welcome to our wedding website!

UPDATES! UPDATES! UPDATES!

2005-05-26T14:18:00.000-07:00

** LODGING **
if you're planning to book a hotel room, we would encourage you to do so SOON. rooms are filling up fast! please check out the latest updates under the travel & lodging section...we have secured a great rate for wedding guests at another nearby hotel.

** WEATHER **
it's already warming up here and if this weather keeps up, it may be extra hot at the wedding. keep in mind both the wedding and reception will be outside and don't forget your sunscreen and sunglasses!

** HONEYMOON **
read the latest plan for our time in europe and check out pictures of a few of the places we'll be staying and seeing!

welcome family & friends!

2005-02-21T11:17:00.000-08:00

thanks for visiting our wedding website! we are excited to share our special day with you and hope this site will provide you with all the details you need to make traveling to orange county effortless and enjoyable.

we also hope this website will give you a little peak into our lives before you arrive and will allow those who won't be able to attend to still share in our wedding with us. we plan to use this site to post pictures after our big day, share stories from our honeymoon (can you say EUROPE?), and publish updates on our life as newlyweds after we get back home.

in the meantime, please feel free to contact either one of us at any time if you have questions about travel, lodging, or other details: abigailthom@cox.net wallace@sfcs.net

we love you and look forward to seeing you in july!
abby & jon

our story

2005-02-14T11:21:00.000-08:00

jon and abby met in the summer of 2003 through mutual friends (thank you roy and gena!) while jon was in california on summer break from teaching in minnesota. they hung out with their friends several times over the course of that summer until one glorious friday morning when abby awoke to find a letter from jon on her front doorstep saying he had been wanting to get to know her better for a long time and would like to take her out (among other very sweet things that jon prefers abby doesn't publish here...her favorite of which would be the postscript he left at the end of the letter that said, "if i spell like a second grader, that's because i teach social studies" which officially stole her heart. hmmm...oops! looks like she published some of it anyway!)

so anyhow, take her out he did. that very night, in fact...the very NIGHT BEFORE he left to drive back to minneapolis where he was committed to a teaching job and a masters program for AN ENTIRE YEAR. (insert much wailing and gnashing of teeth here.) fortunately for both of them, however, this night amounted to The Best First Date of All Time and they were both instantly and unswervingly hooked.

jon and abby spent that next LONG year shelling out lots of cash for expensive phone bills and airplane tickets for weekend visits so they could stay in close touch. they talked on the phone everyday and visited each other 9 times over the course of that year. (yes, abby counted. and jon would like to mention that he flew out to california more times than abby flew out to minnesota but, no offense to any minnesotans reading this, that was a total no-brainer. nonetheless, let us all give credit where credit is due.)

jon moved back home to california on august 15, 2004...exactly one year from jon and abby's first date. glory, hallelujah, sing praises, amen!

since then, jon and abby have continued to endure a bit of a long distance relationship living about 45 minutes away from each other but have considered this a vast improvement over suffering the distance from minnesota to california for so long. they're excited to finally end their lifestyle of commuting and packing their bags for weekend visits once and for all at a little something they like to call their wedding on july 8th, 2005 and they're hoping all of their beloved friends and family (that would be you) will be there to join them.

the proposal

2005-02-13T13:31:00.000-08:00

jon proposed on christmas day, 2004 while jon and abby were enchanging gifts. jon gave abby a wetsuit which she was so excited about that she didn't notice the ring box beneath it. obviously, she was too busy inspecting her new wetsuit and exclaiming really important information such as "ooooh...it has PINK on it!" to be aware of anything else going on around her.

jon got down on his knee and said lots of wonderful, touching things that abby can't remember now because she was too delightfully overwhelmed, not to mention blinded by the sparkling ring jon was holding in front of her. needless to say, abby responded with a big, fat YES!

the happy couple then celebrated as only they could...by clamoring to find the only place open on christmas day that could FEED them at 10pm (incidentally the jack in the box drive-thru) because, of course, jon was hungry and abby wanted ice cream.

wedding details

2005-02-13T11:25:00.000-08:00

. view our save-the-date postcard .

friday, july 8th, 2005

ceremony - 3:30pm
the grotto at saddleback church
one saddleback parkway
lake forest, ca 92630

please join us for a "california casual" ceremony in the beautiful grotto at saddleback church.

reception - 4:30pm
the terrace & courtyard at saddleback church
one saddleback parkway
lake forest, ca 926230

we hope you will stay to join us for hors d'oeuvres on the terrace and dinner and dancing in the courtyard immediately following the ceremony.

directions to saddleback church
from the I-5 Freeway take the el toro exit off the 5 and head east about 5-6 miles. you will see the church office at the corner of el toro and portola...GO STRAIGHT through this light and pass the church office. turn left onto saddleback parkway/marguerite to enter the church campus. follow the road as it curves to the left and look for the signs that indicate wedding parking.

