Drum roll, please... and with some topics for discussion in case you run across them at the wedding.
Bridesmaids
Andrea Woo- maid of honor
Ask her about: being a fierce bridezilla in her own right
Don't ask her about: the fact that her own wedding is only weeks away
Sophie ChheangAsk her about: why she can't eat chocolate cake, strawberry shortcake, raspberry mousse cake (what cake will she eat??? made picking the wedding cake quite challenging)
Don't ask her about: anything before 12pm, she will be asleep
Sophia Isani
Ask her about: how excited she is to be a bridesmaid, makes Wednesday Addams look like a warm & loving sister
Komal PandyaAsk her about: chocolate covered w/chocolate inside a chocolate shell w/ chocolate fudge drizzled and chocolate sprinkles on top
Don't ask her about: when she is going to have children
Michelle Umali
Ask her about: being a design diva, makes Martha Stewart look like kindergarten arts and crafts
Don't ask her about: why she can never finish a beverage and has to leave a swig at the bottom every time
Groomsmen
Dave Whitelaw - best man
Ask him about: travelling to Burma and, heck, essentially all of Asia
Do not ask him about: the mysterious and divergent properties of water and vodka
Kevin FergusonAsk him about: his latest motorcycle trip
Do not ask him about: the "water cycle" (or is it "water system"?)
Will Fox
Ask him about: his urban garden/vineyard
Do not ask him about: advisors with a knack for abusing hand-crafted physics equipment
Andrew Kohn
Ask him about: the ghosts of Gettysburg
Do not ask him about: Madagascar
Graham Spence
Ask him about: his impending fatherhood
Do not ask him about: sinking the Spanish Armada
Friday, July 11, 2008
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Registry Update
Here is our final registry information:
Amazon lots of items w/ free shipping
Bloomingdale's or as Sara used to call it "Boomies"
Bed Bath and Beyond both online and available at hundreds of stores nationwide
We met with the site/caterer and the florist this weekend and were able to finally settle a number of things on both fronts. Coming out of this weekend, we feel like we're finally over the hump in terms of planning. We still have a number of small things to work out, but we're thinking that all this planning can drop from 110% of our free time to maybe only 85%.
Amazon lots of items w/ free shipping
Bloomingdale's or as Sara used to call it "Boomies"
Bed Bath and Beyond both online and available at hundreds of stores nationwide
We met with the site/caterer and the florist this weekend and were able to finally settle a number of things on both fronts. Coming out of this weekend, we feel like we're finally over the hump in terms of planning. We still have a number of small things to work out, but we're thinking that all this planning can drop from 110% of our free time to maybe only 85%.
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Directions to Sandy Hook
The wedding ceremony and reception are both at the same site: Sandy Hook, NJ. The wedding site is a former chapel that has been completely renovated into an event space immediately next to the ocean. Because it's inside the park and is fairly new, it doesn't have a real address; you might be able to find it as Fort Hancock, NJ or just by the lat/lng coordinates: 40.464781, -74.005600. It's officially in Middletown Township, and the closest other towns are Highlands, NJ and Sea Bright, NJ. It's inside the Sandy Hook part of Gateway National Recreation Area, which is the northernmost part of the Jersey Shore. Sara grew up going to the beach at Sandy Hook; it's in the national park system, Fort Hancock - a former US Army fort - is at the tip of the hook, and on a clear day you can see the New York City skyline.
Below you can find the directions that we included in the invitations. But if you're like me and need to see this all on a map, I've provided some links of example routes for each section. After clicking on the link, you can simply change the "From" location to get full directions from your own starting point. If you want directions from your hotel, I've also provided links on our Accommodations page from each of the hotels to the wedding site. Or if you want to do it yourself, use the lat/lng coordinates.
From Northern NJ/ Westchester:
Take the GARDEN STATE PKWY SOUTH to Exit 117. Then take ROUTE 36 South. Follow Rt 36 for 13 miles. Cross over the HIGHLANDS BRIDGE and stay in the right lane. Follow the signs for and take ramp for SANDY HOOK GATEWAY NATIONAL PARK. See directions below: To Wedding Site. Example: from Englewood Cliffs, NJ.
