More travel info for out of town guests

My mom just found this travel deal for flying and staying in New York. Travel has to be started by August 31, so the dates are a little off, but it may be worth looking into (or seeing if there are others that work for Labor Day weekend).

Big Day!

I got the phone call that my dress came in today! I haven't seen it yet, but I've got an appointment on Thursday! I can't wait to meet her and say hello! Soooo exciting!

Boston Independence Day!

It's no secret that I have a love-hate relationship with Boston: when it comes to restaurants, the gym, and walking around Boston Common or the harbor front, it's love. When I'm trying to get to any of these places...it's hate. But last night, I felt nothing but love for my city as they put on what is without doubt the best Fourth of July celebration in the country. And of course it has to be--because this is where it all began, and it's impossible to live here without being reminded of that: the site of the Boston Massacre, the plaque that commemorates the Tea Party, Paul Revere's House, and the Bunker Hill monument are just some of the many monuments to our city's historic past. In fact, Eric and I live within walking distance of the home of two presidents (John Adams and his son, John Quincy Adams) and my apartment is a mere five hundred feet from their final resting place. Every night when I go to sleep, I think of the two presidents and their wives sleeping so close by and think, "Wow, I am sleeping within spitting distance of Abigail Adams!"

But I digress! Every year, the city of Boston puts on a free concert with the Boston Pops, a special guest, and a spectacular fireworks show. About a million people crowd the esplanade, the area right by the Charles River, to hear the concert, and some camp out over night just to get good spots on the lawn! But instead of having to sit in the sun all day waiting for the concert to begin, Eric and I had the unique opportunity of getting to watch the spectacle from the rooftop of the Museum of Science. Members of the museum were invited to the event, which was alcohol-free and very kid friendly (there were lots of little science activities for the kids as well as face painters and balloon makers--it was pretty great!)



View from the roof of the Museum of Science before the sun set; we watched the Pops concert on that big screen!



Beautiful sunset on the roof! We could see all the way to the horizon!

Most people brought lawn chairs and you could bring your own picnic. We wound up eating dinner at the Kinsale, one of our favorite Boston pubs, where we had fish and chips in honor of our nation's past (because I burned the baked beans we were going to have for a picnic!). We arrived on the rooftop at 7, spread out our blanket, and read a book together out loud while waiting for the show to begin.



Eric and I with our homemade smores!

The Pops started around 8:30, and they played the 1812 Overture and American folk songs. Because we were so high up, we could see fireworks erupting from all different parts of the city--from Charlestown and the North End to out in Newton. Midway through the concert, special guest Toby Keith appeared, which made me want to don cowboy boots and a hat and dance. I was bopping and singing along and poor Eric was cringing, having had the bad luck of encountering the one country music star he fervently dislikes!



Poor Eric!

At 10, the fireworks began, and all the children who had patiently sat through the concert were squealing in excitement. The show lasted about 25 minutes and was incredibly gorgeous--lots of those white shimmery fireworks that I love!



This picture doesn't really do justice to the fireworks, but it's the only one that came out! Kinda looks like a solar system with planets orbiting, though, doesn't it?

The best part: getting home. Yes. Can you believe I just said that? Getting home. I, who do nothing but complain about the Boston transportation system--so much so that I have the customer service number preprogrammed into my phone!--was amazed at how easy it was to get back to Quincy! The MBTA let people ride the T for free all night. Because we were at the Museum of Science and not with the other million folks at the esplanade, we walked a block to the green line, got right on and then transferred and got on the first train to Quincy (which came in about after 10 minutes at Park Street). The crowds at Park Street were pretty bad, but there was a lot of crowd control, and they kept the trains from getting too packed, which was great! We were home in about 40 minutes, having experienced not a single delay or breakdown, leaving me with the burning question: "If they can do this so efficiently tonight, why doesn't it always run like this?"

But oh well. I guess we need room for our nation to grow. Wouldn't want to peak too soon, right?

Invitation Making!

Here's the thing about invitations: they all look alike. Well, not exactly alike. To be fair, they fall into three categories: those that look like Martha Stewart mass-produced them (these tend to have a lot of pink, brown, and mint green flowers and leaves); those that would make a man cringe (channel images of pink hearts and kissing couples); and those that are just plain expensive (imagine thick ivory paper and embossing).

Up until several weeks ago, Eric and I were stuck in the land of all these these bland possibilities, having leafed through at least 2,000 such invites. None of them stood out to us in any way, except for one that my mom criticized because the paper was too flimsy.

Which brings me to my mom: My mother loves scrapbooking, and since her retirement, she has become a virtual scrapbooking aficionado. She goes on scrapbooking days, saves coupons to Michael's, and an entire room in my parents' home is dedicated to her craft. So one day she showing us a card she had made for a friend, and Eric and I took one look at it and thought, "That is what we want our invitations to look like!"

