Wedding Information
On July 8, 2006 in Ann Arbor, MI, Emily G. and Hans L. are getting hitched. We hope that all our family and friends will be able to attend this celebration and party. We suggest coming to town a few days early and enjoying some of the fun things that southeast Michigan has to offer. Also, we are very much hoping to spend time with people before hand.
This web page is being designed - and still under construction - as a resource for those intending to make the distant journey to Ann Arbor. I will try and include as much information as I can find about things people may be interested in. If something is missing feel free to let me know.
New Information as of May 10, 2006
The wedding invitations have been mailed. There are still a few that are lacking an address. We're working on it. We enslaved several helper monkeys to sort, stuff, seal and stamp the envelopes; unfortunately, the monkeys don't read very well and a few envelopes slip into the mail with incomplete address information. If you are expecting to receive an invitation and it has not arrived by the 16th of May then you should contact Hans or Emily ASAP.
Some people have been asking about gifts for the wedding. We are officially registered at REI and Target. We haven't totally finished picking stuff yet, but it's a start. Also, because we are planning on leaving for the Peace Corps sometime this fall, we are not asking for many of the traditional wedding type gifts; however, we do hope to honeymoon/vacation this summer and would greatly appreciate cash in lieu of gifts.
Map Quest map to the Gochis house.
New Information as of April 23, 2006
We have reserved a block of rooms at the Best Western listed below. The rooms will be $79.00 per night. This includes a refrigerator, microwave and continental breakfast. This is probably the best place to stay because it's reasonable and comfortable with pool and sauna, etc. Just call (734) 665-4444 and mention Gochis-Lechner wedding. They will only hold this block of rooms until two weeks before the wedding. After that they are open to the public.
Our itinerary for the week is not 100% guaranteed but so far it looks like this: Thursday night, July 6, are the parties. Emily's friends will be escorting her to a night out with the girls, while Hans and the boys will be drinking their weight in beer somewhere in Ann Arbor. Friday is the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. The rehearsal will start around 5:00 at the Gochis house and dinner will be in Ann Arbor around 7:00. Those who will be coming to this have all day Friday to recover from Thursday night. I suggest we do this by playing disc-golf or ball golf at Hudson Mills MetroPark. Saturday, of course is the wedding, it starts at like 5:00 pm or something, I'm not totally sure (official invitations are going out within the next week, I swear), anyway, the ceremony and reception all take place at the Gochis residence. Eating, drinking, dancing, bonfire and general revelry will go through the night. Some people may even camp there. Sunday morning around 10-2 there will be a breakfast for all the out of town guests. Then it is all over.
The shirt orders for groomsmen need to be placed!!! April 23 is the suggested deadline. Thank you goes out to Alex, Allen, Matt, Steve, John L. John G. Jason, Pat, Scott and Temoc. We are still waiting for Dennis and Mike to order their shirts.
In order to get here, we suggest you fly into Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport, DTW. From there it's an easy 40 minute drive along I-94 to Ann Arbor. More maps will come soon.
Some people have considered the idea of flying into Chicago (O'Hare Int. ORD) and taking the Amtrak into Ann Arbor. This is totally possible. Last time we were on a train to Chicago, I believe round trip tickets were around $60. There is a train station right in Ann Arbor and it would give people a chance to see a bit more of the mid-west than just SE Michigan.
Renting a Car from the airport?
There are a number of hotels available in Ann Arbor with a range in prices. Factors such as how long you are staying, access to a car, and what you would like to see and do while you're here may have some influence on where you choose to stay. There are places within walking distance of the university and the downtown area. There one can find a wide variety of bars, restaurants, shops and other attractions. Prices in these places may be a little steeper than some of the others that are farther out of town.
There is one hotel and two motels that are quite close to where the wedding festivities will commence. All three are located within walking distance of each other also Best Western and Super 8 actually share a parking lot. We recommend one of these three, at least for the night of wedding, because it is our intention to have a shuttle driving people back to their respective hotel/motel. This way the festivities can proceed with fewer inhibitions.
Webbers ~ $130-$200/night
Best Western ~$$70-$110/night
Super 8 ~ $50-$60/night
I will be contacting these places soon to investigate the possibility of some sort of group rate. However, this won't be totally possible until we have a better idea about who's coming and where they would prefer to stay.
Because Ann Arbor is home to a world renown university it posses quite an international and exotic assortment of restaurants. You can find just about everything from a hole in the wall diner to European, Asian and African cuisine to good ole' American grinders and pizza.
If the opportunity provides itself, I suggest some of these as possibilities:
Zingerman's Delicatessen - World famous sandwiches. (Sandy (Carl) Hansen would love this place)
Blimpy Burger - Delicious ground beef
Thano's Lamp Lighter - Excellent Greek food, especially the lamb, pizza, and salad.
Sushi.come - Tasty sushi for a very low price
Seva - Delicious vegetarian food. Really, they don't serve any meat.
There is also at least three breweries in Ann Arbor and dozens of pubs and bars. Check these out if you get a chance.
Ann Arbor Brewing Company - good, tasty beer as well as food for carnivores and vegitarians
Grizzly Peak Brewing Company - good, tasty beer and food
Leopold Brothers Brewery - good micro brew and a plethora of board games. They even have Battle Ship and Connect Four, also pool, darts and foosball.
As I said before there is an abundance of restaurants, bars and pubs for you to choose from. I'm sure that no one will go hungry.
Southeast Michigan has plenty of things to do especially if it involves anything to do with Ford, golf or Hockey. Of course, no one will be around for hockey season but there are almost as many golf courses in this state, per capita, as there are in Florida. And because Michigan has such ample amounts of precipitation and an affinity for the game, even the public courses here are fantastic! If you have the time, bring your clubs. If you don't like ball golf then bring the discs because there are also more disc golf courses here than in all of Southern California (as far as I know).
Hudson Mills Metro Park - one of my favorite places to go and play both golf and disc golf.
Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village
Detroit Tigers - They'll be in Seattle that week.
Ann Arbor Summer Festival - If you're going to be around town this July then check this out. Every night there's free movies, concerts and activities. Very cool.
Detroit - If you're interested in urban geography, Detroit is an amazing case study. Block after block of abandon, defunct and boarded up sky scrappers. It's kind of eerie. You can drive through Detroit on your way to...
Canada - The city of Windsor, Canada is only about an hour from Ann Arbor and Toronto is about 6 hours. You could make this an international trip if you wanted. Better check boarder crossing requirements though.
Well, that's enough for now. I'll be adding more to this page as the day gets closer and more things become clear. Hope this bit helps everyone make planning their trip a little easier.
Emily and I are looking forward to seeing you in July.