From Southern NJ:
Take the GARDEN STATE PKWY NORTH to Exit 105. Then take ROUTE 36 EAST towards Long Branch. Turn left onto OCEAN BLVD NORTH/ RT 36 NORTH. Follow the signs and take the ramp on your right to SANDY HOOK GATEWAY NATIONAL PARK. See directions below: To Wedding Site. Example: from Toms River, NJ.
From Manhattan:
Take any of the Hudson River Crossings (George Washington Bridge, Lincoln Tunnel, Holland Tunnel) to I-95 SOUTH and continue to Exit 11 for GARDEN STATE PARKWAY SOUTH. Then follow directions above: From Northern NJ. Example: from Grand Central.
To Wedding Site:
From the Park Ranger Booths at the entrance to the park, follow the main road HARTSHORNE ROAD. For the wedding, you will NOT have to pay the entrance fee. After 4.1 miles, you will see a large missile with a FORT HANCOCK sign. The road will divide, and you should stay left and pass a row of houses on your right. Continue on this road for another 0.7 miles and you will come to the tent/reception hall on your left side on the bay. Turn left into the PARKING LOT. On a map: from the entrance to Sandy Hook to the wedding site.
Below you can find the directions that we included in the invitations. But if you're like me and need to see this all on a map, I've provided some links of example routes for each section. After clicking on the link, you can simply change the "From" location to get full directions from your own starting point. If you want directions from your hotel, I've also provided links on our Accommodations page from each of the hotels to the wedding site. Or if you want to do it yourself, use the lat/lng coordinates.
From Northern NJ/ Westchester:
Take the GARDEN STATE PKWY SOUTH to Exit 117. Then take ROUTE 36 South. Follow Rt 36 for 13 miles. Cross over the HIGHLANDS BRIDGE and stay in the right lane. Follow the signs for and take ramp for SANDY HOOK GATEWAY NATIONAL PARK. See directions below: To Wedding Site. Example: from Englewood Cliffs, NJ.
From Southern NJ:
Take the GARDEN STATE PKWY NORTH to Exit 105. Then take ROUTE 36 EAST towards Long Branch. Turn left onto OCEAN BLVD NORTH/ RT 36 NORTH. Follow the signs and take the ramp on your right to SANDY HOOK GATEWAY NATIONAL PARK. See directions below: To Wedding Site. Example: from Toms River, NJ.
From Manhattan:
Take any of the Hudson River Crossings (George Washington Bridge, Lincoln Tunnel, Holland Tunnel) to I-95 SOUTH and continue to Exit 11 for GARDEN STATE PARKWAY SOUTH. Then follow directions above: From Northern NJ. Example: from Grand Central.
To Wedding Site:
From the Park Ranger Booths at the entrance to the park, follow the main road HARTSHORNE ROAD. For the wedding, you will NOT have to pay the entrance fee. After 4.1 miles, you will see a large missile with a FORT HANCOCK sign. The road will divide, and you should stay left and pass a row of houses on your right. Continue on this road for another 0.7 miles and you will come to the tent/reception hall on your left side on the bay. Turn left into the PARKING LOT. On a map: from the entrance to Sandy Hook to the wedding site.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Initial Transportation Notes
I'm sure we'll have much more on this subject in the coming months, but we wanted to tell you about a couple things we've been working on, transportation-wise.
1. We are planning on providing a shuttle for everyone to travel from the hotels to the wedding site and back at the end of the night, so that people who so choose will not have to worry about driving. We're looking at a single coach bus that will make a few stops: one will definitely be at the Blue Bay Inn and we'll figure out the others as people book rooms at the hotels. Looping past all of the hotels would take a long time, so we're going to try to strategically choose the stops to serve as many people as possible while making the loop as short as possible. The shuttle will probably make two trips both for the pick-up and drop-off, so anyone can choose an early or late arrival/departure. Look for information about this on the RSVP card (when we send out the invitations).
2. For all of you who are based in New York City, you could think about taking the Seastreak ferry, which has a couple stops very close to the wedding site (we'll try to time a shuttle bus stop at the ferry terminal to bring you the rest of the way to the wedding). The problem is that it does not provide late-night return trips, so we're looking at the possibility of hiring a boat to ferry you all home at the end of the night - thus eliminating a hotel stay for you after the wedding. It would be a single trip at the end of the evening and would make a single stop somewhere in Manhattan (hopefully near a subway). I'm told the trip takes 30-45 minutes. We currently have no idea how much this would cost, so it may be prohibitively expensive, but we're hoping to find out more details soon. When we do have more information, we'll be better able to sketch out a plan for those who are interested.
