Sanaa and Jay's Wedding

You are cordially invited to Sanaa and Jay’s wedding!

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~ Updated Cape Cod wedding details (from 8/11 email): ~

Ceremony and reception:

The wedding ceremony will begin at 4:00 p.m. this Saturday, August 15, at the Church of the Holy Spirit, 204 Monument Road, Orleans, MA 02653.  It will be followed by a dinner in the adjacent reception hall.  The reception will run from around 4:45 p.m. to 8:25 p.m. 

The Church of the Holy Spirit is an Episcopal parish.  As the ceremony is taking place in an Episcopal church, it will have certain Christian/Episcopal elements.  Please feel free to take part or not take part in any of these elements as you choose.

Dinner will be Lebanese food, and will include vegetarian, vegan, and dairy-free options.

There is plenty of parking at the church.

Post-reception:

Anybody who would like to keep at it post-reception is welcome to join us at the Lost Dog Pub in Orleans for casual drinks.  We don’t have it booked out and will just plan to wander over there after the reception.  The pub becomes 21+ only after 10:00 p.m., so your children will have to finish drinking before then.

Sunday breakfast:

Anybody still in town is invited to join us for breakfast Sunday morning from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at the Doane Rock Picnic Area in Eastham (just north of Orleans).  We’ll have various breakfast and brunch foods, coffee, tea, and other beverages.  I think somebody said something about donuts, or maybe it was doughnuts.

Doane Rock is a large boulder left by receding glaciers back in the day.  The picnic area abuts a short path through woods (a 10–15-minute walk) that leads to Coast Guard Beach.  If you’d like, you can stroll down the path and go for a swim.  There’s a changing room available, and we’ll bring extra towels, though if you have a beach towel or any other beach paraphernalia you enjoy, please bring it along.

Parking at Doane Rock is more limited, so if you know other guests going to the brunch, you might consider carpooling.  We’ll scope out the situation if the parking fills up.

Sunday after breakfast:

We think most people will be traveling back to The Hub (Boston) by Sunday afternoon, but for anybody sticking around—some of us will go to watch some whales after brunch.  We’ll board the 2:00 p.m. “Dolphin Fleet” whale watch in Provincetown, MA.  We’d love to whale-watch those whales with you; if you’d like to join, you can get tickets at https://whalewatch.com/ -> Buy Tickets -> Whale Watch -> Sun, Aug 16 -> 2:00 p.m..

After the whale watch, we’ll have a bonfire at Nauset Light Beach from 7–11:00 p.m..  We’ll bring the wood if you bring the fire.  We’ll also have s’mores.  Alcohol is allowed, but not glass.

Weather:

So far it looks like we’ll have partly-sunny days with highs in the 70s and lows in the 60s.  There may be some scattered showers.  The church and reception hall are both air-conditioned.

Perils:

There are three natural hazards on Cape Cod.  From small to large, they are:

Ticks are active during the spring and summer and are likely to try to catch you for a meal when you pass against grasses and other low brush.  If you go for a walk outside, please be sure to stay on paths and avoid tall grass. Further tick prevention information can be found attached to the email sent on 8/11.

Poison ivy is also present in much Cape brush.

Finally, great white sharks are occasionally present in the waters off the Cape, where they feed on increasing seal populations.  If you go swimming, do not bob over to any seals—not only do many seals consider this a faux pas, it also increases the risk that a near-sighted shark might mistake you for a seal (no offense intended).  Lifeguards raise the alarm if any sharks are spotted. 

Gifts:

Some of you have asked us if we have a wedding registry.  We decided not to put one together; as they say, your presence is a precious present indeed.  If you really insist, we would also be very happy with a small donation to GerHub (a non-profit Sanaa has worked with in Mongolia; https://www.gerhub.org/support-us -> Donate), or to another organization you know, or any other small symbol of your choosing.

Outstanding rides:

All outstanding rides have now been taken care of—thanks, all, for your help!  If you are in need of a ride in any direction, please let us know and we'll try to find a spot in somebody's car. 

Other things to do:

In case it helps for brainstorming, other nice things to do while you’re on the Cape include:

Beaches:

         Nauset Beach

         Coast Guard Beach

Nauset Lighthouse

Lots of other beaches; much of the shoreline is public land

Walks:

         Fort Hill

         Mass Audubon Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary

         Wiley Park and Great Pond (also a swimming option)

Food:

         There are many classic, casual fish eateries, including:

Cooke’s

The Knack

Sir Cricket’s

Arnold’s

Mac’s

Van Rennelaer’s (a little nicer)

Some of these are also fishmongers, including:

         Nauset Fish & Lobster Pool (attached to Sir Cricket’s)

         Mac’s

         Other places for a bite or a gulp:

Cottage Street Bakery

Hole in One Donuts

Hot Chocolate Sparrow

Ice Cream Cafe

Smitty’s

Sunbird

Town Cove Tape House

Shopping, etc.:

There are many small shops in Orleans, Wellfleet, Provincetown, and elsewhere along the Cape.  Eastham (between Orleans and Wellfleet) is much smaller.  There are also many fine putt-putt mini-golf putt-putt establishments throughout the land.

