Things To Do in St. Louis

Wineries: there are excellent wineries within 1 or 1.5 hours of STL. 

Check out: Chaumette Winery   

Laclede's Landing has opened up and is connected to the Missouri Riverfront - very nice place to hang out 

St. Louis Riverfront Times: St. Louis BBQ Festival -- Q in the Lou... bring on the BBQ

http://stlouis.eventful.com/events/september

http://www.stltoday.com/entertainment/calendar/#/

St. Louis Zoo – is rated as the best free-admissions zoo  https://www.stlzoo.org/


Missouri Botanical Garden – my favorite is the Japanese Garden with the lake; http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/


Butterfly House:  http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/visit/family-of-attractions/butterfly-house.aspx


Forest Park is a gem; it is 500 acres bigger than NY’s Central Park  http://www.forestparkforever.org/about-forest-park/


The Fox Theater is always a great choice if you want to get dressed up for some show; Frank and I eat at the diner down the street before the shows  http://www.fabulousfox.com/events


Anheuser Busch brewery tour at the St. Louis location; I don’t drink but I enjoy the tours, and seeing the Clydesdales is always funhttp://www.budweisertours.com/locations/st-louis-missouri.html

If you have a KID SPIRIT and enjoy hands-on discovery stuff for adults and kids alike, then the City Museum is a great place; I love taking photos here http://www.citymuseum.org/

Islands, Castle, & Water

July 3rd, 2015:

Frank and I took a trip to Alexandria Bay where the Thousand Islands are located. We had never explored that area before, and were eager for our turn on the Uncle Sam's boat tours. We lunched at Riverboat restaurant, where (Frank claims) we ate the best gelato ice cream served the size of a giant baseball - mango and passionfruit dipped in white chocolate.

We traveled up and down crystal clear, blue-green St. Lawrence River -- the water so clean that people drink it, bathe in it, and cook with it. The weather was crisp and cool. Everything was beautiful. We crossed over to the Canada side and back to A-Bay; we admired every beautiful house and estate that populated the islands. We saw large estate islands, and also wee islands that had only one house or only a tree. We heard stories shared by the tour guides -- how some islands were man-made to woo lovers and potential wives, how some islands have bridges that span international waters (Canada and USA), how in in winter the river freezes over and animals cross from island to island like little nomadic tribes, and how some islands are so small they only have one tree, one vegetation, and some dirt. We photographed just about everything that I could see.

Frank suggested that we walk around the most famous of the thousand islands: Heart Island. Formerly known as Hart Island because it was populated by harts, the island was purchased by Mr. George Boldt, who blasted the island's sides and reshaped it into the image of a heart -- all for his wife who sadly died before the castle was completed. To this day, Boldt Castle remains unfinished, as a symbol of the love and the loss that George felt on the day he heard his wife died. The story is told that one day, the telegram arrived announcing that all construction needed to cease -- heartbreak. The castle remains incomplete because on the day his wife died, George lost half of his heart, and because George's lady love was not able to live in it, no one else would either.

Frank and I walked around that unfinished island admiring the beautiful trees and flowers, the stone walls and the view of the St. Lawrence River; we sat on the bench looking out at the water, and we stood on the highest landing of the undone castle, thinking of George and his beloved wife, feeling sad for their loss, and feeling grateful that we were together.

That day, Frank proposed. I didn't even think he would; I was expecting it to happen somewhere fun, loud and noisy (like we often are), perhaps during the baseball game we were planning on attending on the Fourth of July (back in Syracuse) (because there would be fireworks, right?). Instead, like he always does, Frank found the perfect spot with perfect timing in the midst of Heart Island. We were standing in the dovecote of the castle, alone. I was admiring the construction and the circular, smooth walls - trying to figure out how to photograph the whole thing - stones and windows and the right hint of light - without messing up the panoramic photo. Suddenly, he was on one knee (how did he get there?!), with this ring box pointed at me, looking a bit embarrassed. Before I could think about it, he said "hurry up and say yes" - turning bright red because someone might see this moment.

For someone who likes to take photos of everything, I don't have even one photo of us taken on that day. Frank refused to have his photo taken. I have a strange selfie-like photo of half my face and half of his blurry face as he turned away from the camera. The only photo I have to commemorate our proposal on Heart Island was of our two feet - a little worn and weary, not so pretty, but side by side.

###

Click HERE to visit us at our wedding website. 15 days to go!!

Parents of the Groom

John and Kay Bush live in Leslie, MO. Together, they have five grandkids, each as important as the other and all well-loved. They enjoy gardening and baking, and periodically, board games or trivia with the family. 