1. We are planning on providing a shuttle for everyone to travel from the hotels to the wedding site and back at the end of the night, so that people who so choose will not have to worry about driving. We're looking at a single coach bus that will make a few stops: one will definitely be at the Blue Bay Inn and we'll figure out the others as people book rooms at the hotels. Looping past all of the hotels would take a long time, so we're going to try to strategically choose the stops to serve as many people as possible while making the loop as short as possible. The shuttle will probably make two trips both for the pick-up and drop-off, so anyone can choose an early or late arrival/departure. Look for information about this on the RSVP card (when we send out the invitations).
2. For all of you who are based in New York City, you could think about taking the Seastreak ferry, which has a couple stops very close to the wedding site (we'll try to time a shuttle bus stop at the ferry terminal to bring you the rest of the way to the wedding). The problem is that it does not provide late-night return trips, so we're looking at the possibility of hiring a boat to ferry you all home at the end of the night - thus eliminating a hotel stay for you after the wedding. It would be a single trip at the end of the evening and would make a single stop somewhere in Manhattan (hopefully near a subway). I'm told the trip takes 30-45 minutes. We currently have no idea how much this would cost, so it may be prohibitively expensive, but we're hoping to find out more details soon. When we do have more information, we'll be better able to sketch out a plan for those who are interested.
Accommodation Update
It's now only 3.5 months until the wedding, so we hope all of you have already made reservations or are planning on making them soon. Remember that August is a very busy time of year on the Jersey Shore and you may have trouble finding accommodations if you wait too long. We've blocked off rooms at various hotels (see our previous post) to ensure rooms for you all, but remember that those rooms will go back to the general public 30-60 days before the wedding - make sure you take them before the end of June.
We described most of the accommodation options in our first post on this subject, so use that as a more detailed reference. Most of the rooms at the Blue Bay Inn are already taken, so you should move quickly if you'd like to stay there. As for the Holiday Inn, only yesterday did I realize that they didn't have our block in their records. Oops. That problem has now been fixed (please email me if you call them and they still don't know what you're talking about when you mention the Isani-Martin Wedding), and I'm sorry to anyone who called them previously. In addition to the places we've already mentioned, we forgot to tell you about the Molly Pitcher Inn:
Molly Pitcher Inn
88 Riverside Avenue, Red Bank, NJ
800.221.1372
http://www.mollypitcher-oysterpoint.com/mollypitcher/
This is a very nice hotel on the banks of the Navesink River - we even considered this as a site for the wedding. Though they don't offer room blocks or reduced rates for weddings not hosted in their hotel, the prices seem totally reasonable for the area ($180-$200 per night) and there is no two-night minimum. Red Bank has one of those cute downtown areas that are great for a leisurely stroll in a summer afternoon, and it's walking distance from the hotel. The Molly Pitcher Inn is slightly inland (though not as far as the Best Western in Hazlet); it would take maybe a 15 minute drive to get to the ocean, with another 10 minutes to get to Sandy Hook. NO 2-night minimum.
We described most of the accommodation options in our first post on this subject, so use that as a more detailed reference. Most of the rooms at the Blue Bay Inn are already taken, so you should move quickly if you'd like to stay there. As for the Holiday Inn, only yesterday did I realize that they didn't have our block in their records. Oops. That problem has now been fixed (please email me if you call them and they still don't know what you're talking about when you mention the Isani-Martin Wedding), and I'm sorry to anyone who called them previously. In addition to the places we've already mentioned, we forgot to tell you about the Molly Pitcher Inn:
Molly Pitcher Inn
88 Riverside Avenue, Red Bank, NJ
800.221.1372
http://www.mollypitcher-oysterpoint.com/mollypitcher/
This is a very nice hotel on the banks of the Navesink River - we even considered this as a site for the wedding. Though they don't offer room blocks or reduced rates for weddings not hosted in their hotel, the prices seem totally reasonable for the area ($180-$200 per night) and there is no two-night minimum. Red Bank has one of those cute downtown areas that are great for a leisurely stroll in a summer afternoon, and it's walking distance from the hotel. The Molly Pitcher Inn is slightly inland (though not as far as the Best Western in Hazlet); it would take maybe a 15 minute drive to get to the ocean, with another 10 minutes to get to Sandy Hook. NO 2-night minimum.
