Lakeside Inn

Rehearsal & Dinner

Tavares Pavilion on the Lake

Wedding Day

Fall

Our Wedding

Important Details To Know Before Coming To The Venue

We are so excited to share our big day with you! We want to make sure everyone has a great time, so we're sharing some details to know before coming to the venue. 1. This is probably the MOST important thing for everyone to know. A member of our wedding party is HIGHLY allergic to peanuts, and we want to ensure they remain safe and can enjoy the day with everyone. We have carefully worked with our caterer to make sure the menu is peanut-free, but we also know that many people need to carry snacks with them for various reasons, like for their children or for medical reasons. We are asking that everyone joining us to not bring anything containing peanuts or peanut byproducts (i.e. peanut butter) to the venue; if there is any chance of peanuts being included (no matter how small), please opt for something else. We greatly appreciate everyone abiding by this, and if you have any questions as to what may or may not be okay, please do not hesitate to reach out to us directly. 2. Parking: For those driving to the venue (which we imagine will be most of you), we have rented a lot next to a beauty salon, The Emerald Fox, within short walking distance. There is public parking in the area, but it is further away and shared with other businesses. There is no parking allowed in the cul-de-sac right in front of the venue, but guests with mobility issues may be dropped off there. In the map below, the reserved field for parking is marked by the red square.

3. Smoking &amp; Vaping: The venue has very strict rules against any smoking or vaping on the premises, including outside areas overlooking the lake. For anyone who wants to get away for a moment to smoke or vape, please know that you will need to not only exit the building but also walk to the end of the pier (which exits at the cul-de-sac) to find a place to do so; however, there is lots of open space just beyond the cul-de-sac. There is a park nearby, so we ask that you please be mindful of children at play. 4. Speaking of the park, parents with young children may find this helpful. We know that sometimes it can be hard to keep kids occupied for extended periods of time at events geared more for adults. While we are going to have some games available that may help, if you find your little one needs a little more excitement, Wooten Park is just outside the venue and would be a perfect distraction. To give you an idea of just how close, check out the photo below. The building behind the park is the venue!

We are so excited to see everyone and celebrate! Please let us know if you have any questions at all!

Important Details

We met way back in 2009 at the wedding of our good friend, Sara. Despite having known many of the same people, we had actually never met prior to then. While Tim gave his best effort at wooing the lovely Kristen, the stars didn't quite align at that time, but we remained friends. We don't have any pictures together from Sara's wedding, but the picture above was taken in 2010, which is pretty close. When Tim moved to Colorado in 2013, we lost touch (unfortunately) and went 8 years without contact. Even though Tim moved back to Florida in 2017, neither of us reached out to the other. But all that changed on one fateful day in 2021 (August 5, to be exact) when Kris sent a text to the last number she had and patiently waited to see if Tim would respond. He made her wait 20 whole minutes, like a jerk. After doing lots of catching up over text, phone calls, and video calls, we decided to meet in person for what would end up being our first date. We got coffee at Curia on the Drag in Gainesville, FL on August 14, 2021, which happens to be Kristen's late-father's birthday. Kristen thought it was a good sign - it became clear pretty quickly that we would be spending a lot of time together after that, so that wonderful day became our anniversary. Tim was still living in Palm Coast at the time, but after about a year, he moved to Gainesville, and we got an apartment together. About a year after that, we bought a house together. About a year after that, we got engaged. About 15 months after that, we'll have our wedding day! We want all of you to join us to celebrate our union that took 12 years to get started but has proven to us to be well worth the wait.

12 Years In The Making

Our Story

Things to Know if Traveling

For those traveling in and needing accommodations, we wanted to share a few things that are important to know. Air travel: If you are flying in, the closest airport is the Orlando Sanford International Airport (SFB), which is about 40 minutes away. The only airline that comes in and out of this airport, though, is Allegiant, so most people will likely want to fly into the next closest airport, which is Orlando International Airport (MCO), about an hour away.