Kay is licensed as a real estate agent and in her spare time volunteers at church, hosts family gatherings, and serves as family matriarch. She is an amazing planner and organizer, loves creating her own trivia games, enjoys board games, and boasts an incredibly precise memory of all fun facts and trivia of family history. Kay maintains records of all things family -- from kids' elementary school awards to grandkids' sleepover plans to toys and mementos that the next generation might appreciate thirty years down the road. Thanks for being our memory-keeper, Kay! 

John is an avid hunter, farmer, electrician, comedian, baker, master chef, conversationalist, and occasional Cardinals fan. If you want to build your own crater lake, then John has the resume experience and mad skills you can rely on. John has mastered soap-making from natural ingredients, developed his own recipes for grilled everything-you-can-think-of, and can flip a quip faster than you can blink. Thanks for the laughs, John! 

Parents of the Groom

Bill and Rita Diez live in Union, MO. They both served as police officers in Franklin County Sheriff's Department, protecting the peace and serving the community. They enjoy hosting backyard BBQs during Oktoberfest, love antique shopping, enjoy Seinfeld episodes,and are huge St. Louis Cardinals fans. They always score the best deals and coolest finds at the nearest vintage store or antique shop. 

Bill served in the US Army, and was even stationed abroad for a year in Korea. An avid reader and history buff, Bill enjoys researching family histories, especially tracing the Diez family history back to Germany. In his spare time, Bill collects and remodels vintage stereos. 

Rita is an amazing cook and exemplifies Grandma Extraordinaire every holiday season when she hosts cookie baking & decorating sessions with the grandkids. Rita is a hobbyist and has a knack for decorating, staging, and setting the scene for every family gathering. Although Bill is the history buff, for a thorough pictoral history of the family, seek out Rita and she can provide a chronological overview (along with a good cup of coffee).  

Parents of the Bride

Rev. Sanh Tran and Rev. Mai Le have three children, one daughter-in-law Phuong Dung, and one grand-daughter, Phuong Anh. They have both been in ministry for over 40 years, serving God and the communities in which they live and work -- and have now taken on a different calling: serving as Grandparents to Phuong Anh. 

Mai is currently pastoring Family of Faith, the Vietnamese ministry at Lafayette Park UMC. Mai is a masterful chef and baker, loves photographing in gardens and orchards, enjoys films and theatre, and occasionally contributes short articles to Viet magazines and journals in her spare time. 

After have been a pastor at over 10 congregations throughout his 40 years of ministry, Sanh is currently serving part-time as Chaplain at Valley Hope substance abuse rehabilitation center.  Sanh is a musician, playing guitar, piano and at one time trumpet, clarinet and the Vietnamese traditional instrument "dan co."  He loves to take photos of trees and foliage changing colors, enjoys walks in the gardens, and listening to music. In his spare time, he translates AA training materials from English into Vietnamese. 

10 Things About the Bride

1. loves to watch the St. Louis Cardinals
2. prefers chocolate & raspberry combinations of anything (candies, yogurts, ice cream, etc)
3. loves scrapbooking
4. loves the Food Network channel
5. has a degree in poetry

Favorite Shows:

1. I Love Lucy
2. Modern Family
3. The Walking Dead
4. Criminal Minds
5. Vicar of Dibley

10 Things About the Groom

1. a HUGE Cardinals fan
2. a KISS fan
3. plays the guitar
4. reads Steinbeck
5. "chivalry is not dead"

Favorite Shows:

1. Breaking Bad
2. The IT Crowd
3. Seinfeld
4. Game of Thrones
5. Better Call Saul

Outdoor Ceremony

This is an outdoor ceremony. Please check weather forecasts since St. Louis weather can be unpredictable. Wedding guests have free all-day access to the Botanical Gardens. You may arrive anytime after the Gardens open, and can stay to enjoy the Gardens after the ceremony concludes.

Go HERE for the weather.

Wedding Registry

Hi! If you are looking for the blogpost about our wedding registry...

We do not have a wedding registry.  We truly have everything that we need to start our new life together -- that is, we have everything except space to store all the materials in our possession. We kindly ask that friends and family consider supporting us through our GoFundMe campaign. Please click HERE for more details.

xoxo,
frank and hoang-anh

GoFundMe: Diez-Tran Wedding

Hi, everyone!

We are getting married in September and are excited to have family and friends join us on our special day. In planning this special celebration, we have tried to focus on what is most meaningful and important to us and our families, and wedding presents are not the top of our priority list -- in fact, presents are not on any of our lists.

We have all we need to keep us nourished, warm, and safe. We cherish the TIME with our loved ones, not the material things that you would typically find on a wedding registry.

