Lori and Matt's House

Wedding Reception

Our Wedding

LORI'S VERSION

"So I'm on okc in the middle of a weekday because I'm taking my cat to the vet... what's your excuse? :p Also, this is incredibly important: what's your stance on the Oxford comma?" -- Matt's winning DM Matt and Lori found each other on OKCupid in August of 2014. They quickly bonded over grammar, cats, and pierogi. Matt was smart enough to lure the socially anxious Lori to a first date by inviting her for cupcakes at Baked &amp; Wired. Lori was kind enough to offer Matt a ride to the airport for his business trip after the date-- narrowly preventing him from missing his flight, because time zones are hard. Their second date was almost doomed by combinations of illness, uncharacteristically busy schedules, and impromptu trips to Cleveland, but they eventually found time to hit up a Greek restaurant in Arlington- and the rest is history.

The Meet Cute

Since they began dating, Matt and Lori have moved to the west coast, survived San Francisco, bought a home in Seattle, and created a loving home with Freyja the dog and Tiger and Nikola the cats. Over the past five years, they have traveled together to nine states and six countries, worked at six different organizations, lived together in five different homes, and met countless amazing friends.

Building a Life Together

After mild nagging and several anxiety attacks (on Lori's part) and general obliviousness (on Matt's part), the couple began seriously discussing marriage in early 2019.In June, Lori pleased her midwestern bargain-hunting ancestors, and Matt's wallet, by suggesting they visit a local antique jewelry store that was having a retirement/going out of business sale. They mulled over the options over a highly elegant meal of Chipotle, before taking the plunge and selecting a beautiful art deco solitaire. Lori very explicitly informed Matt that she wanted him to propose even though they had bought the ring together.In November (LORI WAS VERY PATIENT), the couple went on a grand European adventure. Lori anticipated that Matt might ask her in Florence, so she got a manicure before they left. They traipsed through the Netherlands and Italy, having a grand time, but with no proposal. At this point, Lori assumed that the proposal would come closer to the end of the year.On Lori's birthday, after a day of beautiful sightseeing in Valletta and Mdina, Malta, Matt casually suggested that the couple go up to the hotel's rooftop deck and enjoy the view of the city at night. Lori, completely oblivious, agreed and provided color commentary on various strange buildings, while Matt fumbled with something in his pocket and seemed visibly distracted. Then, he pulled out the ring and asked Lori to marry him. She said yes. (Photo is the view from the rooftop deck on Nov 10)

The Question

MATT'S VERSION

Our Story

Date: Saturday, July 9, 2022Location: Lori and Matt's House DAY OF CONTACT FOR QUESTIONS: Kathryn - 1-541-510-8074 Getting There:Because we have very limited parking and don't want to cause traffic jams in our steep driveway, please follow the following instructions to get to our home: 1) Please use a rideshare service such as Uber or Lyft. Please do not plan on coming in a rental car or your own vehicle, as there will be no place to park. If you are local-ish, we recommend parking in a nearby free parking lot and ride-sharing for the last stretch. If rideshare is not an option, or if you need accomodations to avoid a 400ft walk over uneven terrain, let Lori know ASAP so she can make appropriate accommodations.There are two options for dropoff:Drop off at the bottom of our hill (13515 Avondale Rd NE) by the mailboxes, and hike up the very steep hill on foot (it's a workout!)Drop off at 18815 NE 137th St- THIS IS NOT OUR HOME. It's the nearest address to a driveway that leads to our home- there will be balloons and signs directing you down a 400ft driveway to the party. Timeline:3:30pm: Guests welcome4:15pm: Vow renewal4:30: Wine/beer hour and photos5:30: Welcome and Champagne/Sparkling Juice toast6:00: Buffet Dinner Served Dress Code: Come as you are, but there will be a photographer! Generally a dressy casual- sundresses or nice pants and shirt. Think "nice summer barbecue" or "summer midwest baptism at a progressive congregation". Matt and I will be wearing wedding garb. Gifts/Registry: The best gift of all is your presence- no gifts necessary! However, a few folks have asked about our registry given that we've already gone on our honeymoon. We do not have an active wedding registry, but we would be appreciative of gifts of funds to go towards this July celebration.

Vow Renewal/ Wedding Reception

Date: Sunday, July 10Time: 1pm-5pmLocation: Olallie State Park South Fork Picnic Area, North Bend WAWhat do we have planned?This is meant to be a casual outdoor hangout in a stunning Pacific Northwest mountain setting. We will have a selection of our favorite Washington wines to taste, and some games. We will have pop up tents for shade.There is a relatively flat and easy 1 mile there-and-back round trip trail that leads to a waterfall right near the picnic area, as well as several trailheads for more rigorous hiking. Logistics:- Please let Lori know whether you're planning on attending.- Please car pool if possible. Please let Lori know if you're planning on attending so she can help facilitate car pools.- It costs $10 to park at state parks- if you let Lori know ahead of time, she can get you a pass. Otherwise, you will need $10 in cash for the self-serve pay station Getting There: Take I-90 East to Exit 38, SE Homestead Valley Rd/Olallie State Park. Follow signs for South Fork Picnic Area. Note: Google Maps says the South Fork Picnic Area is about a mile further east than it actually is. Look for a meadow with a bunch of picnic tables. GPS Coordinates: 47.43572483961292, -121.65615218134553

Sunday Adventure: Olallie State Park and Wine

We have blocked rooms at the two following hotels:

We have a block of hotels reserved for our friends and family for this budget-friendly inn within a few miles of our house. You must reserve by June 9, 2022. To take advantage of our rate, please call the hotel and ask for the Hayes block.