Directions to the wedding site.
Directions to the rehearsal dinner.
Directions to the brunch.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Accommodation Information
We worked hard to get a good list of accommodation options for the wedding weekend. A few notes before the actual places/descriptions:
- The NJ shore will be beautiful but BUSY! Beach-goers are going to be streaming in from NY, NJ, Philly, and the World, and all those people are going to want to take your hotel rooms. So please, book rooms ASAP. Better yet, book them yesterday, if you can.
- If you're driving in, beware of the traffic. Although Sandy Hook is 1hr 15min away from NYC, it can take hours on summer Fridays or Saturdays.
- Buyer beware~ because of the demand, many hotels (referring to hotels, B&Bs, motels, etc) require a 2-night stay. There are some options on our list that don't, but be sure to ask if you're planning on staying for only Saturday night. Also, make sure you understand their cancellation policies with regards to getting your deposit back.
- We'll get you more details about this later, but we're planning an event for Friday night for everyone in town. We may throw something together for Sunday morning too.
- For the wedding, we're planning on organizing a shuttle from the main accommodation locations so that everyone who so chooses can take full advantage of the open bar. We'll solidify this later, but if you find other accommodations you may need to get yourself to the wedding or one of the pickup sites on your own. None of the accommodations is within walking distance of the wedding site as it is at the tip of the "hook" of the national park.
- The rooms that we have blocked off for the wedding will generally be released 1 month before the wedding, at which point you will no longer get a break on the price. That said, we still recommend booking NOW if you can as none may be left in July.
- We know some of you still have to figure out details of vacations and can't book yet. If you book late and are having trouble, email or call us to see if we have anything up our sleeves.
Here is the actual list:
Blue Bay Inn
51 First Ave., Atlantic Highlands, NJ
732.708.9600
http://www.bluebayinn.com/
This small boutique hotel is located in Atlantic Highlands, about 8 minutes from Sandy Hook. We reserved rooms here, so mention our names. We visited this hotel and it looks great, with a nice restaurant right next door. The rooms range from $199 (a Deluxe Queen) to $229 (a Deluxe Double, with two double beds) with a complimentary continental breakfast. On their website, they have AAA discounts, so ask them if you can combine the AAA with the wedding rate to save more. 2-night minimum stay
Directions to the wedding site.
Directions to the rehearsal dinner.
Directions to the brunch.
Sandy Hook Cottage Bed & Breakfast
36 Route 36, Highlands, NJ
732.708.1923
http://www.sandyhookcottage.com/
We haven't visited this B&B, but it looks nice and it's very close to both the beach and the wedding site. It seems like you could probably walk/ride a bike to the beach if you wanted to; if not it's not even a five-minute drive. Since it's a B&B, we couldn't block off any rooms, but they do still have availability: 2 rooms for $219, 1 room for $299, and a suite for $299. This B&B is going to be within walking distance of some important locations for the wedding. 2-night minimum stay
Directions to the wedding site.
Directions to the rehearsal dinner.
Directions to the brunch.
Fairbanks Resort & Marina
344 Ocean Avenue, Sea Bright, NJ
732.842.8450
http://www.fairbanksresort.com/
The term "resort" is a little bit of an overstatement. It's essentially a motel, but it is a stone's throw away from the beach - you literally walk across the road and you're on the sand - and it has beautiful bay views from the rooms on the opposite side. It's also close to the wedding site and compared to some of the other options it's relatively cheap: $120 for a single Queen, $140 for a single King, $170 for a two-double bed, $190-210 for the "suites". They don't really block off rooms for weddings, so these rates are the public rates. We visited this place in person -the hotel is definitely worn and is not luxury by any means, but it has a clean bed to sleep on . So if the words "cheap" and "beach access" appeal to you, stay here; if you're looking for a real hotel, try something else. 2-night minimum stay
Directions to the wedding site.
Directions to the rehearsal dinner.
Directions to the brunch.