Therefore, we decided not to create a gift registry, since we have accumulated far too much stuff and would not have space to accommodate more things.

We do, however, ask for your support to offset the costs of the wedding ceremony and the reception, as we celebrate our wedding at the Japanese Garden, and break bread together with our familial tribes (the Diez/Bush Clan and the Tran Clan) with a meal at Kemoll's (overlooking the St. Louis arch!).

Please visit our site at: https://www.gofundme.com/dieztranwedding

GoFundMe requires a minimum of $5 for every donation, but please know that any amount will be significant to us, and will be gratefully received. We could never match the generosity that our loved ones have already poured out for us thus far, and we remain deeply grateful for the encouragement and support we continue to receive from everyone near and far.

We look forward to seeing our families and friends in September on this special day. Thank you so much for your love and support!

xoxo
Frank and Hoang-Anh

P.S. If you have questions about how GoFundMe works, click HERE. 

Reception Venue: Kemoll's Italian Restaurant

After researching and looking at 16 different venue options, we've finally selected the venue for our wedding reception: Kemoll's Italian Restaurant.

Kemoll's is an Italian restaurant nestled in the heart of downtown Saint Louis.

Our reception will be on the 40th floor of One Metropolitan Square. We chose to have cocktails at 6:00pm so that we can see the St. Louis arch during dusk. Seated dinner will be at 7:00pm, which will allow us to see the night lights and the arch in the night sky.

Address:
Kemoll's Italian Restaurant
One Metropolitan Square
211 North Broadway
40th & 42nd Floors
Saint Louis, MO 63102

Telephone:
314.421.0555

Email:
info@kemolls.com

Parking:
Complimentary parking in the building for dinner guests. The entrance is on Pine. After turning on to Pine make an immediate right into Met Square parking garage under the “Reserved" awning. Follow the signs for Kemoll's parking. Take elevators to the lobby and stay to the right hand side of the building. Take the elevators marked 29-40 to Kemoll’s Italian Restaurant.

For driving directions to Kemoll's, click HERE to go to the Contact page for Kemoll's website, and download the Word document with specific details.

Ceremony Site: Japanese Garden in the Missouri Botanical Gardens

These two photos were taken at the Japanese Garden of the Missouri Botanical Gardens this past Monday. For March, this is incredibly beautiful weather, with blue skies and white blossoms.

This will be the location of our wedding ceremony in September, and we hope it will be beautiful in a different sort of way.

Address:
Missouri Botanical Garden
4344 Shaw Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63110
(314) 577-5100

Click HERE to visit the Gardens website.

Click HERE to get maps of the Gardens.

Click HERE for directions to the Gardens. Please note there may be construction going on, so check the website as you prepare your travel plans.

Black and Ivory with Gold Accents

We've finally decided our colors: black and ivory with gold accents.

Black because it makes everyone look slimmer and it is an easy color to find in our closets as well as in all the stores. Ivory because we want something classy, and neutral, and which would balance out the deep black. And gold because we need some shine, some gloss, to highlight the mood and bring some brightness and joy to what often can seem like a too formal, serious affair.

Despite what traditions say, we believe it is absolutely ok to be decked out in all black; if you prefer the satin-y ivory look -- that is fine, too. If you choose to wear all gold -- make sure you're in my photos so that your bling will distract from my (inevitable) shiny (oily) nose.

Most importantly: wear whatever makes you happy, and comfortable. The weather is unpredictable; it might be rainy or too hot and humid. Keep in mind that you'll want to look happy -- uncomfortable clothes and shoes will make you look unhappy. (Shoes that hurt give you that >pinched< look.)

Ladies, footwear might be an issue since we'll be outdoors and your high heels might sink into the grass at Powell Gardens.

It would be wise to have an umbrella nearby - for sun or for rain.

Rain or shine, we'll be at the Japanese Garden!

xoxo
frank and hat

Location, Location, Location

Breaking News:

The Diez-Tran wedding ceremony will be held at the Japanese Garden at the Missouri Botanical Gardens in St. Louis, MO.

This will be an outdoor ceremony overlooking the Japanese lake and footbridge.

In case of inclement weather, we have a back-up site: the Shoenberg Theatre.

However, we both would prefer not to be married in a constructed theatre building, so we encourage everyone to watch the weather forecasts and bring umbrellas.

A little rain won't hurt and might actually help cool us off!

Guests attending the wedding can stay after our ceremony to enjoy the Botanical Gardens free of charge. No parking fees; no entrance fees. You'll just need to show that you're invited to the Diez-Tran wedding.

We also will get unlimited photo-taking at all Garden sites. So, charge up your cameras and i-devices! Practice your pretty smiles!

