Rehearsal Dinner Location in Cape May

sbf2

Out of everything, I thought this was going to be the easiest decision....but it turns out the Lobster House won't do a rehearsal dinner on a Saturday night (we are having a Sunday wedding). So back to the drawing board....

I've googled map 20 different restaurants in Cape May...but not really sure about any of them. I'm even considering going to Stone Harbor or Atlantic City for the dinner...even though its not preferred. But if it is a really good restaurant it might be worth it.

Any recommendations?

PharmJen

Lobster House was going to be my suggestion = )

If you would consider AC, I recommend Angelo's.  

Amy4282

My sister had hers at the Tuckahoe Inn and it was really nice.  It's not Cape May, but it's closer than AC.  Also, check out the Crab Trap in OC. 

And I second the vote for Angelo's as well!

joanne16

The Washington Inn has great food

caityinphilly

We're getting married in Cape May and the wedding planner at our venue recommended the Pier House. I haven't been there yet but we're considering it.

I personally love the Mad Batter, so that's also an option.

sbf2

Oh I looked at the Mad Batter...definitely a good choice! I called Pier House and they can only accomodate 40 people on their patio, which would be a gamble with the weather. But it is a great restaurant...I love how modern it is.

zanyjayme

We had our rehersal dinner at the Bolero Hotel in North Wildwood. They have a private glass room on the second floor that we had it in. The food was great and there is a bar upstairs also so you don't have to go downstairs for drinks. 

KarenMalPT

I could tell you where you shouldn't go - The Pilot House.  We had ours there and they can't accomodate many people and the food was anything but good.  Very disappointing.

The Mad Batter is great but they're very expensive.  I head a lot of success with the Lobster House

cmaygrl

I am also having my wedding in Cape May.  IN May 2010.  I'm not sure where we are having the rehersal dinner ... my FMIL is hosting it.. and we havn't talked about it yet.
WHEN is your wedding??  There are so many restaurants in CM.   I don't know how many people you are having, or if you have a budget, but have you looked into restaurants near the ACME?  There is: 410 Bank St.; Oyster Bay (something like that); Altheas (spelling); Godmothers (near Broadway); Union Park (our reception location -- right on Beach Ave. - across from Arcade); Peter Sheilds; Blue Pig Tavern (inside Congress Hall). That is all I can think of. 
There are soo MANY more...
What type of atmosphere are you looking for??  "Martini Beach" can be a FUN place for a dinner party. Same goes for "Cabanas" -- both on Beach Ave.... near "Carneys".  That is just from the top of my head. 

Where are you having your ceremony? reception? what are your colors?
Sorry for soo many questions.. but i like to see other CM brides. :-)


We are having a very small wedding (only about 55-60 people -- mostly family).

sbf2

Haha, a lot of those are on my list of places to look..some of them I haven't heard of so I will definitely give those a call.

Our reception is being held at Congress Hall, the ceremony at the United Methodist church near the mall, and our wedding is in September. I love everything about Cape May, my whole family has a deep connection with the place as it was our family reunion location every summer since my parents were children. I'm doing tiffany blue and brown as my colors and trying to work in some yellow with the flowers. Wedding size is approximately 150 people...more than I wanted but we are combining two very large families.

Are you doing a ceremony on the beach? Union Park looked great...it is on my list of places to look.

What do you think of Henry's on the boardwalk/beach near the convention hall? They gave us a really good price and I like the idea of being on the boardwalk.

Thanks for all the help!

cmaygrl

DEFINATELY NOT Henry's on the Beach!!  MyFI & I have had dinner there before, and uummm no... i would NOT recommend that.  My parents enjoy it... but not for a rehersal dinner.  no definately not there.
Yes, we are having our ceremony on the beach... SUnset Pavilion Beach.  My sister-in-law & nephew will provide the music (electric organ). Because of our small budget, as mentioned before, we are having a small affair.  OUr ceremony is later in the AM, and the reception following.  Yes, we are having reception at Union Park.  I have heard great reviews on the food, etc.  We visited U.P. last April, and just LOVED it. 
Do you know where you are getting your flowers yet?   I'll start looking withing the next few weeks.  I'll take a ride down there w/the girls... make it a day of fun.

