Local Cuisine and Libations

Food is one of the many passions Corley and I both share. She loves to cook and we both enjoy introducing our friends and family who don't live in Dallas to the many different and unique options we have. Dallas is home to several major restaurant companies like Brinker International and Yum! Brands which means this area is also privy to many new restaurant concepts that are tested out here before they are opened up across the country. Dallas is also known as having one of the highest number of restaurants per capita which is sometimes a double-edged sword when trying to making a decision on where to go.

None the less, we wanted to highlight just a few of the many excellent restaurants that are near the Downtown and Uptown neighborhoods. We've also provided a short list of the many fine local bars and pubs in case you're in search of a cold beverage during the weekend.

BBQ
Cowboy Chow - known as much for their open-range or chuck-wagon style dining as they are for making Deep Ellum their home on the range.
Dickey's - ya, we know this is a chain, which by default should disqualify this recommendation, but their BBQ is dang good and the original location opened up in Dallas back in 1941.
Sammy's BBQ - a favorite lunch spot for the suits from downtown during the week.

Tex-Mex
Primo's Bar & Grille - opened up by two cousins, hence the name, who will have the place packed on any given weekend.
Manny's Uptown - serving some of the best margaritas and brisket tacos out of an old house-turned-restaurant in Uptown

Hamburgers
Twisted Root - gourmet meats, house-made condiments like ancho-chipotle ketchup and horseradish mustard with a dash of Deep Ellum attitude.
Jake's Hamburgers - you can pay a visit to their Uptown location or check out the one in Lake Highlands that is a short stroll from our house.
Village Burger Bar - everything is skinny in Uptown's West Village, including the fries.

Pizza
Campisi's - original location, which is still in business today on Mockingbird Lane, opened in the mid-1940's and at one time had ties to Jack Ruby and Dallas' organized crime. There is a downtown location if you're not looking for a history lesson.
Coal Vine's - the ambiance and taste of a little New York pizzeria in the middle of Uptown

Seafood
Five Sixty - Wolfgang Puck's new Asian fusion restaurant that has arguably one of the best views of downtown Dallas.
Deep Sushi - hands down the best sushi in town
S&D Oyster Co. - once a neighborhood grocery store and livery stable is now a great place for oysters on the half shell, hush puppies and fresh snapper.
Hook, Line & Sinker - if you like it fried, you'll feel right at home here.

Brunch
Dream Cafe - everything from Cloud Cakes and Austin Tacos to Migas or a Monte Cristo.
Cafe Brazil - often highlighted in the Dallas Observer's annual Best of Dallas list. You'll have plenty of options at their diverse coffee bar as well as from the Brazilian-inspired menu. There are a few standard breakfast options as well to round out the selection.

Bars and Pubs
Stoneleigh P - once a pharmacy and located directly across for the 1920s landmark hotel. A great Uptown neighborhood bar with a pool table and Golden Tee.
Gingerman - by far one of the largest draught beer selections in Dallas.
Uptown Pub - dark wooden fixtures, cozy booths and a perfect patio for West Village people-watching.
Adair's - if you're looking for a Texas-style experience, you've found the place. Adair's has been a staple of the Deep Ellum area for more than 27 years where you'll be served beer in a can and can almost always hear a good Texas county band playing.
Elbow Room - it was a tough call on whether to put the Elbow Room under the Pizza category or here with the other bars as they have some of the best pizza in Dallas. They also have one of the better jukeboxes, pools tables, shuffle board and darts.
Old Monk - another regular on the Dallas Observer's Best of Dallas list. This pub offers up an impressive beer list that compliments the lights from a monastery in Pennsylvania and a turn of the century altar door.

What to Do in Big D

Now, we realize that there are a number of you coming to the wedding that are either from Dallas or live in the DFW Metroplex. This post is not for you. For those of you who have never been to Dallas or who have but are wondering what really is there to do in Dallas, keep reading.

Dallas doesn't necessarily jump off the map as a tourist destination like L.A., Chicago, NYC, etc. but if you spend enough time here, you'll find that Dallas has a unique culture, a storied past and a little something for everyone. To be fair, Dallas is just a part of what makes this area of Texas so great and we're not going to attempt to list out everything we have within reach. But, if you're feeling adventurous, you can always make a trip out to Ft. Worth the see the World's Largest Honky Tonk, or over to Arlington to see Jerry's World or up to Plano to find out who really shot J.R.

What we have done is pulled together a list of things to do and places see in and around downtown Dallas. This isn't, by any stretch of the imagination, a complete list but merely recommendations that we both love and enjoy. We hope you do to.