A few notes to keep in mind:

1. No rice, flower petals, birdseed, confetti, paper or balloons may be thrown or distributed. However, you may shower us with thanks for selecting such a magnificent venue in St. Louis and not in Kansas City.

2. We'll be outdoors, so the chairs will not be as comfortable as the cushioned pews in a church setting. And ladies, your spiky heels might go right through the grass; select your footwear carefully

3. Weather in St. Louis is finicky. Watch the weather forecasts and either bring a fan to cool off or an umbrella to stay dry!

No matter the weather and no matter the setting, we are happy to have this special day under the sun to celebrate among family and friends.

xoxo,
frankie and hat

(These photo images below were not taken by us, but if/when we get a chance to get photos taken there, we'll update.) 

Date Settled! September 24, 2016

Date selected.

Change date. 

New date selected. 

Changed date. 

Third try at fixing a date...why is it so hard?

Three time's a charm. 

We are thrilled to announce that we finally have a date confirmed. 

Saturday, September 24, 2016. 11:00am. 

Mark your calendars!!

3rd possible location!

Not to make our heads spin more, but we have a third location in mind! We love the outdoors, and gardens, so given that we are in St. Louis, it made sense for us to consider the Botanical Gardens as an option. Woohoo!! 

Save the Date! Date Change!

We have now changed our date. Change your calendars, friends and family! 

We originally scheduled our date as October 8th. Woohoo!

Then things got rolling, and as we started thinking about the details more carefully, it seemed most convenient for us to do the wedding in St. Louis.

(Note that we now have to travel four hours to St. Louis to do EVERYTHING to prepare for the wedding.)

The wedding will now be held on:

Saturday October 1, 2016. 

Anyone who knows me and has worked with me in events planning (symposium coordination, lecture series planning, installation scheduling, etc.) will know how difficult it is for me to make decisions and not stick to them. Constantly changing plans and altering decisions may, to some people, reflect favorably on that individual (indicative of flexibility, open-mindedness, adaptability, etc).  To me, given how much analysis and reflection happens before a decision is made, I am driven CRAZY when we change plans.

Good thing I withstood my natural tendency to concretize decisions (printing Save the Date cards, invitations, email blasts).

So we now are changed from October 8th to October 1st. Much easier to remember now, right? I am so sorry, family and friends, if you were originally told the 8th and now this change affects your schedule.

On the bright side, now that we're holding the wedding on the 1st and it will be in St. Louis, so many more family and friends could join us on this day!

xoxo,
frankie and hat

No "wedding party"?

We've thought long and hard about whether or not to have a traditional "wedding party."

More importantly, we wanted to make sure that the people who surround us that day (whether or not standing physically by our side or sitting down or hoisting us up on their shoulders (haha!)) were people who have been our support network, and who will continue to be our support network in our new life together.

It also felt, to me, like we had to have the whole village standing up behind us, or no one at all -- it didn't seem right to single out anyone individual or some small group. 

Who says we have to have groomsmen? Who says we have to have maids of honor? Why do we have to have just two or six or ten?

Therefore, we've decided not to have maids of honor, matrons of honor, groomsmen, bestman, etc. Following the path of having a traditional wedding party doesn't cut it for us -- because we are not a traditional family (on either side!). 

We're still planning out the details, and we're hoping to work out something different and non-traditional, and which speaks proudly of what we want to do on this special day -- to give homage to the parental units who've really supported us along the paths of life, and who have given us life in more ways than one. 

Embed from Getty Images

xoxo

frankie and hat

The Proposal: When and Where?

On Friday, July 3rd, 2015, we drove two hours north of Syracuse, NY (where I was living at the time), to get to the famed area called the "1,000 Islands". I had no idea at the time that Frankie had a plan in mind, but we first just walked around to explore -- the touristy thing to do.

The 1000 Islands International Region of Northern New York includes about 1864 islands, one of which is Heart Island, and is situated in Alexandria Bay, on the St. Lawrence riverway of the New York & Canada border. The water is so clear, and clean, that people drink it and cook with it and bathe in it -- in joyful glee.

Do you see this little house on a small little island, with the tree? Do you know this is considered one of the 1,000 islands? (Trivia: do you know the criteria that must be met for a island to be considered an island?)

I'd like to own this piece of real estate some day. (This is supposed to be the island and the house that George Boldt built for his mother-in-law!)

We stayed on Heart Island until about dusk, and caught the last ferry from the island back to the mainland. There were a lot of people on the island, but given that there are five acres of land where we could roam, we had a lot of quiet space to just enjoy and relax.

Pathway leading out from the front of Boldt Castle.