PiperS

I am having mine at Gia's in Wildwood. Its a really pretty and delicious Italian restaurant. Its also a BYOB which we really like. The washington inn is also really nice but I think you might have the same problem there that you had with the lobster house. Would you consider having your rehearsal on Friday instead? Anyway here is the website for Gia if you are interested. HTH.

http://www.giawildwood.com/

meridith83

Im having my Rehearsal dinner in June at the Lobster House.  They have an upstairs room.  I am super excited for it.  There is a nice bar and a great view in the upstairs room.  Our reception will be at the Hotel Alcott. 

sbf2

I wish Friday would work, but since 95% of guests are from out of town, it would be difficult to get there an entire day early. The Lobster House does have a nice room upstairs, they just were not willing to give up all the seating up there on a Saturday night for our event...they are still really busy in September.

We went this past weekend to look at restaurants. Pretty much 75% of my list has been cut. Places are either dirty or scuzzy or just not what we were looking for in terms of rehearsal dinner space. LOVED Union Park and Peter Shields, both have amazing menus, separate spaces to use, and are BYOB which cuts the cost. I think we are going to have it at one of the two...now its up to FMIL to decide which one.

LOL...now I know why you thought Henry's was a terrible idea. It's good for a quick easy dinner, but not a rehearsal dinner. And since it was all closed down for the season, when we went in with the owner it smelled like skunk, apparently one lives under the restaurant...ewww!

cmaygrl

LOL....yea.. Henry's is something else.  lol
I'm happy that you really liked the Union Park.  My fiance & I loved it the first time we walked in. The atmosphere just screams Cape May.  I thought it was very elegant, without being stuffy & stiff.  The Manager opened the restaurant just for us to look at it.  He was very nice.
You mentioned you checked out Peter Shields.  We actually looked therefor our reception.. it was just too high out of our budget.

Where else did you look?

sbf2

We looked at just about every place that serves food in Cape May...lol. We peaked in windows...and that was enough to make a decision in some cases. I was pleasantly surprised with Peter Shield's offer for the dinner, they are actually $10 less a person than Union Park, I'm sure they'd come in very different for a wedding.

We both loved Mad Batter, but it was too expensive and the wine list was pretty bad. Godmother's looked good, but the menu at both Union Park and Peter Shields is hard to compare with anywhere else...other than Congress Hall, which is where our reception is.

cmaygrl

You will have a beautiful reception at Congress Hall!  I peeked in on one last summer/  The reception at the time, was outside.  Unfortunately, that day was extremely windy and everything was blowing around.  I've seen pix of receptions inside, and everything looked like very elegant. 
Good luck w/your decision (or your FMIL) w/the rehersal dinner location.  You have narrowed it down to 2 great places.
It is a 4 month countdown for me!   We just finalized which bakery we are using (Victory Bakery).  We are heading down in March to finalize flavors & design.  Flowers come next.

sbf2

So jealous...4 months! You must be so excited! I met with Sharon from Maria's Flower Shop in Wildwood this weekend. She hasn't gotten me the numbers yet, but I'll let you know if its a good deal or not when she does.

cmaygrl

Thanks!  I AM soo excited.  It really hit me last week when my FMIL told us that she can get us her time-share in the Fla Keys for our Honeymoon.  We are looking at Key Largo. I've never been, but sounds great to me!  I'll have to look it up.  Hopefully, she is able to get it for us.
I finally have the girls dresses!!  THAT was a little stressful!  But it's done!
Cake. Done.
WOhoo!!  Now the flowers & centerpieces
It's all coming together!
Now, my finance & I are hitting the gym!  lol probably like everyone else.