Cape May

Jessie888 · February 2010

We are renting a house for the week as well, but immediate family and bridal party are going to be staying at the Southern Mansion. I recommended a few of the inns and a couple other bed and breakfasts I have stayed in to my guests. It kind of stinks because in September its usually a two night minimum to stay just about everyone in cape may. I am just hoping people make it last late summer getaway weekend kind of deal!!

ejojtq · February 2010

What florists does everyone recommend using for the Cape May area? Wanted to get a couple of options to see who has the best deals. Anyone going to do their own flowers or centerpieces???

sbf2 · February 2010

Jmplasket: I lucked out with the two-night minimums, since my wedding is on a Sunday a lot of the hotels I have talked to aren't requiring this. Also, I am pretty sure this can be waived at certain places if you throw them a lot of business. But who wouldn't want to stay 2 nights in Cape May anyway? September is a great month, with Food & Wine festival and other fun events, its definitely a mini-vacay for guests.

Jessie888 · February 2010

^ you are very lucky!! I have a feeling most guests are still going to stay!! As you said, who wouldnt want to stay in cape may for the weekend?!

Ejojtq - I am using a florist that is located in the elmer area. I have worked with her before and she is wonderful! gardenpartysisters.com

I am about 1 hour and 45 minutes from cape may so i tried to find vendors that were closer to the shore but not far for me to be able to have appts with them. I didnt want to have to keep driving to cape may for a small appt.

ejojtq · February 2010

jmplasket-Thanks for the information, I will have to check them out!

sbf2 · February 2010

I'm using Mum's the Word out of Marlton, NJ.

dd78 · February 2010

Hi ladies!
I'm also getting married in Cape May this September. The ceremony will be on the beach and reception is at the Hotel Alcott.
We reserved rooms at the Alcott, Atlas Inn and Montreal Inn since everyone is from OOT.
Nice to meet you all!

cmaygrl · February 2010

Welcome DD78 to the "Cape May bride site" lol. Good luck in the planning! All of us "Cape May'ers" will be having THE BEST weddings around! :-)

sbf2 · February 2010

Haha....this post is getting kind of long...maybe we can have the moderator add it to the top of the forum so we can add other girls as well.

Welcome DD78, I agree with Cmaygrl...we really are all going to have the best weddings. I mean, Cape May is the ideal location for a wedding: walkability, the beach, arcades, the new Rusty Nail bar looks awesomely fun, and so much for guests to do. Its like having a destination wedding without the airfare.

cmaygrl · February 2010

sbf2 -- that's a great idea....i'm not quite sure that is possible, but a great idea nonetheless. I don't really know my way around this ...but If anyone knows how we go about it to request that we create a "cape may brides" forum.... let's do it.

caityinphilly · February 2010

I think that my guests are mostly going to stay at La Mer, the Angel of the Sea, and the Chalfonte.

By the way, the Southern Mansion is so amazing. I thought it was so beautiful when I went there. It was definitely one of my top choices.

Jessie888 · February 2010

thank you caityinphilly!! The Peter Shields is absolutely gorgeous!

Have any of you starting working on the rehearsal dinner?? I know FMIL is just starting to find places. I definitely would love to have it at the Lobster House, but i am not sure how that is going to work. I literally eat at the Ugly Mug everytime so i am not that good with the restaurants down there!!

dd78 · February 2010

I love the Ugly Mug! lol

How many people will you have for the rehearsal dinner? I think we're only going to have 20-25 people. Not sure where we're going to go yet either.

Jessie888 · February 2010

I think we will only have about 15? 20 at tops

caityinphilly · February 2010

We are going to have our rehearsal dinner at the Pier House. Bridget from the Peter Shields recommended it to us.

sbf2 · February 2010

OMG...this decision was the worst part of it all. I definitely recommend taking a day and restaurant hopping. I remember most restaurants well, but as a casual dinner, so when I saw them in the perspective of a rehearsal dinner I totally changed my mind.

I'm having the rehearsal at Peter Shield's...if you are looking for best value I think they are the best. They are BYOB and $40 per person...can't beat that. Union Park is also BYOB but I think they wanted $50 per person...but once again a great menu.