The Arts
Dallas Museum of Art - located in the heart of the Arts District, you can see works of art here from Monet, Renoir and van Gogh, to name a few.
Nasher Sculpture Center - modern and contemporary sculpture pieces. Popular events include the Target First Saturdays for kids and parents.
Crow Collection of Asian Art - galleries dedicated to the arts and cultures of China, Japan, India and Southeast Asia.
AT&T Performing Arts Center - even if your schedule doesn't allow for you to catch a performance, it's a least worth a walk around to take in the latest architectural addition to the Arts District.

History
The 6th Floor Museum - a sobering reminder of what happened on November 22, 1963 in Downtown Dallas.

Shopping
The Original Neiman Marcus - opened in 1914 and home to the grandiose and elaborate. Beware, this store is closed on Sundays.
West Village - the place to see, be seen and do all your posh shopping in Uptown.
Knox / Henderson - Apple store, Crush, Knox St. Market, historic Highland Park Pharmacy (complete with their own soda fountain), Wild About Harry's, Froggies 5 & 10 (toy store for the young and young at heart).

Fresh Air
White Rock Lake - running, biking, sailing, fishing. Think Central Park but bigger and with more water!
Katy Trail - formerly the Missouri-Kansas-Texas (MKT or “Katy”) railroad that traveled through Dallas, now a great way to see the American Airlines Center, Uptown, and Highland Park.
Top Golf - micro chipped golf balls track your accuracy and distance as you aim at a variety of in-ground-targets. Don't worry, there are heaters in every bay to keep you warm during the January weekend.

Where the Wild Things Are
Dallas Zoo - just look for the 67.5 foot giraffe sculpture peering over I-35E.
Dallas World Aquarium - flora and fauna from five continents, 14 countries, three oceans, and more seas and rivers than they can keep track of.

Go Local
Dallas Farmers Market - browse through a multitude of local farmers and retailers selling everything from produce and meats to flowers, spices, gourmet cookies and home decor.

Why Not
Dallas Segway Tours - experience The West End, Katy Trail or the American Airlines Center by way of your own Segway.

How to Get Here & Where to Stay

Transportation
There are many options for transportation from DFW Airport to Downtown Dallas. You can rent a car, take public transportation, or arrange for a shuttle.

Rental Cars @ DFW
www.dfwairport.com/rac/index.php

Shared Ride Transportation
A taxi from DFW to Downtown Dallas typically costs about $40. Shared ride transportation should be a cheaper option.

Go Yellow Checker Shuttle (214) 841-1900

To get the Sheraton Hotel discount, click here

Each van passenger - $14

Exclusive van (up to 10 passengers) - $85

3 passenger sedan - $74

City Shuttle (214) 760-1998
Each van passenger - $ 17.00
Exclusive van (up to 10 passengers) - $ 75.00

Public Transportation
Trains and buses run from DFW airport to Downtown Dallas. You need to take the Remote South airport terminal shuttle to the TRE CentrePort/DFW Airport station. From this station you can take the TRE train to Union Station in Downtown Dallas. To get to the Sheraton Hotel, you can ride the DART light rail from Union Station to Pearl Station.

TRE info: www.trinityrailwayexpress.org/dfw.html
DART info: www.dart.org/riding/dfwairport.asp


Hotel Info
We have reserved a block of rooms at the Downtown Dallas Sheraton. To book a room, go to the Travel Info section on the right hand side of this page. Click on "Click here to Reserve Online" then click on Reserve. The wedding rate of $99.00/night is only good until December 16th.

There are two different room options: 2 Queen Beds or 1 King Bed. The room with the 2 Queen Beds is larger than the room with the King Bed. The entire hotel has just been renovated from top to bottom. There are restaurants, a sports bar with Wii stations and personal karaoke rooms and free WiFi in the public areas.

The church is a block and a half away from the hotel, easily walkable, weather permitting. Parking options near the church may be limited so we are praying for good weather.

We are excited to see everyone in January. Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions about the wedding events, travel or Dallas.

Our Name in Lights

So when it came time for Corley and me to start pulling together ideas for the Save the Date cards, we weren't really sure what we wanted. What we did know was that we didn't want to follow the standard or the typical. After brainstorming and debating over ideas, we realized that what we were really looking for was a way to highlight two of the things we really love, Dallas and music.

One of our favorite areas in Dallas is known as Lakewood which is in East Dallas and is home to several local restaurants, bars and shops. The centerpiece to this neighborhood is the Lakewood Theater which plays hosts to a number of different bands across a wide range of genres. Corley would probably tell you that she saw one of the best shows at the Lakewood Theater the night that Sister Hazel came to town. She might be a little biased since Sister Hazel is from Gainesville, FL (home of the Univ. of Florida) and her and her other Hazelnut friends attended many a show during their college years.

