OK dear travelers, I am going to detail as many options as possible to try to make trip planning as easy as possible!

The website both Damon and I used exclusively during our year of long-distance traveling back and forth from Jamaica to the U.S. was cheaptickets.com. They have a great search engine which allows you to manipulate many variables, as well as search several dates on the same screen (for example, departing July 5-11th, returning July 13-20th) and gives results of all the fares for each day, so it is very easy to select departure and return dates that are most economical. They also consistently had the best fare available. 

The EASIEST option by far is to fly directly into Kalamazoo. It is officially called the Kalamazoo/Battle Creek International Airport, and the airport code is "AZO". This airport is literally 5 minutes away from our house, and if you fly into Kalamazoo, we can pick you up and deliver you to your hotel :)

Grand Rapids (GRR) is the next closest airport. It is about an hour North of Kalamazoo, and there are car rentals available on-site. It is unlikely that we will be able to pick you up from Grand Rapids if you are flying in the week of the wedding because we are both working that week in addition to managing all of the last minute preparations. If you are coming in BEFORE the week of the wedding, we may be able to pick you up from GRR. There are buses that go from Grand Rapids to Kalamazoo, however I'm not sure if they go from the airport in Grand Rapids or from another location.

Detroit Metro Airport (DTW) is another option. It is about a 2 hour drive, but the fares may be lower because it is a major airport. The good thing about DTW is that it is literally located right on the highway, and there is car rental available on site - it is an easy, straight-shot 2 hour drive from the airport to our house. No twists, turns, or exits! Easy breezy! Again, unfortunately we will not be able to pick you up from Detroit Metro the week of the wedding.

Chicago O'Hare (ORD) is another major airport. The good thing about Chicago is that you can easily get to Kalamazoo via train from ORD. The first train is a city train that picks you up at the airport terminal and delivers you to downtown Chicago. The second train is an Amtrak, and the train station (Union Station) is a 1-block walk from where the first train delivers you. Amtrak goes from downtown Chicago to downtown Kalamazoo, where we can pick you up and deliver you to your hotel! Tickets are generally around $25 one way if you book in advance. You can get specific information on their website @ www.Amtrak.com :) We will be unable to pick you up from ORD at any time, because it is a 3-3 1/2 hour drive ONE WAY (or longer,  depending on traffic). 

ACCOMMODATIONS: 

Damon has contacted the Radisson Plaza Hotel in downtown Kalamazoo and has reserved a block of rooms that will be available for $159/night for standard room - this is for a maximum of 5 people (adults and/or children) and is either 2 double or 1 king bed. The Radisson is right in the middle of downtown Kalamazoo - within walking distance to parks, the Kalamazoo Valley Museum (which has an AWESOME kids area), the Kalamazoo Institute of the Arts, the Kalamazoo Public Library, the Civic Theater, as well as many wonderful restaurants! It is also a 2-block walk from the Kalamazoo Metro Bus Station and the Amtrak Train Station. 

Unfortunately, there are only two hotels downtown, but many others throughout the city. If you are interested in staying at a different hotel, please contact Damon or I directly before you book so we can let you know if it's in a clean, safe area of town or not - websites can be very deceiving!

Please don't hesitate to contact us with any questions re: travel, accommodations, or anything else!

We have also included detailed driving directions from the church to the reception site on the page titled "reception".