Humpback Whales on Great Barrier Reef

While on our way to the Great Barrier Reef, our boat ran into some humpback whales. They literally came right up next to the boat to show off, and I was able to grab some great video. Here are all the best clips edited together.

Thank You

Thank you so much to everyone who atended the wedding. We had such a wonderful weekend and it was great to see so many of our friends and family in the same place helping us to celebrate a special day for the both of us.

Here are a couple photos of us in Sydney.

Thanks,

Liz & Mike

Boston Visitor's Guide

For all of our out of town guests, we have a Boston Visitor's Guide that you can download and save on your PC and/or print out to take with you.

(Thanks to Carol/Mom for putting this together...)

Click here to download the Boston Visitors Guide.

We can't wait to see you all next month...

Reminder: Hotel Deadlines June 20

Just a reminder that the hotels all have deadlines for you to make a reservation by June 20. Click here for a link to our previous post with information about all the hotels. When you make your reservation, be sure to tell the hotel that you are part of the Hamilton-Volpe wedding.

Catie Copley, Canine Ambassador

For those of you who don't know, the Fairmont Copley has a "canine ambassador". Catie Copley is stationed near the St. James entrance where she relaxes between walks in her cozy bed. Our concierge maintains an appointment book where guest can schedule walks or runs with her. When guests take Catie for a walk around the city, they receive a walk pack that includes a booklet highlighting Catie's favorite Boston walks, as well as the commands that she knows and a biscuit for a walk well done.

Catie even has her own business cards and e-mail address. Hotel guests may write to Catie at Catie.Copley@fairmont.com.

Red Sox Tickets Available for Wedding Guests

Baseball season is upon us (even though it is cold and potentially snowy in Boston currently) and the Red Sox are promising a lot of excitement this year with the addition of Japanese ace Daisuke Matsuzaka-san and JD Drew to hit behind Manny "Being Manny" Ramirez. And as a great bonus for Sox games, you get the opportunity to visit Fenway Park, the oldest, most exciting, most historic and certainly most beloved ballpark in the world. The ballpark is about a 10-15 minute walk from all of our wedding hotels, or you can take the T (subway).

For wedding guests, I am offering some of my season tickets for your enjoyment the week of the wedding for people coming into town early. I have 2 Tickets, $40 each (face value at season ticket holder discount) in Section 7, Box 93 (in right field near Pesky's Pole, 8 rows from the field) for the games below. These tickets are offered first-come, first served to out of town guests. If you are local and interested, you can email me as well but I will let the out of towners pick first. michael.l.volpe@gmail.com

DATE Saturday, July 14	TIME 7:05 PM	TEAM Blue Jays
Sunday, July 15	2:05 PM	Blue Jays
Monday, July 16	7:05 PM	Royals
Tuesday, July 17	7:05 PM	Royals
Wednesday, July 18	7:05 PM	Royals

Honeymoon is Booked

We will be going to Australia (Sydney, Melbourne and Cairns) as well as Bora Bora (in French Polynesia).

If you have any travel tips for those areas, let us know!

Liz and Mike News

Since I recently got scolded for not updated our wedding website (you know who you are), here are a couple pieces of news which many of you already know:

1. Liz has graduated! While the official diploma ceremony is not for a little while, Liz has defended her dissertation and has officially completed here program. We are all looking forward to Liz starting a job in August since this will mean that you (a) don't need to listen to her stress out about her program anymore (b) don't need to support her financially anymore (c) don't need to worry about her "finalizing" her dissertation for another 6 years or (d) will benefit from the great income she will be earning in August. Or in some cases, you benefit from all 4 things. :)
   
2. Mike started a new job. Mike has begin his trip into the startup world (again) at HubSpot, a company which provides internet marketing software to small businesses. You can read the company's blog (which Mike occasionally writes for) at Small Business Hub. If you know of any businesses looking to do more or better online marketing, let him know. You can also evaluate the marketing effectiveness of any website with the free website grader tool.
   

Hotel Information

Here is information for the 4 hotels where we have room blocks for the weekend of July 20-22. The reception is at the Fairmont Copley, but all of these hotels are a short walk (less than 10 minutes) or a cheap cab ride away, and all of them are near the best attractions in Boston. When you call, be sure to mention the Hamilton/Volpe Wedding to get the rates below. Here is a link to a map showing all the hotels where we have a room block along with the location of our church.


















