Rob and Kiesha Get Married

Here are some Frequently Asked Questions about us and our wedding!

1. How did you guys meet?

Lo, those many years ago. In mid-November 2002, I was a senior at Ohio University in Athens. My favorite band Miranda Sound had a release party for their newest CD at Little Brother’s in Columbus. Both Rob and I were in attendance, but we didn’t notice each other that night. A few days later, I e-mailed some photos I took of the show to the guys in the band, and they wrote me back thanking me and letting me know that I could see some more photos on a website called donewaiting.com, which was run by this guy Robert Duffy.

So I checked out the website and noticed that he was looking for writers. I e-mailed him on November 19 to let him know that I was interested in writing for his website. He immediately e-mailed me back, which started an e-mail, and later that night, instant messaging conversation. On Wednesday and Thursday night, I couldn’t wait to get home from class to chat with him.

That Friday, I had plans with my friends to go see the Harry Potter movie, but they all bailed on me at the last minute. I lamented this fact to Rob, and after 30 minutes of my whining, he said I should drive up to Columbus and we could see “Bowling for Columbine” together. So I made the drive. We had coffee and then saw the movie, and as I was leaving to make the drive back to Athens, Rob said, “We should do this again.”

“Definitely,” I said. Over the weekend, we decided to get together again on Monday, November 25. I drove back up to Columbus and we had dinner at Figlio’s in Grandview, bought some ice cream and watched “Best in Show” at Rob’s apartment.

The rest, as they say, is history.

2. How did Rob propose?

On Saturday, November 17, 2007, Rob and I were out running errands for the day. We stopped at Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams in Grandview and sat outside. After a little while, I stood back up because my butt was freezing! It was cold! Rob told me to sit back down for a minute, but I wouldn’t do it. He laughed a little and then stood up himself and we got back in the car.

A few hours later, we stopped at Easton to check out something at Barnes & Noble (where I work). Rob wanted to look at the big Christmas Tree so we walked over to it. As we were standing, Rob said, “We should exchange anniversary gifts early.” (Our anniversary is November 25th.) I’m a big fan of opening gifts early, so I said, “Okay, when do you want to exchange them?” He reached into his pocket and said, “Well, I’ve got one of yours now…”

To be honest, I don’t remember exactly what he said after that. There was an “I love you” and a “Will you marry me?”, but I don’t remember the order of the words. I didn’t even look at the ring. I just grabbed him in a hug and said, “Yes, yes, yes, yes.”

Apparently, he was going to propose at Jeni’s, but my butt was just too frozen.

3. On to the wedding! Why did you pick October 25th?

I wanted to get married sometime in October, for two reasons. I love the fall and, if we got married in October, it would fall between my 27th birthday (September) and Rob’s 32nd birthday (January). This way, there’s technically only four years difference in our ages. It’s weird, I know.

4. So, Columbus…what is there to do in Columbus while we’re waiting for you guys to get hitched?

Columbus is actually a pretty awesome city!

If you’re traveling in with kids, you could visit COSI - a really cool center that explores science, health, industry and history through exhibits, demonstrations and lots of hands-on experiments that kids (and adults) can experience. There’s a really cool water section where you can manipulate water cannons to shoot at a giant statue of Poseidon. There’s also a walk-through exhibit that shows a street during the late 1800’s and then the same street during the 1950’s. You can play in the diner or use an old-fashioned telephone to ring up the livery.

COSI is open Wednesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sundays from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. Tickets for adults 13 and up are $18.50 and for kids 2 to 12, tickets are $13.50.

Visit COSI here.

For the nature buffs, there’s Franklin Park Conservatory. FPC features room after room of incredible plant life. There are beautiful flowers throughout. We would recommend this more for adults than children because it can test the patience of little ones.

FPC is open Thursday through Sunday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tickets for adults 13 and up are $7.50 and for kids 2 to 12, tickets are $4.

Visit Franklin Park Conservatory here.

The Columbus Museum of Art is also a great place for adults and children. There are several programs designed especially for families, and adults will enjoy strolling through the collections of art.

The museum is open Friday through Sunday 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Tickets for adults are $8 and for students are $5. Children under 5 are admitted free.

Visit the museum here.

German Village is not only the place where Rob and I first lived together, but also a great neighborhood to spend a Saturday morning in! The quaint village is located directly south of downtown - you can follow High Street or Third Street straight into German Village. Once you’re there, you will find charming brick roads and houses and plenty of wonderful food options, including Katzinger’s Deli and our favorite little pastry shop, Pistachia Vera (we definitely recommend that you make a stop here!). There’s also The Book Loft, which boasts 32 rooms of bargain books. If the weather is warm, you might consider taking kids to Schiller Park, where they can run around on the playground and expend some energy!

Visit German Village here.

If you’re looking to get some shopping in, you should definitely check out the Short North Arts District, which is directly north of downtown along High Street. Here you can check out art galleries and shops specializing in quirky items. There’s also a plethora of food choices, and we recommend that you grab some Saturday afternoon lunch somewhere in the Short North, especially in the North Market, which features food from nearly every culture. You can get New York Deli-style sandwiches, or Pad Thai or pizza. There’s also an incredible popcorn stand and a chocolatier. We also suggest that you stop by Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams and sample the most fabulous ice cream you will ever eat. There’s a Jeni’s both in the Short North and along High Street in the Short North. Jeni’s will be making an appearance at the reception, but trust us, you cannot get tired of that ice cream.

Visit the Short North here.

Word to the wise: You may be tempted to check out City Center, the downtown mall. Don’t. City Center was created several years ago, and when it first opened, it was awesome. But suburban sprawl unfortunately killed City Center. Most of the flagship stores have abandoned it, and the stores that are left aren’t that great. Just skip it. There’s plenty of other things to see.

5. I’ve heard about this football team in Columbus…what gives?

There’s an actual law in Ohio: If you mention the words ‘Ohio State’ in a sentence, the word ‘Buckeyes’ must also appear somewhere in that same sentence. The Buckeyes dominate Columbus from early September until late November (or January, if they make the National Championship). Rob and I neglected to investigate this when we chose October 25th. Turns out the Buckeyes are playing Penn State on that day. At home. What this means to you is, if you’re flying into Columbus, you should book your flight now. If you’re planning to spend any time in a hotel while you’re here, you should really book a room now. We’ve reserved some rooms at the Crowne Plaza Hotel. Please get in touch with us for more information on that.

6. Where are you registered?

Glad you asked! We’re registered at Target, Crate & Barrel and amazon.com. You can find our registeries online for all three, as well as in the physical stores for Target and Crate & Barrel. There will probably be some additions to these registeries as time goes by, so if you’re a procrastinator (like me!) don’t worry, there’s lots of time.

One thing that we would love that we can’t register for is to get some artwork framed. Our dear friend Clint Reno has created some magnificent posters for various rock bands and Columbus events and they mean a great deal to us. Unfortunately, getting them framed isn’t the cheapest thing in the world. If you would like to get us a gift, but find garlic presses and stemless wine glasses boring, you could contribute toward making our walls more beautiful.

(It still seems really, really weird to just put it all out there, gift-wise. I mean, all the etiquette books say that I shouldn’t even mention the word ‘gift’, but I’m really just trying to be realistic.)