Verdin Bell Event Centre

Our New Year's Day was every bit as gorgeous as our New Year's Eve, as we attended the wedding of my friend Alisa to her awesome husband, Adam.

This first photo is from St. Teresa Avila, in the west side. The rest are from Verdin Bell Event Centre, a stone's throw from our home in Over-the-Rhine.

I use words like "gorgeous" and "beautiful" too often, but that's part of what falling in love with Cincinnati is about. Alisa was a jaw-dropping bride, and her choice of church and reception hall were spot-on... what phenomenal locations!

Verdin Bell Event Centre: http://www.belleventcentre.com/asp/index.asp

Cincinnati Art Museum

Part 1 of my friend Meredith's wedding took place at the Holy Cross-Immaculata Church in Mt. Adams. For her reception, we scooted over to Eden Park to visit the Cincinnati Art Museum.

According to the ol' Wikipedia, ours is one of the oldest art museums in the US. I did not know that.

Meredith's cocktail hour took place in a little courtyard within the museum grounds... which, with the falling dusk, was incredibly pretty.

Meredith made her rounds with a huge smile and a glass of white wine. As it grew darker there were candles and lanterns lit. Picturesque.
Ultimately we were ushered inside of the museum proper for the reception dinner. This picture doesn't really capture how beautiful the setup was, with the tall museum staircase and all the marble work. Everything looked sophisticated and... well, very Meredith.

I'll have to re-visit the art museum to give it a proper review; none of the exhibits were open, though Dan and I half hoped they'd let us mill around in there. This museum is one of the places in Cincinnati that I do visit about once a year, so I'm sure we'll be back in no time.

Cincinnati Art Museum website: http://www.cincinnatiartmuseum.org/

By the way: the Cincinnati Art Museum is free every day. Even the special exhibits, which is a recent development. No excuses not to check it out.

Holy Cross-Immaculata

Holy Cross-Immaculata is an exquisite Catholic church atop Mt. Adams. Dan and I were there for a wedding this past weekend-- I'd never been before.

The view, as you can see, is a stunning as you get in Cincinnati-- it's one of the highest points.

Thing I just learned about the church: "Archbishop John Baptist Purcell decided to build the church while praying during a severe storm at sea. He promised God that if he survived, he would build a church on the city's highest point."

But the most beautiful parts of just about any church are inside. Take a look at the ornate altar of the Immaculata.

And the very very most beautiful thing was the bride, my friend and coworker Meredith (who now needs to update her Twitter handle). In the next post: her gorgeous reception at the Cincinnati Art Museum.









Holy Cross-Immaculata website: http://www.hciparish.org/