UPDATED: local area info

2005-02-12T13:46:00.000-08:00

general information
lake forest is located about 10 miles inland from the pacific ocean in orange county. saddleback church is situated at the foot of the beautiful saddleback mountains in a valley where the weather is almost always sunny and warm.

weather in july
don't forget your suncreen! the weather is already warming up significantly out here so we anticipate july will be HOT. we recommend you bring sunscreen and sunglass to the wedding and dress for warm weather.

during the summer in southern california you can usually expect warm days (mid 70s - low 80s) and cooler nights (mid 50s - mid 60s). if you plan to play or stay near the ocean, remember that coastal breezes can get chilly. dressing in layers is recommended.

UPDATED: travel & lodging

2005-02-10T11:59:00.000-08:00

lodging
there are several hotels near the church and several others to choose from in the nearby coastal communities for those who'd like to stay by the beach. a few options are listed below.

please note that a special rate has been reserved for wedding guests at the first two hotels in this list (hotels listed in black).

Hilton Garden Inn Irvine East/Lake Forest
(.5 miles from church)
27082 Towne Centre Drive
Foothill Ranch, CA 92610
949.859.4000

NEW LOW RATE FOR WEDDING GUESTS: We have just put a block of rooms on hold at this hotel for July 7th and 8th at a rate of $79 per night plus tax. Please call 949.859.4000 and ask for the "Wallace/Thom" special rate to book your room. Limited space is available and rooms will be reserved on a first come, first serve basis. Rooms must be booked by June 23, 2005 in order to guarantee the $79 rate.

Courtyard Marriott Foothill Ranch
(.5 miles from church)
27492 Portola Parkway
Foothill Ranch, California 92610 USA
949.951.5700 or
800.228.9290 toll free

Note: ONLY A COUPLE OF ROOMS LEFT IN THIS ROOM BLOCK! A block of rooms is on hold for July 7th and 8th under the Thom/Wallace Wedding at a rate of $84 per night. Please call 949.951.5700 to reserve a room. Limited space is available and rooms will be reserved on a first come, first serve basis. Rooms must be booked by June 16, 2005 to guarantee this rate.

additional hotels
Hampton Inn South Orange County
(.5 miles from church)
27102 Towne Centre Drive
Foothill Ranch, CA 92610
949.597.8700

Holiday Inn Express - Dana Point Harbor
(located in coastal area 16 miles from church)
34280 Pacific Coast Highway
Dana Point, CA 92629
949.248.1000

Double Tree Guest Suites Doheny Beach
(located in coastal area 16 miles from church)
34402 Pacific Coast Highway
Dana Point, CA 92629
949.661.1100

Laguna Cliffs Marriott
(located in coastal area 16 miles from church)
25135 Park Lantern
Dana Point, CA 92629
949.661.5000

airports
orange county's john wayne airport (SNA) is the closest airport to the wedding location (approximately 20 minutes).

los angeles international airport (LAX) is located about 45 minutes to 1 hour north of orange county (depending on traffic). san diego international airport (SAN) is located about 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes south (also depending on traffic).

rental cars
the following rental car companies are available onsite at john wayne airport (SNA):
Alamo Rent-A-Car - 800.327.9633
Avis Rent-A-Car - 800.230.4898
Budget Rent-A-Car - 800.221.1203
Enterprise Rent-A-Car - 800.736.8222
Hertz Corporation - 800.654.3131
National Car Rental - 800.227.7368
Thrifty Car Rental - 800.847.4389

all major rental companies are available at LAX and SAN. if you plan on renting a car, keep in mind that summer is an extra busy time in already-busy southern california. expect traffic!

registry info

2005-02-09T10:22:00.000-08:00

Jon and Abby are registered at:

Crate & Barrel
Pottery Barn
Target
REI

UPDATED: our honeymoon

2005-02-08T12:22:00.000-08:00

paris.
we're traveling to europe for two weeks for our honeymoon. we will fly into paris and spend the first five days there seeing the sights and eating a lot of cheese and croissaints before we take a train trip into the french alps.

a glimpse at where we're staying in the heart of the city...

chamonix.
chamonix is located in the french alps near the borders of switzerland and italy. we will take a train from paris to chamonix and plan to stay there for five days so we'll have time to hike, relax, ride a ski lift over mt. blanc into italy and hopefully also take a day trip into switzerland!

our chamonix hotel and a peek at the lift over mt. blanc...

london.
finally, we will spend the last three days of our trip in london where we will drink a lot of tea, enjoy the sights, take in a show, and get to visit the place where jon was born!

the garden patio at our london hotel...

we'll post pictures of our european adventure on this site when we return. we can't wait to tell you all about it!

more photos

2005-02-02T11:30:00.000-08:00

save-the-date postcard

2005-02-01T09:41:00.000-08:00