So we took a chance and sent an email off to the management of Lakewood Theater to see if they could accommodate us by putting our Save the Date info up on the marquee. The next day I had a voicemail from Deana at Lakewood Theater saying for me to name the date and time and they would take care of the rest. We couldn't have been more excited!

The next part of the equation was finding someone to take the perfect picture for us to use on the Save the Date postcards and we both knew immediately who we wanted behind the lens. Melissa Preston has been a best friend to both Corley and me from day one and we both knew that there wasn't a better person for the job. Melissa is one of Dallas' new, up and coming photographers. Her business, Mel Marie Photography, has been featured in the Advocate magazine and she is extremely talented.

The day of the shoot was such an awesome experience. It was a typical Friday evening in Lakewood. Everyone was out and about, making their way to their favorite restaurant. When we got there the marquee was set up, the lights were on and it looked every bit as we had imagined it.

The pictures turned out great and we had a blast doing it. We even came back later that night to snap a few shots after sundown. A big thanks is in order to Lakewood Theater for putting our name in lights and of course to our good friend Melissa for running the camera!

The Engagement

So many people have asked us for the story of our engagement, so here it is:

The day of the engagement started out as normal as any other Saturday morning. The week leading up to the engagement, however did take some maneuvering on my part. I needed to make sure our weekend was free of any plans so in order to ensure this, I convinced Corley that we were due a trip home to Stephenville to see my parents and get out of Dallas. Little did she know this was not the case.

Come the Friday before the big weekend, I called Corley to tell her my parents actually had their weekends mixed up and that they had an out of town wedding they had to go to. Corley was genuinely disappointed but I told her that we would find something fun to do over the weekend instead.

Saturday morning we decided to load the bikes up and go down to Katy Trail in the Uptown area of Dallas for a morning ride. The weather was good and the bike ride was a good way to kick start the day. After the ride, we cleaned up and headed back down to the Uptown area for brunch. The location of brunch was key to rest of the day.

We took our time over brunch, enjoying the patio and the people watching. The late morning brunch played nicely into the idea of taking a drive around the McKinney Ave. neighborhood. I conveniently navigated our way towards the Crescent Hotel where, unbeknownst to Corley, I had scheduled a day at the spa for her. She was suspiciously surprised but refrained from asking too many probing questions.

As soon as I left Corley at the spa for her day of pampering, the real plans had to start falling into place. I drove the car that we arrived at the hotel in across the street where I could leave it for a few short hours. I quickly hopped in a cab and made it back to my house where I packed up the necessities for the remainder of the evening. Items on the packing list included the ring (of course), a special bottle of champagne and an iPod with a playlist put together just for that evening. I loaded up my car, made a stop at the local flower shop and the headed back to the Crescent Hotel.

Once I arrived at the Crescent, time was of the essence. I checked into the hotel and went to work on setting up the room. iPod volume set - check, champagne on ice - check, rose pedals spread out across the floor - check. Before I knew it Corley was calling me on my cell phone for me to come pick her up.

I rushed down stairs to the spa and somehow slowed my heart rate back down to a somewhat manageable pace. With my car now valet parked, we left the hotel and headed back to the house in Corley's car. On the way, I told Corley I had made dinner reservations at a nice restaurant and that we should try to leave by around 6:30pm. Of course, we both we both got dressed and ready to go before the 6:30pm departure time so I had to find a way to stall for at least a few minutes. Finally, there was a knock on the front door and I ushered Corley out to a waiting chauffeured Lincoln Towncar.

We made our way to downtown Dallas to the restaurant, Stephen Pyles where we were treated to one of the best dinners we have ever shared together. After dinner, we took the car up to the Stoneleigh Hotel for dessert and a drink at Bola, their newly renovated restaurant. Once we finished off the last crumbs of our dessert it was back in the car and off to the Crescent Hotel.

By this point in the evening Corley's level of suspicion was boiling over. We went up to the room and weren't two steps in the door before Corley put all the pieces together. I had a small table with two chairs centered in front of the opened, french doors that overlooked the hotel courtyard and pool. Sitting atop the table was the bottle of champagne and a glass bowl filled with strips of white paper. Once Corley gathered up her composure, I sat her down at the table and asked her to hold the glass bowl in her lap. On each strip of paper were little reasons I had captured of why I love her so much. I read through each one of these until I got to the very last strip of paper, which was red and tied together with a bow. Inside that strip of paper was the ring.

As I'm sure you know by now, I asked and she said yes. It was the perfect ending to a perfect day. Everything went as planned and I somehow held it together, at least for the majority of the day.