Fairmont Copley

The Fairmont Copley Plaza has been a symbol of Boston's rich history and elegance since its gala opening in 1912. With the completions of an extensive renovation and restoration of each of the hotel's 383 guestrooms and suites in 2004, The Fairmont Copley Plaza shines more brightly than ever before. Hotel direct: 617-267-5300

Fairmont Copley
138 St. James Ave., Boston, MA 02116 (Map)
Rate: $259 to $289 + tax
Reservations: 1-800-441-1414
Distance: Can't get any closer

Mike's Notes: The Fairmont Copley is one fo the oldest and most prestigious hotels in Boston. Also, every United States President since Taft (Clinton stayed at the hotel while he was a candidate) has stayed at The Fairmont Copley Plaza Boston. In addition, the hotel has been featured in several major motion pictures including The Firm and Blown Away. If you are a dog lover, make sure to call in advance to place a "reservation" to take Katie Copley (a black lab) for a walk, she is the hotel mascot and has a house at the entrance to the hotel.


Radisson Hotel Boston

With a prime downtown Boston location in Park Square near theaters and just a block from the Boston Common, the Radission Hotel Boston offers the kind of warm hospitality, inviting atmosphere and premier services sure to please business and leisure travelers alike.

Radission Hotel Boston
200 Stuart St., Boston, MA 02116 (Map)
Rate: $219 + tax
Reservations: 617-482-1800
Distance: 0.6 miles, 8 minute walk

Mike's Notes: All rooms at the Radisson offer free Internet access, free fitness center access, Sleep Number beds, and an available onsite golf school with putting green and driving area.


The Lenox Hotel

In 1900, the hotelier and impresario Lucias Boomer (best known as the owner of New York’s Waldorf - Astoria) began work on what was to be the most luxurious hotel in New England. Eight months and $1,100,000 later, The Lenox, the tallest building in Boston at the time, opened its doors in the heart of Back Bay and a proud tradition was born. The industry leading environmental efforts of The Lenox have received numerous prestigious awards for pioneering luxury within ecotourism including a Gold Medal from President George H. Bush in 1992.

The Lenox Hotel
61 Exeter St., Boston, MA 02116 (Map)
Rate: $199 + tax
Reservations: 617-536-5300
Distance: 0.25 miles, 4 minute walk

Mike's Notes: The Lenox has been cited by Boston Magazine as the "Best Place to Spot a Celebrity" two years running. The bar in the lobby called "City Bar" usually gets crowded on most every night and has a very good selection of scotch.


The Sheraton Boston Hotel

The Sheraton Boston Hotel boasts one of New England’s largest pools with a retractable roof. Indoor walkways lead to the Hynes Convention Center and 200 shops at The Shops at Prudential and Copley Place.

The Sheraton Boston Hotel
31 Dalton St., Boston, MA 02199 (Map)
Rate: $179 + tax
Reservations: 888-627-7054
Distance: 0.7 miles, 9 minute walk

Mike's Notes: The Sheraton offers their Sheraton Sweet Sleeper™ Bed in all 1200 guest rooms, and if you are into bowling like Chris Hamilton, you'll be happy to know that there is a bowling alley right across the street, as well as lots of bars, restaurants and shopping in the indoor mall attached to the hotel. This hotel is the closest to Fenway Park of all our hotels, the ballpark is probably a 10 minute walk.

Complete Engagement Party Photos

I have finally gathered all the engagement party photos and made an album. You can browse through the photos using the slideshow below right here, or go to this link to see them all on another website and download the full size images.



(For you techie folks, the album is on Ning, a cool web 2.0 app from a company Marc Andreesen is working on.)

Christmas in Pittsburgh (aka "the 'Burgh")

Here are some photos from Christmas in Pittsburgh with Liz and her family. This first one is Liz and I next to one of the TWO Christmas trees at the Hamilton house (this is the "secondary" tree), and yes, we are wearing dorky matching outfits (by accident, I promise!).





















Here is Liz opening a gift in front of the "primary"' Christmas tree.
















Here are John and Chris exchanging gifts.
















Here are Liz, Mike and Katie at the Steelers game on Christmas Eve.

Engagement Party

The Hamilton Family - Left to Right: Liz & Mike, Katie, John & Chris

The Volpe Family - Left to Right: Lou & Carol, Liz & Mike, Drew & Kate, Joe & Katie

Thank you so much to everyone who came to the engagement party. We had a great time at Felt and really enjoyed seeing all of you. The Hamilton Family (John, Chris, Katie) all flew in for the soiree and it was great to have them mix it up with the Volpe clan, especially Katie and Drew who had not met them before. Finally, a special thank you to Lou and Carol Volpe (mom & dad) for hosting and organizing the party.

