Please bring a handwritten recipe of your choice (food, dessert, or cocktail!) on a white index card as your guest card so that we can start our family cookbook with your suggestions!
Galveston in late May is HOT. While you are welcome to dress as fancy or formal as you choose, a sundress or polo and khakis are also wonderful! The venue is indoors and air conditioned, but there will be opportunity to mingle in the courtyard during the reception as well.
Galveston Island is considered a vacation destination, so it will be busy Memorial Day weekend. We would encourage you to look into lodging sooner rather than later before things fill up! Both AirBnB and VRBO are popular on the island as well as dozens of hotels. League City is another option about 25 miles away that should be a bit cheaper as well. Note that Jamaica Beach is a community on the far end of Galveston Island from the venue and would be roughly 20-30 minute drive and that Bolivar is on a different island with a regular ferry crossing to Galveston.
Galveston Island does get very busy on Memorial Day weekend, and since most of the homes are short term rentals, the service industry here is not always staffed to accommodate the massive influx in a timely manner. We recommend calling ahead the week or weekend before to the restaurants you would like to try to make a reservation, especially with larger families, to avoid having hour(s) long waits! We recommend The Spot on Seawall, Hearsay on the Strand, Salsas Mexican Restaurant, Yaga's Cafe, Saltgrass, and Brickhouse, but there are tons of great places to eat on the island!
Seth and I have a running bet that we'll both graduate before they get I-45 in working order. The open exits change on a monthly basis, so if you're interested in stopping or staying somewhere along the way, we recommend budgeting in extra time. Maps apps can't keep up with the closures, so you may find yourself chasing detour signs around oil country until they get you straightened out.
Samantha is a great name and it's the one everyone knew me by for 22 odd years, but I always really loved my middle name. When the pieces fell together that I would be moving again, I decided that I would rather people know me as Gabrielle (or Gabi), and that's been how I have introduced myself for the last few months. There's nothing wrong with Samantha! I know it's a big adjustment to make as an adult, and I will in no way be upset if my childhood friends and family call me Samantha or Sam. But moving forward, new friends will meet me as Gabi and my work colleagues know me as Gabrielle :)