When building the castle for his wife, George Boldt commissioned for a replica of the L'Arc de Triomphe of Frane to be build on the island. In the photo below, you can see the harts perched on top of the mini-arch.

L'Arch de Triomphe

We ambled along, enjoying the cool weather. Frankie proposed while we stood inside the dovecote - which was the only space with privacy. I had no idea of the purpose for a dovecote. Do you know? Check it out on wikipedia.

Boldt Castle: Where Frankie Proposed

Frankie proposed when we were standing in the Dovecote of Boldt Castle, which is located on Heart Island in Alexandria Bay on the St. Lawrence River (on the NY-Canada border).

The castle has a beautiful story about George Boldt who built the castle for his wife. 

The island was originally called "hart" island for the male deers that lived on the five-acre island. After George Boldt purchased the island, he ordered construction workers to blast away parts of the island to shape it into a heart. Awww. 

More stories to come.. 

Dovecote: a shelter for pigeons;

Which Airports to Fly Into?

Don't know which airport to fly into for our wedding?

If flying into the St. Louis area, you should fly into STL Lambert Int'l Airport. Airport code is STL.

Go here for the STL airport guide:

http://www.flystl.com/AirportGuide.aspx

2nd Possible Location Selected!

We continue the search for an ideal location for our day.

Second option: Lafayette Park United Methodist Church

This is located in Lafayette Park in the St. Louis area, and therefore not as far away as Kansas City. It will take us (bride and groom) about 4 hours to drive there from KCMO, but for family and friends in the STL area, the location will be much closer in proximity to residences.

For family and friends who fly into Missouri:
If we ultimately decide to have the wedding at LPUMC, you'll fly into St. Louis international airport (airport code: STL).

Stay tuned for updates!

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Pinterest Board

Please join our board on Pinterest to see ideas about the wedding (color schemes, cake designs, dress designs & colors, table settings, etc.).

Pinterest Board name:

Diez-Tran Wedding Ideas

Go here: 

http://pin.it/Suh_6x2

Or here:
https://www.pinterest.com/nothingbuthat/diez-tran-wedding-ideas/ 

Note: If you currently do not have an account with Pinterest.com, and do not wish to create a Pinterest account, you may have better luck checking out the board by using your mobile device (smartphone or tablet). If you wish to sign up for a Pinterest account, then go to www.pinterest.com. 

Introducing Our Officiant, Rev. Marilyn Stavenger

Photo Left to Right: Marilyn Stavenger, H.Anh, Frank, JoAnn Alves;

Rev. Marilyn Stavenger (standing to HA's right) will be our officiant, marrying us on our wedding day. Marilyn has been in ministry for over 50 years, leading by example, living out her faith in joyful ways. Her vitality for life, her compassion for others, and her love for God inspire us. 

Marilyn is currently serving as a pastoral associate at Peace UCC in St. Louis, MO.

Thanks, Marilyn, for joining us and celebrating with us on this special day when Frank and I begin a new phase in our life journeys. 

Colors

There are many details in wedding planning, and one of the fun decisions we get to make is... what color should we select for our color scheme? There are plenty of ideas from the internet, but we want to select a theme or scheme that represents who we are, our likes and dislikes, etc. We don't want to select something too flashy or too gaudy; neither do we want anything boring or too mundane.

We want something non-traditional because we are not your average twenty-somethings who need to have traditional weddings; we hope to strike that balance of simple, comfortable, contemporary, and mature (no, not old or stodgy).

Help us decide how to strike that balance. Add your ideas in the comments below.

Date Selected! (not really)

Hoang-Anh's soy vanilla latte...delish!

Frankie's americano...yummm!

After much deliberation while sitting in a cute little cafe called Second Best Coffee, we finally decided on the date: Saturday, October 8th, 2016! Come rain or shine, we're tying the knot on that day.

Our ceremony will be in a beautiful setting... we hope you will join us on this very special day.

Possible Location Selected!

We both wanted to find a space that represented our love for nature, open space, and fresh air. We wanted to celebrate with family and friends in a setting that will not only be comfortable, but also inviting and rejuvenating. We've often taken walks in parks and held picnics under trees or under the bright sky -- what better way to celebrate our special day than to be surrounded by ponds, trees, and birds... not to mention a living wall. 

We hope you can join us on our special day -- and if we decide to celebrate at Powell Gardens on October 8th, guests will be able to walk the trails, explore the gardens, and visit the glass-topped conservatory. 

Check it out here: 

Powell Gardens
816-697-2600 
1609 N.W. U.S. Highway 50
Kingsville, MO 64061
Info@PowellGardens.org