Some other excellent restaurants I would consider would be the Blue Pig Tavern, The Merion, Mad Batter, and the Lobster House (if you are a Friday night). The Pilot House also has a good room in the back for parties, but I'm not sure their quality of food is worth the price, plus you have to pay per item at the bar.

The Lobster House wouldn't take us....they use the upstairs room for dinner parties and since Saturday is really busy for them. If you are in a summer month, this rule may apply to Friday. I'd give them a call, I think Jackie is the one we talked to.

We literally considered every place that serves food, from Henrys and Carneys and up....we originally thought these bar atmospheres would be fun, but when we visited I couldn't get the smell of shunk and iodine, respectively, out of my nose.

LOL...this was a lot of work b/c we had to please FI's parents with the choice too, since they have offered to host.

sbf2 · February 2010

Oh and when I called Pier House, which also has great food...they told me they could only accomodate my party on their patio and in the case of rain I could rent a tent for $1500...I'm like "No thanks!"

Jessie888 · February 2010

ah! you did go through alot!! I was actually going to have my FMIL take care of all the details, but maybe I should lend a helping hand??

Our rehearsal is actually going to be on a thursday. our wedding is saturday, but the southern mansion has an event that friday. I wasnt bothered by it, it works either way!!

thanks for all the helpful tips!

cmaygrl · February 2010

Hey girls. I'm getting on this conversation a little late, but, yes, sbf2 gave a lot of good recommendations. ANd, yes.. Stay away from Henry's on the beach!! YUK! I had lunch at the Mad Badder this past Sept. Very good. There is also a good restaurant...it's a bit out of the way... on Rt. 9, called "Atkinsons". It is a bar, but it has an attached formal dining room, that is used for receptions, parties, and evening dining. The room is nice & the food is quite good. It's open all year round. Check it out if you're taking a day trip down the shore. It may not be your "thing" because it IS attached to a bar, but nonetheless, it's good.
There are just soo many eateries in Cape May to choose from. Check out the Cape May website for dining. YOu really can't go wrong with anywhere.
My FMIL is planning the rehersal dinner... and I have no idea where. It's not really a bid deal for me. Originally, it was going to be at her community clubhouse, but I'm not sure. oh well. ... I'll guess I'll find out on May 21st

it's no big deal to me... pretty much just tell me where to be at what time, and I'll be there. There will only be about 12 people there anyway (very small wedding).

sbf2 · February 2010

Thursday is a perfect night for a rehearsal dinner, you'll get some great rates and most restaurants will be able to accomodate your group. My wedding party is all out of town, and I didn't want to make them get a hotel room for an additional night...so we had to do Saturday...wish it could have been Friday night though.

BTW...love your engagement photo. It looks similar to Alimario Photography style....we just met with him. Also...I have that dress its so cute!

sbf2 · February 2010

So FI is currently at a convention in New Orleans and I took advantage of the free hotel room this past weekend and took a mini-vacay with him. Among our friends, we are known as the 'party' people...we have about 2-3 blowout parties a year, make our own beer, and have a lifetime stock of wine & liquor in our basement. But being the lovers of partying that we are...nothing could have prepared me for what Bourbon Street had in store. I felt extremely conservative when I gawked at the girl riding the mechanical bull topless or the guys taking test tube shots from between the shot girls boobies. It was like Spring Break gone scuzzy!

We didn't run away though, I had to try the drinks at Tropical Isle. So on the way, I felt some beads drop on me...looked up...and there was this really classy wedding going on in one of the rooms above the bar...and all the guests were given beads to throw at the crowd...hilarious. I loved this idea...and it has inspired me to make our wedding even more of a party.

So at Tropical Isle, FI told me I had to try this drink...no, its not the typical hand grenade that they are known for....but the Shark Attack. The bartender got busy and as he started to finish the drink....he took out a plastic shark filled with red drink mixture and dumped it into my icy clear drink. It looked like a bloody shark attack! Haha...he rang a bell really loud and yelled "Shark Attack" as is customary for this drink...and it sure was delicious, even though everyone was now looking at me.

Now my party is at the beach...and its always been a joke that my huge italian family watches shark week before we go to Cape May for vacation....what would be a better signature drink than the 'SHARK ATTACK'. Gotta have it.