Best Western Hazlet Inn
3215 Highway 35, Hazlet, NJ
732.888.2800
http://www.bestwesternnewjersey.com/hotels/best-western-hazlet-inn/
Now we're getting farther away from the beach. We blocked off 15 rooms here, all of which have either a single double or a single king bed (no two-double rooms available, sorry). They are giving us a wedding rate of $110 (double or king, doesn't matter), but only if we book 10 or more rooms as a group; otherwise the rooms are $159. When you call to book a room, give them this code to identify the wedding: "CGRYAN". This hotel is in a commercial area (highway with strip malls) and is a 20-minute drive away from the beach (and thus the wedding site). If you don't mind driving and don't mind the lack of scenery, this is the cheapest option we could find. NO 2-night minimum
Directions to the wedding site.
Directions to the rehearsal dinner.
Directions to the brunch.
Holiday Inn Express
294 Highway 36 East, West Long Branch, NJ
732.542.1234
http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/h/d/ex/1/en/hotel-directory/new-jersey/west-long-branch
This hotel seems fairly new. We blocked off rooms here, too, so mention our wedding to get the rate of $179 for the rooms with 2 double beds or $199 for the 2-room suites. The location of this hotel is fairly close to the Long Branch beaches (a 10-minute drive), but it's farther south than the other options above; it would take probably 25 minutes to drive to Sandy Hook. It's also on a busy highway. There is probably a complimentary continental breakfast. NO 2-night minimum stay
Directions to the wedding site.
Directions to the rehearsal dinner.
Directions to the brunch.
Ocean Place
1 Ocean Blvd, Long Branch, NJ
800.411.7321
http://www.oceanplaceresort.com/
This place is too spendy for us, but we mention it for all you high rollers out there. Ocean Place is a nice hotel/spa that is literally on the beach - no walking across the street required. The rooms are also upwards of $400 per night (no wedding discount). It is right next door to a mid-to-high-end shopping area with a number of good restaurants. It is a 10-15 minute drive from Sandy Hook. 2-night minimum
Directions to the wedding site.
Directions to the rehearsal dinner.
Directions to the brunch.
If we find any other good options, we'll update this post. There is a smattering of other B&Bs, motels, and far-away hotels in the general area, but these are your best bets. We're hoping that everyone will be concentrated in a couple of these places - to enjoy the communal atmosphere of a wedding weekend - so organize with your friends. And if you're having trouble or need further advice, please feel free to get in touch with us - we know the area much better now than we ever expected to.
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Believe it or not, we're actually going to have a wedding
Well, it's now been almost 10 months since we became engaged and after lots of time spent alternatively a) looking at sites and not deciding on anything and b) doing absolutely nothing for the wedding, we finally have a date, a site, a caterer, and a photographer. Sara gets much of the credit for spending most of her two-week vacation in February trying to really answer some of the big questions in this whole wedding thing. And now, after writing and mailing no fewer than four different checks to vendors, we can officially say that we're getting married on August 23, 2008 in Sandy Hook, NJ.
I know, I know, six months isn't much time to plan a wedding. So I hope that in between panic attacks Sara really listens to and hears me when I assure her that we will be able to get everything done by then. Really, I think we can. Okay so maybe we'll have to forgo a spectacular skydiving entrance. And dance lessons. And an immediate honeymoon. But Sara will have a dress (we hope - fingers crossed) and we do have the rings and some wildly accommodating friends who will be able to join us on semi-short notice, so that's all we need. Well, that and free booze and uninhibited dancing (see caterer [check] and site [check] above). We'll post more details here as we get them, but for now wish me luck in finding affordable lodging for the aforementioned accommodating friends.
I know, I know, six months isn't much time to plan a wedding. So I hope that in between panic attacks Sara really listens to and hears me when I assure her that we will be able to get everything done by then. Really, I think we can. Okay so maybe we'll have to forgo a spectacular skydiving entrance. And dance lessons. And an immediate honeymoon. But Sara will have a dress (we hope - fingers crossed) and we do have the rings and some wildly accommodating friends who will be able to join us on semi-short notice, so that's all we need. Well, that and free booze and uninhibited dancing (see caterer [check] and site [check] above). We'll post more details here as we get them, but for now wish me luck in finding affordable lodging for the aforementioned accommodating friends.
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