So began the invitation adventure, a project my mom undertook with gusto! She found a printer who could use thermography on the invitations; she spent several days cutting out and embossing small pieces of paper with Aunt Marie; an entire afternoon and evening were wiled away with her college crony Michele trying to choose ribbon, figuring out how to tie it (credit goes to Michele for that), and cutting out hearts. Then she spent a number of evenings painting the embossed paper.

And all that was before the big invitation assembly day! Eric and I drove down from Boston in preparation and then we all got in one car and drove the rest of the way to Long Island, where Aunt Marie was hosting the event in her home. Aunt Christine was also there, along with her new daughter-in-law Melissa, who handmade her own beautiful invitations and is a whiz at scrapbooking generally and glue guns specifically. She came prepared with two of them so that we could assemble all the pieces of paper together onto the invitation. Add in Bonnie--a scrapbooking teacher who came to cut out butterflies with her press--and Amanda--my friend who works at the church where we are getting married--and Gino's Pizza and Front Street black and white cookies and chocolate fudge cake, and the day could be nothing but perfect.

Except for the fact that half of the assembly kit got left at my parents' home. In Connecticut. 2 hours away.

Sigh.

Thankfully, after initial panic, it turned out that we had plenty to amuse ourselves. Bonnie and Aunt Christine cut out butterflies, Amanda and I painted them, Melissa and Eric glue-gunned and attached pieces of the invitation together, and my mom and Aunt Marie assembled them, making sure that they were perfectly--and I mean exceedingly perfectly--straight.



Amanda, Aunt Marie, Bonnie, Aunt Christine, and Melissa working on the assembly line!



Eric, Amanda, and Aunt Marie. Check out their intensity!

When we had done all we could do, we ordered takeout from my childhood favorite Gino's Pizza and then, since it was Melissa's birthday, we made sure to celebrate with Front Street cake and cookies.

At the end of the afternoon, we were able to make one complete invitation. Here's Melissa showing it off!



Eric, my mom, and I returned to assembling that evening in Connecticut. Here are a batch of finished invites!



These on the table were finished the next morning. Each had a bit of painting that needed to be fixed before they were mailed out, so you see them all drying, neatly in a row!

Hotel links for out of towners!

Dear Out of Town Guests,

We are thrilled that you are making arrangements to come to our wedding. We know that many of you do not know the New York area well, so we hope that this information sheet will be useful in your planning.

Regarding transportation, we suggest that you do not rent a car. Parking is very expensive in Manhattan and public transportation is both accessible and reasonable. If you are flying, John F. Kennedy, La Guardia, and Newark Airports all have access by public transportation to Manhattan (taxis are also available but will be pricier).

As you may know, hotels in New York can be quite pricy. We have tried to include a wide variety of price points on this list while maintaining a high standard of quality! All of the hotels listed have the D&E Seal of Approval for Quality to Price Ratio, and unless otherwise noted, they are all within walking distance of both the ceremony and reception sites. For those of you who are familiar with the blog, these hotels are also all endorsed by A&E Wedding Planners, Inc. Prices are accurate as of the time of this posting; there's also a link for each hotel, so you can easily check each one out!

The Yale Club: There are a limited number of rooms at the Yale Club where the reception is being held. The rate is $200 a night plus tax. When you call, ask for our wedding block. The one catch is that in order to reserve a room at the Club, you will need to pay Danielle instead of the Yale Club—this is because she is a member of the Club and all financial transactions have to go through her.

The Roosevelt: This historic hotel, named after former president Teddy Roosevelt, is around the corner from both the Yale Club and Grand Central Station. It has a spectacular lobby and is within walking distance of both the ceremony and reception sites. Rates start at around $225 a night.

Doubletree Suites Times Square: A great option for those who want to be within walking distance of it all! This hotel is right in the heart of Times Square and about ten minutes walk from the ceremony and reception sites. Rates start at $169 a night.

St. Giles Court: There are two St. Giles hotels in New York—the Court and the Tuscany. The Court is five to ten minutes walk from the ceremony and reception sites. This modern hotel is equipped with everything—including gumball machines in each room! Rates start at $188 a night.

The Desmond Tutu Center: For those of you searching for an oasis in New York, we strongly recommend considering the Desmond Tutu Center. The Center was constructed several years ago and is a converted part of the historic General Seminary, the first Episcopal seminary in America. The seminary has a courtyard the size of a city block in its center, sheltering it from the hustle and bustle of the street. This hotel is in the Chelsea neighborhood of New York, about thirty minutes walk from the wedding sites. It is easily accessible to the wedding using the subway system. Rates start at $178 per night.