I had to share this with all of you...I'm just soo excited about having found the perfect inspiration even if its in the dirtiest place in the world.

cmaygrl · February 2010

sbf2- Love your story! I've to "Nawlins" years ago! Loved it. Our drink back then was the Hurricane! OUr stomping grounds was a "Pat O'Malleys" (i think that was the name)...it was so long ago.. in my much younger days. lol

ANywho, do you happen to have the recipe for the Shark Attack??? I would love to have that at the wedding.

sbf2 · February 2010

Haha... Pat O'Brien's is where the hurricane is famous. It has a courtyard with a fountain/fire pit with the waiters that wear the green coats. Is that what you are thinking of? They are delicious, we try making them at home but they never come out right.

When FI gets back from "Nawlins" I'll get the recipe and post it, he's the resident bartender of our house.

Oh and I found the sharks I'm going to use on Oriental Trading, b/c the drink isn't complete without an actual toy shark.

http://www.orientaltrading.com/ui/browse/processRequest.do?demandPrefix=12&sku=39/1848&mode=Searching&erec=1&D=sharks&Ntt=sharks&Ntk=all&Dx=mode%2bmatchallpartial&Ntx=mode%2bmatchallpartial&y=0&N=0&requestURI=processProductsCatalog&x=0&sd=Mini+Shark+Squirts

cmaygrl · February 2010

YES.... that is the place.. Pat O'Brian's... I was close... O'Brian.. O'Malley.. same difference. LOL
I went w/friends during LABOR DAY weekend. NEVER go that time of the year!! OMG It was sweltering! And while enjoying a drink @ Pat O'b's .... the heat from the fire pit ....OMG! you would melt and just drink faster & order more. LOL
Good times, though. Oh yea.... we saw many 'interesting" sights there.. and people. LOL the bars are something else. lol too funny! This is bringing back some good memories.

I bought the hurricane mix.... was not the same. I can't wait to try the shark drink... hopefully your FI can get the recipe.

Jessie888 · February 2010

sbf2 - Alimario Photo is our photographer!! That is so funny!!

T is a great guy and I am absolutely in love with his photography!! He makes you feel so comfortable and he is just so genuine!

cmaygrl - thanks for the suggestions! were definitely going to start looking into places soon!

sbf2 · February 2010

Haha...I could tell by the train tracks...he seems to take a lot of people there for engagement photos. How many pictures did you get from your engagement photo shoot that are actually usable?

Jessie888 · February 2010

Yes the train tracks are in wenonah which is about 5 minutes from me. Are you around the area too??

total we got about 100 photos. I would say if was able to get all of them, 50 were perfect. It wasnt that the others didnt turn out right or anything, i probably just didnt like the way my face or something looked, lol!!

Is he going to be your photographer?

sbf2 · February 2010

I have no idea where Wenonah is...lol. I'm in Cherry Hill. We originally thought we would go with one of my cousin's recommendations, but they are way to expensive. We both really liked T and thought that his work was the best we've seen for our price range. So, yes we are using him.

I'm trying to think of some ideas for the engagement shoot, and since we won't be doing the wedding in Philly (our 2nd choice location) we thought we might do some there.

Jessie888 · February 2010

Thats a very nice idea!!

I am very familiar with Cherry Hill, lol! I live 20 minutes away. Wenonah is where T lives, the train tracks are right around the corner from his home! They used to be really run down because they were never taken care of and recently they fixed them up and made them look really nice again. It was a really nice spot to do them!

So glad to hear someone else is using him too, everytime i mention to someone about him, they dont know who he is.

sbf2 · February 2010

Yea its reassuring knowing that we aren't making a mistake with a vendor...haha. I actually didn't go meet with him, I was sick the night of our appointment so FI went to his house instead. I'm kinda of new to the area, so I'm still learning the town names.

Glad to hear that he does good work! He is very familiar with Cape May, so that made him sound appealing to us. We want someone that already knows the area in an artistic eye, and with your wedding before ours, he'll have a lot more experience. What kind of shots are you thinking of doing on the wedding? I am hoping the arcade is still open so that we can get some funny shots in there, maybe hope on a sury (hopefully without getting oil on my dress), and just hang out on the beach and boardwalk.

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