Wedding at River Farm

• Our Wedding ceremony, cocktails, dinner and dancing will be held on September 10, 2006 at River Farm in Alexandria, VA, just 10 minutes south of Washington, DC.
• River Farm serves as the headquarters of the American Horticultural Society (AHS), one of the oldest gardening societies in the country. Situated on 25 acres of landscaped lawns and gardens, it is located at 7931 East Boulevard Drive, Alexandria, VA, 22308.
• Typical September plant interest includes Autumn crocus, iris, viburnum (fruit), asters, and sedums.
• Virtual Tour -- River Farm
• River Farm -- History
  
  Hotels

• If you need a hotel, we suggest you stay at the Embassy Suites Old Town Alexandria for its spacious two room suite, free breakfast and convenience to the metro. Call 703-684-5900 and mention discount code MSD for the Battcher/Sondhelm Wedding which will get you a $139 king suite/$169 for two double beds.
• Remember, each suite's living area offers a sleeper couch that sleeps two so if you have up to 4 people in the suite, a king suite will be your best value.
• king suites sleep up to 4 (2 in the bedroom, 2 in the living room) while two double bed suites sleep up to 6 (2 in each bed, 2 in the living room).
• If they tell you there are no more rooms to the room block, email me at dbsondhelm@aol.com and I will contact the hotel to try to add more rooms. Other hotels within walking distance include the Hilton Alexandria Old Town and Hampton Inn Alexandria Old Town.

Directions to Embassy Suites Old Town Alexandria
from Ronald Reagan National Airport

• Drive: Drive south on George Washington Parkway, turn right on King Street, follow to Diagonal Road and turn left. Go through stop sign and hotel will be on the left.
• Metro: Take Ronald Reagan National Airport station to King Street station on blue or yellow line. Cost is $1.45 per person and takes less than 10 minutes.
• Taxi: Ride costs approximately $10 and takes 15 minutes.

Directions to the American Horticultural Society at River Farm

• 7931 East Boulevard Drive Alexandria, VA 22308 (703) 768-5700
• From the Embassy Suites Hotel Old Town Alexandria: Take Diagonal Road east. Turn right onto King Street. Stay on King Street and turn right at Washington Street going south through the city of Alexandria. Washington Street will become the George Washington Parkway. Follow directions below “From the George Washington Parkway traveling south.”
• From the Beltway: Exit onto Route 1 south and immediately take the Fort Hunt Road exit on the right. Turn left onto Fort Hunt Road. At the second stoplight, turn left onto Belle Haven Road and continue until the end of the road. Turn right and head south on the George Washington parkway. Follow directions below “From the George Washington Parkway traveling south.”
• From the George Washington Parkway traveling south: Continue for 3 miles, drive under a stone overpass and turn left at the sign for East Boulevard Drive, Herbert Springs and Arcturus. Immediately, turn left on East Boulevard Drive. The American Horticultural Society will be to your right.

The proposal

CJ typically cooks an omelette on most weekend mornings, so I figured that Sunday would be no different.

I put the ring inside the egg container on the refrigerator door hoping she would notice it. Unfortunately, she pulled eggs from a different egg carton and didn't see the ring.

I had to go to plan B.

I told her I wanted a 4th egg in my 3 egg omlette, especially since I recently found out she throws away one yoke. She said the additional egg would be hazardous to my health. You don't need a 4th egg." I told her I did and she finally gave in.

I went to the fridge to get a 4th egg, but instead took the ring and hid it behind my back. She said "Give me the 4th egg -- but you don't need it" I walked over to her and surprised her with the ring, went down on one knee, and asked her to marry me.

South Beach in February

We went to Miami for a long weekend in conjunction with a work conference. We spent time on the beach, bought pottery at an art show and enjoyed the night life. Notice CJ's guilty look as she stands in front of So Good Jewelry after a large purchase.

She found me on Google

A few years ago, CJ was hanging out with her friend Kristen. CJ asked, "Whatever happened to Dan Sondhelm?" They laughed and figured I was married, but Kristen suggested CJ should Google me.

CJ found me on one site and said to Kristen, "Dan can't be a Rabbi."

She found another site with my work information. CJ called Kristen and said, "I think I found him." Kristen said I looked rounder than she remembered in my company photo.

CJ emailed me, I quickly emailed her back and set up plans for a meeting over drinks.

I suggested Tom Sarris' New Orlean's Steak House which is where I took many of my dates. CJ suggested Asian instead... the first of many times to be overruled by CJ.

Kristen, thanks for being the matchmaker that put us together, twice. See We go back a decade.

We go back a decade

We were friends in the mid 90's when we were at American University getting Masters degrees. Our mutual friend Kristen suggested we should date. We did in fact go out on a date to California Pizza Kitchen. Apparently CJ thought I didn't talk and was immature as she didn't return my phone call. There was no second date.