New to Boards - Considering Cape May

Shache

Hi ladies, just stopping in to say hello.  I first signed up for the Knot about four years ago when my sister was getting married and we were planning her wedding. I haven't been on since that time and I must say that it is a whole new website. I am trying to learn how to maneuver this new site (all the new changes are great though).

So I recently got engaged and my FI and I want to plan a destination wedding. We were first considering TX since most likely that is where we will be living, however, it just wouldn't work for everyone who we really want to attend our wedding, so we thought a destination wedding a little closer to home would have to do.  

I have looked at New England, and the Carolinas but I think it is going to be Cape May.  I was thinking the Grand Hotel or Hotel Alcott since those were the only venues I could find. However, I was reading the Cape May thread and you ladies have already given me a few more venues to look into. My FI and I will be looking at venues when he comes to NJ for annual training (military) in August. We plan to spend the weekend down there and see as many venues as possible.  

Our plan is to have a beach ceremony and hopefully (according to cost) have the reception at a venue that is close to or on the beach.

If anyone has any kind advice, recommendations or can tell me the average price it costs to get married in Cape May I will greatly appreciate it.

miguelhilary2010

My friend was married at Congress Hall, which is right across the street from the beach.  Their ceremony was on the lawn, so you could see the beach.  Not sure if you can move it to the actual beach or not.  They're a little pricey, but I dont know what the exact cost per person was.

Shache

Thanks, I will definitely check it out. I think I saw it on the list of venues for South Jersey.

angel33284

If you are putting your guests up at a hotel keep this in mind - hotels will not rent yo a room for just a day in the summer - you must book a minimum of two days and at places in Cape May that can get expensive.

miguelhilary2010

I booked one night at the Star Motel (associated with Congress Hall) and didnt have any problems.  The wedding was in June 2008.

Shache

Thanks for your feedback ladies. This is all very good advice and things to take into consideration.

caityinphilly

I had my ceremony right on the beach and then the reception at the Peter Shields Inn (if you check out perfectday.smugmug.com you can find the pictures under 2010 weddings). The Peter Shields coordinator (Bridget) officiated the wedding for us. Here are a couple of tips:

1. Expect to pay between 100-150 per person for a Cape May wedding. That was what was quoted to me in any case.

2. You will probably have to purchase your own alcohol, but the local places let you return any unopened bottles for a refund.

3. You absolutely have to choose your venue first because a lot of them have rules about which musicians you can use, and most of them do not allow outside catering. That's pretty much what you have to do with any wedding but with a lot of these historic places you can't have large bands (we couldn't have more than 3 instruments) and you might find that the place you love is much smaller than a ballroom type place would be.

4. I got married in a traditional wedding dress, as opposed to a destination style dress. Don't worry about the sand ruining your dress if you want to go the more traditional route; just shake the sand off before the reception.


Go to http://www.weddings-bythesea.com/ and check out the top beach wedding tips article (I can't link to it but you can see the link on their front page.) That article was so helpful to me when I started out.

Shache

Thanks for your feedback!  I really appreciate it. You see my FI lives in TX and I am here in NJ. We have to wait until he comes into town for us to visit venues. Therefore, this info really helps me in eliminating and figuring things out, so we can use the little time that he has here as wisely as possible.

Thanks a lot for all your help!