Our 5K Wedding Day
Top 10 Frequently Asked Questions
These days it seems that no website is really complete without a FAQ, and this one is no different! So, without further ado, we bring you –
The 5K Wedding Day Top 10 List
of Frequently Asked Questions!
10) You're getting married? Again?
Yep. You know what they say. “If at first you don't succeed, you gotta get back on the horse.” Or something like that.
9) You're getting married at a 5K race? Why would you do that? And if I come, do I have to run?
Our little town of Selma hosts one of the oldest annual 5K races in the state. It's officially sanctioned by the USATF (which means something to some people, but not so much to me,) and it's a pretty big deal. And it's practically in our backyard! And yes, the race is a big part of the celebration, mainly because it symbolizes how much we've both changed (for the better, generally speaking,) since we started hanging out together. Want proof? Look at these pictures. See what we mean?
And no, you don't have to run. We would really, really love it if you'd register and join us, and tiny little Selma's Development Department would love it too. But if, despite our best and most concerted efforts, run/walking 3.1 miles at 8am still isn't something we can talk you into, know that you're welcome to join us at our sunrise ceremony anyway, and then stay for the race to cheer us on, and then stay longer to have some food and booze and fun.
8) “Run/Walking?” You mean I can walk?
Yes! In fact, more than half of the people who sign up for this thing walk it. Some people walk it with baby strollers. Some people walk it in tutus and deely-boppers (although I do not know why.) You can definitely, absolutely walk. In fact, all registered walkers get shiny participation medals at the end! ALL of them!
7) The people who sign up to walk all get medals? WTF? What do the runners get?
Runners who want to have their official times recorded get one of those cool devices to wear on their shoes. As soon as they cross the finish line, they get text messages from the timing elves letting them know how they did. They also get commemorative t-shirts (which the folks who walk will also receive,) and numbered running bibs to pin to themselves so they can be identified in the event that they are rendered unable to speak. (Guess what! folks who register to walk will also get numbered bibs. Oh, glorious day! Numbered bibs all around!) There are awards for the fastest three runners of each gender overall, and for the fastest three runners of each gender in each age group.
If you already sort of like doing 5Ks, you're going to really like this one. The course is known for being “fast and flat.” There are absolutely no hills whatsoever, which means you can almost count on crushing your PR, if that's the kind of thing that floats your boat! It's a nice jaunt through a pretty neighborhood and you'll get your exercise obligation for the day out of the way nice and early. What's not to like?!
6) Wait. Did you say the wedding ceremony is before the 8am race? Why so early??
We did indeed say that the wedding itself will be just before the race. We're having a Sunrise Ceremony that's scheduled to start at 7am. There are several reasons, some of which are mushily romantic so we've decided to spare you those details. (You're welcome.) Some less-nauseating rationale:
- Molly doesn't want to be all sweaty in her wedding photos, so having the ceremony after the race just won't work.
- We want to make sure everyone is as likely as possible to join us on the 5K course. If everyone's already awake and dressed and out of the house and pretty much standing at the starting line for the wedding ceremony (since that's where the Gazebo is, practically) it'll be effortless to start strolling along with the crowd when the “GO” whistle blows!
- If the weather cooperates, the aforementioned, un-sweaty photos will be niftily lit, and when a bride is in her mid-40s, she can use all the nifty lighting she can get.
- The town of Selma kicks off the race at “8am sharp.” We've gotta get there, get hitched, snap a photo or two, make sure everyone has time to grab their race packets from the registration table, get their bibs and timers hooked up, queue up their playlist, stretch their quads and other key parts, hydrate, warm up, line up, and be ready to roll before the countdown starts.
We know 7am is kind of painful, and we also know you'll be there anyway. And we love you for it. A lot.
5) Is Molly going to run in her wedding dress?
It could be argued that any dress one wears while one is being wed is technically a “wedding dress,” but no. Molly's not going to try to run anywhere in some insane puffy gown. The poor girl's got enough trouble when she's dressed in proper running clothes. Instead, she'll wear running clothes to the ceremony, and so should you!
4) Are you registered anywhere?
As you know, we've both been around this wedding block a couple of times before. Between the two of us, we've probably got four sets of dinnerware, a thousand forks, two entire religions' worth of holiday-celebrating equipment, and at least three toasters. We really don't need (or have space for) many of the things that you'd see on a traditional bridal registry. In fact, we'd be pleased as peach pie if everyone just registered for the 5K and came to spend the day with us instead of worrying about “gifting” us otherwise. But, if you're absolutely dying to tie a bow around something, amazon.com is keeping a fairly ridiculous wish list for us.
3) The ceremony's outside, and the reception's at your house? OMG...what if it rains?
Selma's going to hold their annual Railroad Days Festival and 5K whether it rains or not, which means this wedding is happening rain or shine. If the weather doesn't cooperate, we'll have a tent (the party kind, not the camping kind) in the backyard to keep things from getting too swampy and we'll move the majority of the festivities indoors. And since we've gotta be there come hell or high water, we hope you will be, too!
2) We're coming into Selma the day before the wedding (to make sure we can get to the festivities on time, holy cow). What's there to do on a Friday night?
As much as we love it, the fact is that Selma, NC is not exactly a bustling hub of activity. If you're coming from out of town, we've arranged for a discounted room rate for you at the Fairfield Inn and Suites (a Marriott joint) in nearby Smithfield. It's not a super-fancy place, but it's very clean and very friendly and it's got an indoor pool (of the very small variety) we think the kids will probably dig. (Just let the hotel know you're coming into town for the Stone-Sapir wedding and they'll set you up with the special price.) There are a couple of little sports bars and restaurants and a big outlet mall right behind the hotel, and there are a few decent restaurants in downtown Smithfield (Bistro on Third and Simple Twist) that are worth checking out. Our day's going to start super early on Saturday so we're not planning a massive pre-wedding rehearsal dinner throw-down or anything along those lines. We're just too old for that kind of thing. However, we'd love to have you join us for drinks and snacks at the Twisted Owl Sports Bar and Grill from 9pm - 11pm on Friday night.
1) I noticed my dogs didn't receive a Save-the-Date card addressed in their own names. Peculiar! If I didn't know any better I'd be suspicious that this wedding of yours was fixing to be humans-only. But that can't be true...can it??
Friends, we're afraid so. Selma's Railroad Days event is only as dog-friendly as it absolutely has to be. No dogs are allowed on the race course at all, and during the street festival that follows the race, the presence of even leashed and well-behaved dogs is tolerated, but only grudgingly, anywhere there's people food and/or a high concentration of children and/or a bunch of other animals. At the house, our own dogs are old and grouchy and they're frequently pretty snotty about other dogs being around their stuff, so overall, dogs coming to Selma to share our happy day may end up feeling less welcome than we'd like them to. And no bride wants to break up a dog fight at her own wedding reception, regardless of how much experienced help would be on hand at the time! So, we've gotta limit the guest list to those with only 2 legs. We hope you'll understand, and that you'll smooch your pooches for us as you're heading out to join us on October 3rd!
If you have additional questions please let us know. There's no reason the Top 10 list can't have more than 10 things on it, right?
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