The Big Day

Pamela and her girls

Mr. and Mrs. Hamrick!

Dinner at Charlie Trotter's

The Daniel Burnham bar

A view of the ball room

The fireplace in the entry

Another fireplace, in the bar area

Another view of the ball room

Celebrating our engagement with John and Barbara

At Michael Mina in San Francisco

The Big Day

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Wedding Details

Saturday, March 11, 2006

The wedding went off without a hitch, and it truly was the best day of our lives. Thank you so much to all of you who were able to make it to the event and help us celebrate-the day was so much more meaningful with all of you there!

We got lucky and had very little rain on our actual wedding day, and most importantly, it was bone dry when we were all crossing the street from the hotel to the wedding site!

Many of you have asked about pics from the wedding. I don't have digital versions of the photographers pictures, but all of the pics we have online can be viewed at our weddingchannel.com site:

http://seminaroandhamrick.weddings.com Just click on "Photo Albums" on the left side, and then pick the album you want to view. You'll need to sign in to the KodakGallery, but it is a free service and very trustworthy.

If you attended our wedding and you have any pictures, please send them to us or post them on the weddingchannel site. Thanks!

Map of the wedding location

Click on Map to enlarge view

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Dan drove down the street to a liquor store, where he instructed me to go inside and tell them who I am, and that they would give me two things.

Needless to say, I was very confused at this point! I knew what was going on (that he was proposing--figured that out when I saw the limo!), but I didn't know where I was going, what I was doing, or where Kris was. And, I'm all dressed up, it's freezing out, and people are looking around for the cameras, thinking this must be something from the next season of the Bachelor!

So I went into the liquor store, said "Hi, I'm Pamela?", and like magic, the guy behind the counter smiled, handed me a Diet Coke and another card. This one said: Now, how about a snack?

Bingo! I knew what was going on! On our first date (Sept. 8, 2002), I picked Kris up from his friend's house in Manhattan Beach, and we went to a little cafe. We drank Diet Cokes, watched the ocean waves, and talked and talked and talked. Afterwards, we went to the Cheesecake Factory, where I introduced him to the sinful Avocado Eggrolls. After a great dinner, I drove him to the airport so he could fly back to Nor Cal. I suspected that Kris was recreating our first date with this scavenger hunt, and that my next stop would be the Cheesecake Factory. Thinking I was so smart to have figured this out, I asked Dan if we were going to the Hancock Building (Cheesecake is located on the ground floor of the building).

Dan looked very perplexed, and replied no. He seemed sincere. Huh. So then what were we doing?? Now I was really confused! Dan proceeded to drive downtown, and then....stopped at the Cheesecake Factory! Sneaky! (Or he didn't realize that was the Hancock building!). He tells me to go inside to the takeout counter, tell them who I am, and they will give me two things.

I went inside, and the whole time I am looking around trying to find Kris. I went to the takeout counter, told them my name, and the girl behind the counter starts squealing! “Ahhh, we’ve been waiting for you all night! This is so exciting,” she says. Tell me about it! She gave me an order of avocado egg rolls, and a card, and tells me “Good luck”! This card says: This time, instead of taking me to the airport, why don’t you join me upstairs.

For those of you who haven’t been to Chicago, the Hancock building is 96 stories high, and on the top floor of the building is a bar called “The Signature Room”. It is one of our favorite places, as it provides a stunning view of the city. I took the elevator to the top, shaking with anticipation. As I walked into the bar, I saw Kris standing in the corner, all dressed up in a new suit (and the Burberry tie I bought him that he was finally able to wear!) with a table and champagne, full view of the city behind him.

I immediately started to cry. He looked amazing, and I have never been more in love with him than I was right at that moment! He asked me if I knew what was going on, and I said yes. Then he told me all of the wonderful things that he was feeling, kneeled down on one knee, pulled the ring out of his pocket, and asked me to marry him. I replied: YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES! Literally!

We toasted, had some champagne, took some pictures, and then Kris’s phone alarm went off and he started to call someone. He hands me the phone and tells me that it’s for me. For me? Confused, I say hello and am greeted with “Congratulations!!!” from my dad and my sister. This is why my future husband is perfect—he knew how much it would mean to be able to share this with them, so he planned ahead and set up a conference call!

After the champagne, we headed back into the limo, and went to Charlie Trotter’s for dinner. It is arguably the best restaurant in Chicago, possibly the mid-west, and it was amazing! Seven divine courses, excellent wine, and of course the best company in the world. It was very sweet—the menus had “Congratulations!” printed at the top.

It was an absolutely perfect night, better than I ever could have hoped that a marriage proposal would be, and hopefully the start to a wonderful life together!!

The Proposal (boy version): Kris surprised me with flowers and a spa treatment, and then had a limo pick me up that night. He sent me on a scavenger hunt recreating our first date, and culminating in a proposal at the bar atop the Hancock Tower, followed by an amazing dinner at Charlie Trotters.

The Proposal (girl version): December 7, 2004. It was a Tuesday, no different than any other. Kris left for work, I hopped on the computer. About 20 minutes later, an email pops up from Kris telling me that there is something outside the front door for me. Knowing that he was sitting on the train, I was a little confused as to how he would know this. Is he secretly psychic and I didn't know??? (That would explain why I can never get away with anything....)

I went to the front door to find a dozen roses, a muffin for breakfast, a gift bag with an appointment card for a massage, and a card. In the card, Kris tells me that this is an old German tradition called "St. Nicklaus Tag", and it's a pre-Christmas present. Kris is very thoughtful, so I wasn't suspicious, just feeling pretty lucky that he's mine!

He had booked me a spa appointment for that afternoon, and I basically had the whole day to just relax. We had made plans to have dinner that night at a place a friend had recommended. Since it was one of our last evenings out in Chicago, we decided to have some fun with it and dress up a bit.

Kris had told me that the only reservation he could get was for 5:30, so I would have to be dressed and ready to go at 5pm sharp. (Like I'm usually late???? Hmph!)

I went to the spa and had a wonderful day, and then got dressed and was ready to go at 5pm on the dot. Our house phone rang, and it was a guy that said he was Kris's friend, Dan. Kris didn't have a friend named Dan in the city, so I was suspicious. But, no one but Kris had the home number, so I knew Dan had to of gotten it from Kris. Dan said that Kris was running late, and that he was going to pick me up and drop me off at the restaurant to help Kris out. He was waiting out in front of our building.

I walked outside to find Dan, and a stretch white limo, waiting for me. Inside, no Kris. But there were three more roses, and a card that said: Before dinner, why don't you stop for a drink?

(continued in the next column)

Toasting our new engagement

At the Signature Room