~ Here ends the updates. ~

~~~

We will be celebrating in two locations:

On Saturday, July 4, 2026, with a reception in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. 

On Saturday, August 15, 2026, with a ceremony and dinner in Orleans, Massachusetts. 

We understand that traveling to these locations may require considerable time and expense.  While we would love your company at either (or both) events, we hope that you will not feel compelled to join us at either location; we would be happy to see you at a later time and place. 

Significant others, parents, children, and other family members are welcome. 

Please R.S.V.P. at your earliest convenience via the link at the bottom of this page. 

Additional details will be posted to this site as the dates approach. 

Details:

Reception in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia:

Date: July 4, 2026

Time: 4:00 p.m.

Venue: Z'Terra Zaisan Hill

Weather: Summer in Ulaanbaatar (aka UB) is generally quite pleasant, with highs in the 60s and 70s.  Evenings can get chillier, especially in the countryside.  Rain showers are not infrequent.  We usually bring multiple layers, including a light-to-midweight jacket.  

Transportation: From the US, you can head east or west to get to Mongolia.  Just don't go south.  Most flights transfer through Istanbul, Frankfurt, Beijing, Tokyo, or Seoul.  The main airport in UB is the Chinggis Khaan International Airport.  It's a short drive from the city; we can help coordinate airport pickups.  It's not necessary to rent a car in Ulaanbaatar. 

Lodging: We have arranged airbnb style apartments for those traveling from abroad so no need to pay for hotels. It will involve rooming together though! Please let us know if you would prefer to stay in a hotel. 

Additional: Anybody traveling to Mongolia is also invited to join us for a short multi-day trip to the Gobi (offered at cost ~$875 by New Juulchin Tours).  A potential (adjustable!) schedule might look like: 

July 2: Arrive in UB

July 3: Rest/see UB

July 4: Reception [set date]

July 5-9: Trip to Gobi (domestic flight)

July 10: UB city tour/museum

July 11-12: See Naadam festivities in UB (wresting, archery, etc.)

July 13: Departure 

Ceremony and dinner in Orleans, Massachusetts:

Date: August 15, 2026

Time: 4:00 p.m.

Venue: Church of the Holy Spirit, 204 Monument Road, Orleans, MA 02653

Weather: The Cape can get quite hot and humid at times during the summer.  The church  and reception hall (just next door) are air-conditioned.  

Transportation: Orleans is only about an hour and a half from Boston without traffic, and if we had ham, we could have ham and eggs, if we had eggs.  Two and a half hours or so is more likely during the summer months.  It is possible to take a bus to Hyannis, and then another bus, and sometimes even another one for good measure.  But it's probably easier to carpool; let us know if you'd like help pooling. 

Lodging: There are several hotels in Orleans, Eastham, and Wellfleet.  Some relatively well-reviewed options include: 

The Rugosa Boutique Hotel (Eastham)

Eagle Wing Inn (Eastham, adults only)

The Seagrove (Eastham)

Skaket Beach Motel (Orleans)

The Cove Motel (Orleans)

Southfleet Motor Inn (Wellfleet)

There are also several other motels, as well as B&Bs and inns.  Please note that some hotels require a two- or three- night minimum stay during summer weekends. Currently the following options do have one-night stays available (but note that the lower three have mixed reviews): 

Orleans Waterfront Inn (Orleans)

Rodeway Inn (Orleans)

Blue Dolphin Inn (Orleans)

Viking Shores Motor Inn (Orleans)

Please do let us know if you have any trouble finding a place to stay and we will see what we can do to help out.  Cape hotels may fill up so we recommend making a reservation as early as possible. 

Additional: We will also meet for a drop-in brunch on Sunday, August 16, for anybody still in town, in North Eastham, MA.  Details to follow. 

R.S.V.P.:

Please let us know if you'll be able to join us here: https://forms.gle/Fjrda3Aa2UXYNypP9 

Contact:

Please feel free to contact one of us directly or to email us at abuhasaj@jasahuba.com. 

What is jasahuba? 

Jay Sanaa Husson Batsukh.

Who is Abu Hasaj?

j a s a h u b a  <->  A b u H a s a j