Driving in and around Orlando: If you are traveling from out of state and plan on renting a car, check out some helpful tips below. Florida locals likely know all of this, so feel free to skip below if you like. :) First, traffic in the Orlando area can be busy (Kristen: "More like chaotic!"); many of the drivers are tourists, so they tend to be distracted by their GPS, the sight of palm trees for the first time, and random rollercoasters that can be seen from I-4. The second thing to know is that while I-4 is technically an East-West highway, as it connects the East and West sides of the state, in Orlando, it runs more North and South. There are also many tolls in the area, so you may want to consider a toll package with your rental car company or picking up a <a href="https://www.sunpass.com/en/home/index.shtml" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">SunPass</a> if that isn't an option. Accommodations to AVOID: When researching possible hotels, we found that there is a hotel very close to the venue (Citrus on the Lake Boutique Hotel), but unfortunately, we DO NOT recommend anyone stay there. After looking at reviews of the hotel, it appears there could be issues with service, noise, and cleanliness of the rooms. Given the risk of our wedding guests having a poor hotel experience, we decided it would be better to have everyone be a little further away, but hopefully well-rested and happy. Accommodations to Consider: We recommend booking a short-term vacation rental (like <a href="https://www.theknot.com/gs/dashboard/preview/pages/92012311/paragraph-items/www.airbnb.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">AirBnB </a>or <a href="https://www.theknot.com/gs/dashboard/preview/pages/92012311/paragraph-items/www.vrbo.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">VRBO</a>) or staying at the Hampton Inn in Mt. Dora (details below). If you are looking at a short-term vacation rental, and you want to be relatively close to the venue, search in the towns of Tavares or Mt. Dora, particularly near Lake Dora, which is the lake that the venue is on. As always, please research any rental thoroughly before booking. For those looking for a more traditional hotel, please look at the Hampton Inn details below.

The Hampton Inn is about a 15-minute drive from the wedding venue. While they do not have a traditional "block" where they hold a set number of rooms, they are offering discounted rates so long as they have availability. For Friday, 11/7 and Saturday, 11/8, the price is normally $266 a night, but they are offering those nights for $189 a night (plus tax). For Sunday, 11/9, the price is normally $149 for the night, but they are offering it for $129 for the night (plus tax). If you want to book any of these nights (you don't have to do all 3), simply call up the hotel directly and let them know you are with the "Copenhaver-Oates Wedding" and they can help you with the reservation.

Hampton Inn Mount Dora

Travel

Things To Do

If you're staying for a few days and looking for things to do when not enjoying the wedding festivities, Central Florida has no shortage of options, no matter what you are looking for. Here are a few suggestions from us, but these are just scratching the surface, given how close you will be to so many popular tourist destinations.

Visit Mt. Dora

While the wedding is taking place in Tavares, the next town over is Mr. Dora, which has a plethora of small, local shopping and food options. Tim's grandmother lives in Mt. Dora, so we have spent lots of time exploring this wonderful town, and we're sure everyone can find something special here.

Orlando Attractions

We're sure we don't have to tell you that Orlando is home to a seemingly endless number of attractions to explore. Beyond the obvious ones, like Disney, Universal, and Legoland, there are tons of smaller ones all through the area, including very unique experiences like dinner theaters, strange museums, and interactive exhibits. If you do venture to some lesser-known spots, please do your research, as there are both hidden gems and blatant tourist traps mixed together in this lot.

Beaches

Even though it will be November, the beach may still be a realistic option if that interests you - this is Florida, after all! The water may be a little cool depending on the weather, but you can still find beachgoers year-round. The closest beach to the Orlando area is Cocoa Beach, located near Cape Canaveral (where the Space Shuttle used to take off, and where Space-X rockets sometimes take off...) on the Atlantic side. If you're interested in something on the Gulf of Mexico side, consider checking out Clearwater Beach, which is down I-4 and just past Tampa. It's just a 2-hour drive from Mt. Dora to the Gulf Coast, but if you're into pretty beaches and have the time, it's worth the drive (particularly if you've never seen the Gulf). Of course, there are plenty of other beaches around if neither of those scratch your sandy itch. The great news is that there is no shortage of sand and surf. Florida has 825 miles of beaches to explore, so there's something for everyone - except if you hate beaches. Please feel free to ask us for any recommendations on where to go.

Things to Do

Some photos of us and the venue

We'll post some of our favorite photos of the wedding right here after the big day! You can click on the photos to make them bigger - certain heads are larger than they appear. :)

Photos

Honeymoon Fund

We don't have a traditional registry page as we don't really need any additional physical items - we are in our 40s and have a house full of stuff as it is. :) Many of you will be traveling to join us, and we couldn't ask for anything more than that. However, we know that there will be those who will insist on giving us something, hence why this page was added. We have set up a Honeymoon Fund through Honeyfund. While we don't know exactly where we want to go, we do know that we will want to go somewhere fun and unique. The last idea we've been throwing around is a cross-Canada train trip, but we're also open to any suggestions. Please do not feel obligated in any way. Seriously. We look forward to spending a wonderful time celebrating our union with cherished family and friends. We know it is cliché, but we genuinely mean it - your presence at our wedding is the only gift we need.

<a href="https://www.honeyfund.com/site/oates-copenhaver-11-09-2025" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Our Honeymoon Fund</a>

Kristen & Tim

Kristen & Tim

Photos

Some photos of us and the venue