Thursday, February 11, 2010

You Found Us!

***UPDATED 5/21!!!

Welcome to our wedding website! We hope you find everything you need to know about our special day. If you have any questions feel free to contact us at anytime!

The Story of Us


The Bride

Abby grew up in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Just 45 minutes away from her childhood home, Abby decided to go to UW Oshkosh for graphic design. With a few semesters of computer laden classes and a very uninteresting internship she decided that graphic design was not the path for her. After dabbling a bit in environmental science, Abby went back to her true calling: painting and drawing. She finally got her BFA after five years of hard work and self discovery. Unfortunately no one hires an artist so instead she went for the next best thing: being a nanny. Abby now works with a wonderful family in Madison which also leaves her time for being the artist she trained to be.

Abby loves to paint, travel, and make their new house a home.


The Groom

Paul grew up in Hudson, Wisconsin. A far 4 hours away from his childhood home, Paul decided to go to UW Oshkosh for music education. Unlike his unruly other half, he stuck with it and graduated in a short five and a half years (which is actually quite quick for a music ed degree!). Within those five and a half years he ran on the UW Oshkosh Cross Country team, was a member of the Chamber Choir, and played in a few bands with strange names such as Lukas Larabee and the Lifepartners and The Joe Briggs Project. After all his collegiate adventures, Paul had no problem getting a job coming out of college. He now works for the Stoughton School District as the general music teacher at Fox Prairie Elementary School.

Paul loves to adventure, play music, and take care of their new home.

The Story of Us

They met while Paul was busy working the stage at the UW Oshkosh Open Mic. His handsome face and awkward charm filled the room and caught the eye of a young and giggly Abby. Lucky for her, Abby's majority of friends were musicians and their new band needed an awkwardly charming lead singer. Their practice space was located on the dorm floor where Abby was living. It was the perfect chance for her to swoon the swooner. Abby pled her case and he took the bait.

Five years later, Paul proposed and of course Abby said yes.

The Proposal


It was a gloomy and cold spring day. Their five year anniversary had finally arrived. Paul had a plan up his sleeve that Abby had been waiting for for almost five years. It started with a heartfelt card and a beautiful bouquet of flowers but no proposal. A day full of animals was in store for Abby. First the Humane Society and then to the Henry Vilas Zoo. But still no proposal. Next, he took her to the distinguished Magnus for the best meal either of them have ever had. Still NO proposal! By the time they got home Abby was so flabbergasted that a proposal had not yet arrived that she put on her pjs and undid her hair and makeup. It was not until 11:11 at night that Paul told her to close her eyes and make a wish. She did and it came true. She opened her eyes and he proposed... in perfect time.

Ceremony & Reception

We are saying we do! Our ceremony and reception locations are just within 100 yards from each other. The little walk will give us some time to appreciate a beautiful August summer day!


731 State Street Mall
Madison, WI 53703

Ceremony starts at 3:30pm




800 Langdon St
Madison, WI 53706

Reception starts at 5:00pm
Dinner starts at 6:00pm

Things to do in between the ceremony and reception:
-hit up State Street!
You could really spend a whole day here! Lots of awesome shops and restaurants to poke your head into.
-go to the UW Memorial Union
The reception will be held there so no extra walking will be required! The Union hosts an the Ice Cream Shoppe, the Union Terrace (beer, sailboats, and people watching), and some food options.
-walk around the UW Madison campus
It's a beautiful campus and hopefully we'll be graced with great summer weather!
-check out Wisconsin's Capital
It's just a short jaunt down State St. If you haven't visited it before, now is the time! Great history and beautiful architecture.

Wedding Party

and in no particular order...



Bridesmaids
Cait Shanahan (maid of honor)
Jessi Dresen
Dawn Otteson
Katy Garvey

Groomsmen
Mike Otteson (best man)
John Statz
Shelby Anderson
Joe Briggs

Parents of the Bride
Rick and Pat VanStraten
Parents of the Groom
Darci and Mike McQuiston
Scott and Cheri Otteson

Ushers
Sam VanStraten (brother of the bride)
Ben VanStraten (brother of the bride)

Registry




Hotel Information

We blocked off between 10 to 20 rooms in the hotels listed below. The first three hotels are in the downtown area. Best Western is located about 5 miles from the reception. The rooms are only blocked off until July 7th so you must make your reservation by then. All reservations are held under "The VanStraten/Otteson Wedding".

Madison Concourse Hotel
1-800-356-8293

Concourse Level Rooms
Single Rate $139
Double Rate $139
Triple Rate $149
Quad Rate $159

Check-in time is 3:00pm and checkout time is 11:00am. Hotel will accommodate any early arrivals on a space available basis.

Current parking rate is $7.00 per day. Additional parking facilities are located within one block of the hotel. Hotel room rates are subject to applicable state and local taxes in effect at the time of check-in. The current tax rate is 14.5%.

866-301-1753
610 Langdon Street
Madison, WI 53703

Rooms are $90 to $105 per night.

This includes either two European double beds or one queen-size bed, use of swimming pool, sauna, and exercise room, and a continental breakfast. Off site parking is free but there is a charge for on site parking. Check in time is 3pm and check out time is 11am.


608-255-5100
9 E. Wilson Avenue
Madison, WI 53703

The Hilton has made a special booking web page just for our wedding!

Two Double/King Bed Rooms $139

Self parking is an additional charge per night based on availability. Room tax is 14.5% per night. Deluxe rooms are an additional $30 upgrade per night. Corner king rooms are an additional $20 upgrade per night.

608-251-2300
706 John Nolen Drive
Madison, WI 53713

The Sheraton has also made a personalized web page just for our wedding!

Two Double/King Bed Rooms $119

Room tax is 14.5% per night. Club level rooms are an additional $30 upgrade per night based on availability.

608-244-2020
4801 Annamark Drive
Madison, WI 53704

Queen Bed Rooms $84.99

Room tax is 14.5% per night. Check-in time is 3:00pm and checkout time is 11:00am.