House of the Redeemer: Run by The Episcopal Church, this guesthouse offers reasonable accommodations in a historic building. A variety of rooms are available, though some may share bathrooms or lack air-conditioning. The guesthouse is about thirty minutes subway ride from the wedding and reception sites on the Upper East Side, the poshest area of New York. It’s also about 8 blocks from Madonna’s new townhouse, so keep an eye out for her doing yoga on a nearby street corner!

Landmark Guest Rooms at Union Theological Seminary: Situated in Morningside Heights, across the street from Columbia University, these rooms are attached to Union Theological Seminary, an interdenominational seminary where Danielle’s former advisor is now their first female president! All rooms come with mini-fridges and complimentary continental breakfast. Rates range from $135-165 a night. Expect to spend about 45 minutes on the subway in transit to the ceremony and reception sites.

Hotels in North Bergen, New Jersey: If you’re adventurous enough to venture across the Hudson River, you may want to consider staying at either the Holiday Inn Express North Bergen Lincoln Tunnel or at the Comfort Suites North Bergen. Each received good reviews from travelers on Expedia, and though you will be staying across the state line, public transportation to Manhattan is available at a reasonable rate (about 5 dollars each way). To get to Manhattan, you will take the 125 bus across the Hudson to the Port Authority Bus Terminal and then transfer to the M42 to Grand Central (I’m unclear whether you will need to purchase a New York City ticket for this bus—if so, it will be about 2 dollars for the bus from New Jersey to the bus terminal and then another 2 from the bus terminal). The M42 will leave at Grand Central Station, which is about ten minutes walk from the reception site. Google maps says to leave 45 minutes for this route from the Holiday Inn Express and an hour from Comfort Suites; you may want to leave a bit longer, because traffic in New York can be erratic, especially coming from New Jersey. Staff in the hotel will be better able to estimate how much time to leave, and they will also be able to let you know the location of the nearest bus stop. Also, if you fly into JFK or LaGuardia airports, the trip to the hotel will take quite awhile (probably about 2 hours on public transit). Please bear this in mind when you book your flights, especially if your flight will arrive or depart late at night. New York is a safe city overall, but as with any city, it is not wise to be on public transportation at 2 or 3 o’clock in the morning! Also, the cab fare from these airports will be over 100 dollars. If possible, fly into Newark Airport if you are staying in these hotels and take a cab from there. Rates at the Holiday Inn Express and Comfort Suites start at $119 and $102 a night respectively. Both hotels include breakfast.

Vanderbilt YMCA: Located about a fifteen minute walk from the church and five blocks from the reception site, this YMCA works as a hostel with beds available from $48 a night. Rooms are modest and bathrooms and bedrooms are shared, but air-conditioning is available.

The Gershwin Hotel and Hostel: Located a twenty minute walk south of the church and about 25 minutes south of the reception sites, this colorful hostel and hotel have rooms starting at $39 a night. One benefit to this hotel: You will be across the street from the Museum of Sex! Where else but New York would that happen! Be prepared to pay more if you want to stay in the hotel section, but if you’re willing to stay in hostel-styled accommodations, this could be a memorable location.

Some Concluding Notes:

There are many other hotels and hostels in the New York area besides the ones listed here, and you may well want to exercise your travel agent muscle by checking out Priceline or Expedia. If you want a hotel close to the site, you should limit your search to hotels in the Midtown East Side/Grand Central neighborhood. If you don’t mind traveling, there are a number of other hotels in the Hoboken/Jersey City/North Bergen area just across the river. These are easily accessible to the ceremony and reception sites using public transportation, though you will want to leave extra time (probably about an hour) for travel.

Two caveats: first, we are sorry to say that expensive hotels in New York are expensive for a reason. Inexpensive hotels and hostels (less than $120 a night) often have shared bathrooms, and you may find yourself sharing a room with New York’s finest wildlife—the cockroach! So…Please be sure to look up reviews of these residences before booking! They may be a great catch but they may also ruin your trip.

Second, hotels will book up for Labor Day, so we encourage you to book a room earlier rather than later. And if you have the vacation time, stay awhile in the Big Apple. New York is an incredible city, and both Danielle and Eric will be happy to give tips for how to plan a great getaway in the city that never sleeps!

What should our first song be?

So I just put a poll up on the blog for you to all vote on our first song! Here are the options if you want to listen to them! Just click on the link for each song!

Rascal Flatt's Broken Road

Helen Reddy's Candle on the Water

A Whole New World from Aladdin

Taylor Swift's Love Story (hey, it's different!)

First song search

We were considering using this as our first song when we came across this rendition. Click on this link to hear! It's so way better than Peabo's version!