So excited for you to celebrate with us!
Forrest VanAmber
Rodney Piatt
Forrest VanAmber
Rodney Piatt
November 9, 2024
Our Laundry&Taxes Love Story
Our story began when we connected chatting online. We agreed that we should meet and started to talk about what coffee shops were close to the two of us. In very little time, we discovered that not only did we live in the same neighborhood, but we also lived in the same apartment complex in buildings directly across from one another! Since we both had clothes to clean, we decided to meet that evening in our complex’s laundry room. We met around 9 PM and then we stayed up talking until well past 1 AM. COVID lockdowns took effect just two days later, but since we were both such cautious and safety-conscious individuals, we decided that walking the 70 feet to one another’s apartments was safe… and so our love sparked in a laundry room and blossomed during a pandemic. Home ownership was very important to us, and in Florida’s inflated real estate market, we started to feel like we were in a race with an ever-moving finish line. We got to thinking that we were in the right race but in the wrong place. So we decided to start looking around for more affordable places to live: places with real seasons, places we could easily job transfer to, places with good infrastructure so that we wouldn’t feel as crowded as we’d started to feel in Sarasota, and places where Forrest wouldn’t be hampered at work with weird legislation like Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill. We discovered and subsequently fell in love with Cleveland… and the rest was history! A little before our move, the Oscar-winning film EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE captured our hearts. In the film, a woman in the middle of an IRS audit who runs a laundry mat with her husband journeys through multiple realities and sees how her life could have been different. In one, she’s a movie star who pursued a career as opposed to love. In that reality, she reconnects with the same man she’s married to in “the real world”. Like her, he pursued a high powered career (his being in finance) rather than pursuing her, so they weren’t together. But at their chance meeting, he tells her that he thinks of her all the time and that he often imagines what life could have been like had they stayed together. He tells her that in another life, he would have loved to have just done laundry and taxes together. Since we initially met in a laundry room, once we saw EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE, “laundry & taxes” became our shorthand for the real, day to day, nitty gritty reality of true love. So after a little less than a year in our new house, we proposed to one another in our home’s laundry room right as taxes were coming due. We knew we’d each found who we want to do laundry and taxes with for the rest of our lives!
Gallery
Our Laundry&Taxes Wedding Weekend Events
Thursday, November 7, 2024
Mexican & Margaritas
7:00 pm
9515 Diamond Centre Drive, Mentor, OH 44060
Casual Attire
Please join us for the first (& totally "unofficial") event of our #laundryandtaxes wedding weekend (it's so "unofficial" its not even taking place during the actual weekend)! We absolutely love this place (it's basically our "Cheers") and Thursdays are half-price margaritas! If you want good drinks and good food at a really good price, please pop in. All are welcome and no formal RSVP is needed. Just shoot one of the grooms a text if you're coming so that we can arrange for enough seating. *Azteca has a free, large, attached parking lot.* https://www.aztecamexandmargaritas.com/
Saturday, November 9, 2024
A Day For "I Do"s To A Lifetime Of Love
4:30 pm - 11:00 pm
Cocktail Attire
In the words of Etta James, "At Last"! Almost 5 years in the making, our big day (& the main event of our #laundryandtaxes wedding weekend) is finally here! In John's first Biblical letter, he tells us that "God is love" and that "if we love one another, God abides in us and His love is perfected in us." He also writes, "See what great love the Father has lavished upon us...". God changed our lives through His love and the love of His Son, Jesus, and He's blessed us beyond anything either of us could have imaged through the love of one another. On 11/09, we'll say "I do" to a life of continuing to grow together in that love. We can't wait to see you all and celebrate with a night of curated charcuterie, a delicious dinner, brilliant beverages from our open bar, marvelous music, and lots of dancing to Dua Lipa. *The CoLab does not have dedicated, attached parking. There is free street-side parking very close by.* https://thecolabevents.com/
Sunday, November 10, 2024
Sunday Service at Restoration Heights Church
10:30 am - 11:45 am
3663 Mayfield Road, Cleveland Heights, OH 44121
Casual Attire
"For 'in Him we live and move and have our being'..." (Acts 17:28a). On our first married morning of our first full married day, for our first time out our door as a married couple, we want to worship God with our church family (of whom many of you are a part). Our church fosters a casual atmosphere and our service consists of musical worship, times of prayer, and a short teaching. This is an RSVP-free, totally "unofficial" #laundryandtaxes wedding weekend event. Whether you are part of our church family or not, and regardless of your faith, background, or beliefs, we welcome any and all of our wedding guests to join us for Restoration Heights' Sunday service before we head to our "Bon Voyage Brunch". *Restoration Heights Church has a free, large, attached parking lot.* https://www.restorationheightschurch.org/