K2 selected as band

Based on your feedback, we have selected K2 as the band for our wedding. Listen to some songs below. (You can right click and select "Save As" to download the mp3 files and put them on your iPod if you want to rock out to K2 between now and the wedding.)

• Sample of Car Wash (Rose Royce) and September (Earth, Wind & Fire)
• Sample of Way You Move (Outkast)
• Sample of One Love (Bob Marley)
• Video with samples of a few songs
  
• And... you can listen to more on their website - click on the "Play K-Tunes link"
  

Playlist: Email us or leave a comment if you have any preferences for the playlist, K2 has a song list you can review for ideas (and yes John, we know you want some motown and Barry White).

Brooke and Dan are Engaged

Liz's longtime friend Brooke and her boyfriend Dan got engaged last night! Liz and I were about to depart for the cape to spend Thanksgiving with the family, and Liz got the call. We went over to Dan's place in the north end with a bottle of champagne to help them celebrate. Liz and Brooke were friends growing up in Pittsburgh, and were also roommates for a few years in Allston.

Liz and Brooke are very excited to be getting married in the same year and we are so happy for the two of them. Those of you who know them would agree that they are perfect for each other.

Liz has a job!

Liz has accepted a job as a professor in the Gabelli School of Business at Roger Williams University in Bristol, Rhode Island. She will start teaching classes in organizational behavior and related management topics there in August 2007. Congratulations Liz!

Special People - Katie & Joe

Some more special people we wanted to recognize are Katie (Mike's sister) and Joe (her fiance). Katie and Joe also got engaged this year and will also be married in 2007. Even though they are quite busy planning their own wedding, they have been so helpful to Liz and I by suggesting vendors and offering advice based on their experience. Liz and I both had so much fun at the wonderful engagement party on the cape, and are very excited to go to the wedding. Hopefully Mike's services as an engagement picture photographer can start to repay you both for all the help you have offered us.

You can check out their wedding website at http://www.joe-and-katie.com/

Thanks for all your help Katie & Joe!

Band Preference?

I am in charge of the band selection process, and in true web 2.0 and blogging spirit, I am going to ask for some user generated content. Well... maybe not content. I really don't want any of you guys playing at our wedding.. but how about feedback?

Here are some of the top bands based on a ton of screening I have done - there are links to videos for them. So check them out and let me know what you think. You can either leave a comment below or email me. If you have any ideas on songs or playlists, mention those as well.

1. Rare Form
2. World Premier Band
3. Night Shift
4. Kahootz
5. Soho
6. K2

We're Famous at JetBlue

Apparently the story about our enagement trip to Las Vegas and the cell phone photo that our JetBlue agent took at the ticketing counter (see that posting here) has made it all the way to JetBlue corporate and was mentioned in their company newsletter. Crazy! Here is an image of the newsletter that an MIT Sloan alum forwarded to me after recognizing me in the photo.

Special People - Jeremy & Lorin

Every couple has a story about how they met. While I won't go into the details of our first date right now (ask Mike sometime why he was drinking white wine at dinner), Liz and I both want to recognize two dear friends of ours who were the ones who "set us up".

Mike became friends with Jeremy and Lorin because Jeremy went to MIT Sloan with Mike. Perhaps because of his culinary skills, Lorin - quite an accomplished chef and a grad of the Cornell hotel school - took a liking to Mike and made it her mission to find him a worthy mate. Quite some time later, while at a Cornell alumni event, Lorin bumped into Liz, whom she had not seen in many years, but instantly knew she would be a great match for Mike. Within about 2 minutes of conversation, Lorin was asking "are you single? Good! You HAVE to meet my friend Mike Volpe. He is awesome and the best guy ever." (author promises there is no embellishment... well maybe a bit) There are lots more details behind the story, but I will leave those for a later time or perhaps a toast on the wedding weekend.

Jeremy & Lorin - thank you so much for making all this happen. Liz and I owe you both so much for making both of us so happy!

Registries Are Up

Liz and I spent an entire day in Macy's and Williams-Sonoma, and I think (actually, Liz thinks - I just did as I was told on this one) that our registries are now somewhat properly organized. You can use the links at the top right of our webpage to access our registries.

For those of you interested in utilizing the power of the Internet to make your purchase online, if you use these links on our website, a portion of your purchase (somewhere from 1% to 4%) will be donated to the Boston Scholars Program, the nonprofit I cofounded 3 years ago and where I still serve on the board of directors. This does not cost any of you anything, the merchants offer it as a benefit to couples who give them more business buy creating a registry.

We might make some changes or add a store later. I am still negotiating with Liz to put superbowl tickets and a plasma TV on the registry... :)