Redmond Inn

We have a block of rooms reserved at this chic boutique hotel a few miles from our home. You must book by 6/15. You can use the personalized link above, or contact the hotel directly at 425.655.0507.

Archer Hotel Redmond

Willows Lodge does not offer blocks, but it's where we had our "mini-moon", and it's the nicest place to stay in the area! It's pricey, but the rooms are lovely, and the restaurant can't be beat.

Willows Lodge

In addition to the hotels we have blocked off, there are also many hotels and Airbnbs very close to our home. Please reach out to Lori if you have questions about your options. Our address is 13515 Avondale Rd NE. The nearest towns, in order, are Redmond, Woodinville, Kirkland, and Bothell.

Accomodations

Because we have very limited parking and don't want to cause traffic jams in our steep driveway, please follow the following instructions to get to our home: 1) Please use a rideshare service such as Uber or Lyft. Please do not plan on coming in a rental car or your own vehicle, as there will be no place to park. If you are local-ish, we recommend parking in a nearby free parking lot and ride-sharing for the last stretch. If rideshare is not an option, or if you need accommodations to avoid a 400ft walk over uneven terrain, let Lori know ASAP so she can make appropriate accommodations. There are two options for dropoff:- Drop off at the bottom of our hill (13515 Avondale Rd NE) by the mailboxes, and hike up the very steep hill on foot (it's a workout!) -Drop off at 18815 NE 137th St- THIS IS NOT OUR HOME. It's the nearest address to a driveway that leads to our home- there will be balloons and signs directing you down a 400ft driveway to the party.

TRANSPORTATION! (Important- please read before attending)

FAQs for Summer Celebration

Videography by the incomparable David Wanhainen <a href="https://youtu.be/Qji773syISo" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/Qji773syISo</a>

Wedding Video

Wedding Day Photos (Bear Beau Photography)

Woodinville Wineries

Alexandria Nicole- lots of great ones and the people are super nice. We are members! Matthews/Tenor- the tenor Chardonnay is one of my faves DeLille- more upscale but they have a really weird (in a good way) white wine that gets served at the White House Airfield- very casual, like their whites, very summery Castillo de Feliciana- nice reds, really pretty outdoor tasting room Chateau St Michelle- the one you’ve most likely heard of. Big beautiful winery, their regular wines aren’t good but I like their Indian wells ones Bonuses Woodinville Whiskey- distillery! Whiskey tastings. Barking Frog- amazing brunch Heritage- amazing dinner

Things to Do

Wedding Party

Engagement Photos (Bear Beau Photography)

Registry

Wedding Plans (Revised!)

Hello friends and family, On February 15, Matt and Lori will be tying the knot in an itty-bitty outdoor ceremony here in Washington State. It’s not the ceremony we originally envisioned, but we are very excited to celebrate our love and make things official-- with plans to have a nice big shindig once it is safe to do so. While your physical absence will be sorely missed, we hope you will be with us in spirit.&nbsp; We will do our best to have the ceremony live-streamed. If that’s not possible due to spotty cell coverage, we will have a video of the ceremony posted soon after it is completed (same day on the 15th). I will be sending out details for the video as they become available, and will post a link on the wedding website (<a href="https://www.theknot.com/us/lori-sommerfelt-and-matt-hayes-feb-2021" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.theknot.com/us/lori-sommerfelt-and-matt-hayes-feb-2021</a>) on the evening of the 15th. That website is also where our wedding photos will be posted after the fact, and where you can find our wedding registry (Yes, our honeymoon is still on!) Thank you for your love, support, and kindness.&nbsp; Lori and Matt

COVID (sort of) Update

We are still deciding what we are going to do about our wedding, but we have made the call about what we are&nbsp;not&nbsp;going to do: Due to the raging pandemic, we are not having a wedding with out of town guests this February. Please&nbsp;do not&nbsp;make any travel plans to Washington. We will keep you posted once we know more about what we will be doing-- likely something small this February with no out of town guests, and then a bigger party later on. Please also do your part to curb this pandemic. Self-isolate to the extent possible, wear masks, wash hands frequently, and avoid groups outside of your household.&nbsp; Love you all, Lori and Matt

Covid (non)update

Hi all! Matt and I had been holding off on providing an update on our wedding and sending invitations due to all of the uncertainty around the current pandemic. Because the situation continues to evolve, we still don’t have definitive answers. We are hopeful that by February we may be able to have a wedding aligned to our original vision, but it is growing more and more likely that we will need to scale back our guest list unless a vaccine is widely available and/or infection counts are very significantly reduced. The last thing we want to do is invite then uninvite people, so we ask for your patience as we wait to see how Covid-19 plays out over the coming months. Please do your part to address this global health crisis. Follow local health guidelines, social distance as much as possible, wash your hands regularly, and wear a mask. Love, Lori and Matt

Thank you for considering attending our special day! We are still finalizing details, but please hold the date of 2/15/2021 (President's Day, a Monday) for our morning ceremony and brunch reception.Events will take place at the historic Thornewood Castle in Lakewood, WA, about 45 miles south of downtown Seattle. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to Matt or Lori.

Lori & Matt

Lori & Matt

Wedding Day Photos (Bear Beau Photography)