Wedding Date: May 16, 2009 (Married)
 
FAQ- Frequently Asked Questions

Q: When and Where is the Wedding?

A: It will be held in Santa Fe, New Mexico (La Posada Resort) on Saturday May 16, 2009 at approximately 5pm (subject to slight changes in time)

Q: Why are you having the wedding in Santa Fe, New Mexico? 

A: Kara’s from the St. Louis area and Chris is from Tampa, FL & before that Buffalo, NY.  We’ve also lived in Portland, OR.  But for the better part of the last 7+ years, we’ve lived in Albuquerque, NM.  When we thought about a place to get married, we decided that the Santa Fe, NM, nestled in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, would be a beautiful location to start our married life together.
Q: New Mexico?!? Do I need a passport to come to your wedding?

A: You might be surprised.... but this question has been asked (though not too frequently).  To answer the question..  no, you do not need a passport, since it’s one of the 50 states in the USA.  In fact, New Mexico became the United States of America’s 47th state in 1912, with Santa Fe as its capital.  en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Santa_Fe,_New_Mexico

Q: Can I fly into Santa Fe?

A: You can try, but you’ll likely find it easier and much more economical to fly into the Albuquerque International Sunport as it’s called (ABQ is the 3 letter airport code).  Santa Fe is about 60 miles north of ABQ and will take approximately 50-60 minutes by car traveling on Interstate 25.  See the Travel Information tab for more information.
Q: Do I need to rent a car?

A: Probably, but there are options.  I’ll start by saying that the state of New Mexico and the cities of Albuquerque & Santa Fe are not known for their public transportation systems.  With that said,  the 3 alternatives to renting a car are:

1) The railrunner train service should be complete by the end of ’08 with service from ABQ to Santa Fe (see more details on the Travel Information tab).  If you are considering the train, we’d  recommend staying within walking distance to the historic Santa Fe Plaza. 

2) Take an airport shuttle van/bus from the ABQ airport to Santa Fe.  Again, we’d strongly recommend staying in a hotel near the Santa Fe plaza since you’ll want to be within walking distrance to the wedding and the plaza.  These services cost approximately $45-50 per person for a round trip (Here is one service, though many others may be avail, www.sandiashuttle.com/index.html).   Some hotels, especially those near the plaza, are likely to charge for parking so when this is factored in, alternatives may make sense.  Plus the historic Santa Plaza isn’t real car friendly since many streets are narrow and open on street parking can be hard to find.

3) Carpool.  Since many of our guest will be traveling, there may be opportunities to carpool from ABQ to Santa Fe.  Please contact us if you like this option and we can try to figure out some options.
Q: When should I plan on coming and how long should I stay?

A: Great question.  First, if you can make it, we’re excited that you’ll be part of our special day and we’re pretty sure you’ll enjoy the unique southwest scenery.   At the very least try to plan on coming in on Friday early afternoon and staying until Sunday morning or afternoon. 

For most folks, New Mexico is not at the top of their vacation destination wishlists.    But you might be surprised to find there’s a lot to do and we would encourage our guests to try and spend some time before or after our wedding sightseeing since it is a long way to travel.   Be sure to check out our Things to Do! tab to get some ideas on what there is to do on your trip.   Whether you enjoy unique southwestern cuisine, mountain & high desert landscapes (and beautiful sunsets), outdoor activities (such as hiking, road / mountain biking, white waterrafting, golf, etc) or purusing art galleries (Santa Fe is the 3rd largest art market behind New York City & Los Angeles), there are plenty of things to do.  There are also other places to see such as the Grand Canyon, mountain towns in southern Colorado, Carlsbad Caverns (www.nps.gov/cave/) in southern New Mexico, or Arches National Park (www.nps.gov/arch) in southern Utah, there are many drivable attractions. 
Q: Is it me or is Santa Fe expensive?

A: Yes, it’s not cheap for sure!  But there are some options for hotels & food that make it pretty affordable and it’s really not more expensive than many cities, especially in historic & popular areas.  We’ve tried to provide a few options for hotels where there’s a block of rooms at a discounted rate, but feel free to stay at an alternative hotel, or ask us if you need some recommendations or help making your plans. 
Q: What should I bring?

A: Yourself.  And some layers of clothes.  Santa Fe temperatures will swing about 30 degrees between night and day.  We hope that mid-May 2009 has some really nice weather (avg is high low 70s, low 40s), but bringing some layers is the best way to dress.  If the sun is out (which it is 300 days/yr on avg), it will feel warmer than the actual temperature is since Santa Fe is at  7000 ft in elevation, so don’t forget to pack your sunscreen.  I’m not kidding, Kara can get a tan (also known as a burn) very quick in the NM sun.  Oh ya, bring a camera for those beautiful sunsets.  :)  That’s about it.   We realize that many of you will have to travel (and have the related travel expenses) so we just hope you can make it and share the day with us. 
Q: Where can I park when I get to the wedding location (La Posada)?

A: There is limited on street metered parking in front of La Posada and on near by streets.   The meters are enforced until 6pm on Saturdays.  The meters are $0.25/15 minutes or $1/hr.   As an alternative, you can also pull into the La Posada resort and have your car valet parked at no cost to you.   Just mention that you’re a guest for the Barnes/Belknap wedding. 
Q: I heard Big Brother is hiding out in Santa Fe... what's that all about?

A: Recently the city of Santa Fe has installed some red light cameras at a few intersections, particularly on Cerrilos road.   These cameras will be used to issue tickets for running red lights, and they are equiped with radar guns and also check your speed and issue tickets for that too.     Albuquerque's had Big Brother (red light cameras) for a few years now so look out if you're driving around ABQ as well.