Bon Voyage Brunch
12:15 pm - 3:15 pm
820 College Ave, Cleveland, OH 44113
Casual Attire
Please join us for the grand finale of our #laundryandtaxes wedding weekend! Come enjoy a delicious catered brunch buffet (and full cash bar!) in the Treehouse's private upstairs dining room. All of you represent our dearest friends, our closest connections, and the most precious relationships in our lives, and we can't wait to spend the last few hours of our #laundryandtaxes wedding weekend with you before we jet off to Spain! *The Treehouse does not have dedicated, attached parking. There is free street-side parking very close by.* https://www.treehousecleveland.com/
Travel
Travel Note
Accommodations
The greater Cleveland area is made up of a large number of small cities and townships. For instance, our home is in Euclid, but two different cities are within minute-long drives from our front door. So while all of our #laundryandtaxes wedding weekend events are spread across multiple cities, they are all within the same general greater Cleveland area. Lakewood, Tremont, and Ohio City will all be homes to different #laundryandtaxes wedding weekend events, and all three offer a bevy of beautiful Airbnb options. These three locations contain a lot of historical charm. For guests who prefer a hotel over a home or apartment rental, Downtown Cleveland has many gorgeous hotel accommodations and provides a true "heart of the city" lodging experience. Beachwood and the Crocker Park neighborhood in Westlake also offer classic hotel options, though they are just slightly further away from most of our events. Please don't hesitate to reach out to us with any accommodation or Cleveland geography questions.
While In Town
The Cleveland Museum of Art
Our art museum is expansive, renowned (from Picasso to Pollack, ancient armories to Andy Warhol), and completely free. We have spent hours here, and still haven't seen it all.
Cleveland Botanical Garden
Made up of both an enormous two-story indoor greenhouse and an expansive outdoor garden, we love to "take a turn about the gardens". We also had our Christmas card photo and engagement photos taken here.
Loganberry Books
Our FAVORITE book store! Get ready for a "Beauty and the Beast" kind of experience! And go to the Academy Tavern nearby for a great burger!
West Side Market
Prepare for a foodie experience like no other, filled with stalls of all kinds of produce, food, and desserts!
BrewDog Cleveland Outpost
When we want pizza and a beer, this is always our go-to spot. It's relaxed with both indoor and outdoor seating. There's also corn hole, jumbo jenga, human-sized chess, and a beautiful view of the river.
Wedding Registry
FAQs
Question
When should I RSVP by?
Answer
Please RSVP by Friday, October 4th.
Question
Can I bring a date or my kids?
Answer
We chose our venues with intimacy in mind and look forward to spending a special weekend with those nearest and dearest to us. Consequently, our #laundryandtaxes wedding weekend's venues cannot support "plus one" guests, and due to our locations' limited size capacities, we’ve made the decision to host "adults only" events.
Question
Are you registered? Where?
Answer
Yes! Right here on Zola, check out our "Wedding Registry" section here on our website!
Question
Do you have any hotel recommendations?
Answer
While we don't have any specific hotel or Airbnb recommendations, please see our "Travel" section for information on the best areas to look for hotels or Airbnbs in.
Question
Is there a dress code?
Answer
All of our #laundryandtaxes wedding weekend events are casual, but we ask that you dress in cocktail attire (while still embracing your own sense of personal expression) for our big day itself.
Question
What time should I arrive at the ceremony?
Answer
Our ceremony will be begin right at 4:30 PM, so plan to arrive early in order to find parking and so you can "sign" our "guestbook". The CoLab (our ceremony and reception venue) will open its doors at 4 PM.
Question
Is there parking for the ceremony and reception?
Answer
There is plenty of street-side parking in our wedding venue's vicinity, and both our ceremony and reception are happening at the same location. Once you're parked, you're all set for the night!
Question
I have a food allergy, can I make a special request?
Answer
All of our RSVP-able events that include food offer a space for you to detail any dietary restrictions or food allergies/sensitivities. Please be sure to complete it as you RSVP.
Question
Are there any other events that I should know about around the wedding?
Answer
Please check out our "Laundry & Taxes Wedding Weekend Events" page here on our website for a full listing of the weekend's festivities (including events that don't require an RSVP). Additionally, when you select the "RSVP" option on our website and enter your information, all of your RSVP-able events will appear there.
RSVP
Please enter the first and last name of one member of your party below.
If you're responding for you and a guest (or your family), you'll be able to RSVP for your entire group on the next page.