hyatt Regency less than a half-mile from Old Red Courthouse in downtown that we can also recommend. The rate is $119/night. Phone number is (214) 651-1234 and the address is 300 Reunion Blvd E.

Chris' cousin Emily was married in Dallas this January. Her guests stayed at the Magnolia Hotel in downtown Dallas. We loved it. It's the old Mobil Oil building, and it's really cool. We've held a block of rooms there. You can reach them at (214) 915-6500. It's just a short drive/medium walk to Old Red and the YO Ranch Steakhouse. The room rate is $109/night. The hotel is located at: 1401 Commerce St., Dallas, TX 75201.

We are registered

We are registered at Macy's, Bed, Bath & Beyond, Target and Crate & Barrel. Just search for Tara (Teter) or Chris (Dankberg).

Groom's Starting Lineup Announced

Co-Captains, Adam Dankberg & Jason Robbins
I've known both of these guys a very long time. Adam, since birth, and Jason since we were four-years old. They've been nice enough to share the responsibilities of Best Man since I couldn't bring myself to pick one. Adam made the move to San Diego a few years back, and I'm not sure he'll ever be able to leave. Like a lot of other people in this wedding party, Adam has connections to the bride and groom. He's my cousin. He also went to Rice University with Tara and my sister Katy. At Rice, Tara (Hanszen) and Adam (Wiess) squared off as two of the most intense intramural competitors Rice has ever known. Future family competitions will be planned accordingly.
Jason probably knows me way too well. He and his wife Michelle live in Carlsbad with their dog Bella. I don't have a picture of Bella, so we're just going to have to go with one of the happy couple. Jason's so naturally good at most things it can be a little discouraging trying to keep up. I was taller than Jason in 7th grade, and for a short time, a far superior basketball player, and I will never let him forget it. He's also a heck of a nice guy and looking forward to wearing cowboy boots. I couldn't ask for better co-captains.

Groomsmen: Mark DeGeorge, Doug Roberts, Dave Wickman
Again with the connections. My initial impression of Mark was that he hailed from New Jersey. Things got better from there. In addition to being great for my sister Allison, and now my future brother-in-law, he's been a terrific friend. He's fearless, and cuts an intimidating presence on a wake-board. And way back when (like three years ago), Mark and I took the trip of a lifetime to Europe. He's pictured at the right, with our Citroen in Northern France. I met Doug (the confused Bills fan) and Dave (in the middle) at Providence. We have no idea who the girl is who peeked her head into the frame. Doug and Dave are providing the east coast representation in this group. Both guys are among the reasons I've found myself so comfortable in the Northeast. Incidentally, Dave threatened to retire from being a groomsman, but Doug talked him out of it. They get lumped together here because, for a long time, Tara couldn't keep their names straight. They're both tall. Dave was a little more willing to take a road trip to Chicago for no reason, but Doug caught on quickly. College wouldn't have been the same without them, and I'm incredibly lucky to continue to find such great friends.

Ushers: Ben Regnier, Grant Markhart, Nace Reader
Ah, Ben. Well, first of all, this picture is what's known as payback. Ben is the last of the numerous connections we've created in our family - having married my sister Katy. A connoisseur of good beer, Mexican food, music, and all things buildings, I couldn't ask for much more in a brother-in-law. And yes, there's that picture again. It's not flattering for either of us, but I couldn't resist. Nace-the-Ace is kind of unique. I've known him for about 20 years, and our families have become close friends. I think we bonded originally over computer games. Is that right? We've baked pizzas, built fences, punched each other repeatedly, shagged flyballs - there's not much we haven't done together. Though I think the time spent could only be described as "hanging out with Nace." Like Jason, there was a brief period of time where I was taller than Grant. I reveled in that time, but it didn't last long. Grant formed the third member of an exclusive group of young minds at Oak Crest Jr. High. We spent most of our time cutting out pictures from SI and pasting them on our folders. He's been a great friend ever since, and I'm glad to bring him back to Dallas. I could have sworn Nace was in this picture, but he's not. So now I'm going to have to go and scan the picture of Nace and I on our way to our buddy Eli's Bar Mitzvah. We look very handsome. Pictured above (top row: Chris Dankberg, Marc Pirazini, Mark DeGeorge, bottom row: Jason Robbins, Grant Markhart, Eddie Minkoff).