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Cape May

caityinphillycaityinphilly
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in New Jersey - South
Reading through posts, it seems like there are a couple of Cape May brides here. Just curious, who is getting married in Cape May and where are your ceremonies and receptions going to be? I am getting married at the Peter Shields. If it is nice outside (fingers crossed!) I am going to get married on the beach right across the street from the Inn.
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Re: Cape May

  • cmaygrlcmaygrl member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I AM!  My FI & I will also be getting married on the beach... SUnset Paviliion Beach... at the end of the promanade.  Our reception will be at Union Park Restaurant. 
    We looked at Peter Shields.. I loved it, but it was out of our price range. 
    One thing I loved about Peter Shields was the top balcony view.  Any pictures taken there looking out at ocean will be BEAUTIFUL!!  You will love it.
    What are your colors??   WHere did you get your flowers?? I am in that process now.  I will heading down there 1 of these weekends.
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  • sbf2sbf2 member
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    edited December 2011
    Hi, I am the other Cape May bride! Haha...now there are 3 of us yay! I am getting married at the United Methodist Church, near the Washington Street Mall, and having my reception at Congress Hall. We are having the rehearsal dinner at Peter Shields, I loved meeting with Bridget, she was so nice!

    Capemaygrl---I met over the weekend with some florists close to where I live in Cherry Hill and had a great experience. We met with Leigh Florist, Mums the Word and Freshest Flowers. I LOVED both Leigh Florist and Mums the Word, both were very professional and have a lot experience. I am a huge flower lover, so is FI...during the summer we are out in the garden a lot. They both are very passionate about flowers and know their stuff...and they were very helpful with the budget and putting together all my ideas into 1 cohesive plan.

    We were both underimpressed by Freshest Flowers, I showed her a picture of a fiddlehead fern and she told me she'd never heard of it before. Her arrangements are probably best kept to hospitals.
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  • cmaygrlcmaygrl member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    sbf2 - you ordered your flowers here? (Not in Cape May)?  How will they hold up w/the traveling?
    That is my 1 big concern w/ordering from home, then having to travel to the shore w/them.  My luck is, on the morning of our wedding, I will open the refrigerator up to wilted or discolored flowers. :-(
    SHould I not worry about that?  I love flowers, but do not know a thing about them (care of ).

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  • sbf2sbf2 member
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    edited December 2011
    LOL...haha you don't transport the flowers! Both florists are familiar with Cape May and will deliver the flowers to you. I haven't ordered anything yet, I am waiting on my first quotes from both of them. Whomever works down the cost to my budget I will go with. But they will come set up the reception and deliver flowers to my room while we are getting ready. Transport is their concern :) Cape May is only 1.25 hours from Cherry Hill, so its no big deal.

    Where do you live? I'm trying to find vendors close to where I live so when I have to go meet with them to finalize things I'm not running all over the place. They also provide mock-ups of the reception centerpieces and my bouquet when I go for alterations, to make sure the colors complement the look.
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  • sbf2sbf2 member
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    edited December 2011
    And there is no way you will fit all the flowers for your wedding in 1 refrigerator...they are a lot bigger than you think!
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  • caityinphillycaityinphilly
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    My colors are grey, peach, apricot, and salmon. I am going to use tons of roses in those colors (well, not the grey.)  I am using Robertson's florist in Philadelphia for my flowers. They are a little bit pricey, but I love their work. Cape Winds florist (in Cape May) is supposed to be good.
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  • sbf2sbf2 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Great colors and they will work nicely with Peter Shields!
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  • cmaygrlcmaygrl member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011

    Your colors sound beautiful!  I'll be checking out a few local florists as well as Cape May very soon.

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  • sbf2sbf2 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    We should start a Cape May board...lol. Are you girls arranging transportation? I'm the only one getting married at a church, but still, are you going to leave from your ceremony location on foot or rent a vehicle? It seems crazy to me to have a limo when we just need to go a block away...and I love the fact that its a good place to save money. I'm scared that if I don't book transportation, then my mom is going to 'surprise' me with one of the horse and carriages...but its just too cheesy for me.

    It could also be awkward to just walk away from the guests at the church in order to take our photos....I can see them getting confused and following us.
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  • cmaygrlcmaygrl member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I guess I'm one of the "cheesy" brides. LOl  I am having a horse & carriage.  It was actually an early Wedding gift from my co-workers.  So... that's what i'm having.  No other form of transportation is planned... guests will just drive their own cars/carpooling to & from ceremony-reception. As you said... the difference is just a few blocks.  If the kids choose to walk... they can.. no big deal..it's a straight run... you can't get lost. lol
    Last summer, I saw 5 weddings on the beach; and out of those 5, I saw 2 groups of the bridal party walk to the reception (union park -- YAH!!..... how do I know where they were going? I asked them. lol).
    After the ceremony, you might want to have the minister annouce to the guests to proceed to the reception while pictures are taken.  (I think most guests would assume that).  Or, if you are distributing programs at the ceremony, mention it there. just a thought.
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  • sbf2sbf2 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Haha...no! Don't take offense sorry! The horse & carriage thing is cute, but if you knew my Fi and I, you would totally agree that it does not fit our personalities or style at all.  Thanks for the info on other bridal parties doing the walking thing, I think that is the way we are going to go...and I'll definitely tell the priest to give the guests a heads up.
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  • cmaygrlcmaygrl member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    HA HAHA.. no offense taken!  I am thinking after we are finished with it, if anyone (kids, couples) want to ride around, they are free to do so.  We have the carriage for 2 hours!!  It was a definate surprise from my office friends to give us that.
    I, myself, kind of like the walking thing.  Whatever you decide, it will be great.
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  • caityinphillycaityinphilly
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    We are walking, but we are going to be on the beach literally in front of the Peter Shields. Bridget (the coordinator at the Peter Shields) is probably going to lead everyone to the cocktail hour/reception while we go take pictures.
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  • cmaygrlcmaygrl member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Caitynphilly - that sounds great!  That is what we would have done if we had it there.  It will be beautiful! 
    I still can't believe that I am only 3 MONTHS away & I still have things to do.. flowers, centerpieces, invites(this weekend), shoes, what to do w/my hair. I think that is it. (???)

    Are you guys pretty much finished w/your "to do"lists??? 
    What are you guys wearing for shoes?? sandals, flip flops?  I have in my mind, sandals w/lilttle heels.
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  • caityinphillycaityinphilly
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I am pretty much finished with everything. I only have a few small details left, but everything is booked (except our honeymoon, which we will probably do once we get our tax returns back.)  I just have to work a little on our playlist for the band and getting a list of pictures together for the photographer. Otherwise, I am mostly finished.

    I am probably going to wear ballet flats, although pretty flip-flops or sandals would be nice, too.
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  • sbf2sbf2 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I'm 7.5 months out, so I think its safe to say that I don't have my "To Do" lists done. I am trying to get all the big things out of the way first. We have the venue, band, florist, rehearsal dinner, hair& makeup, invites, dress, BM dresses, and groomsmen attire all figured out. Our last big things are the photographer and honeymoon, and we are halfway through with selecting a photographer. Everything after that is just details.

    I'm going to head to the stores in the spring to pick out some pretty sandals...hopefully with capiz shells or something blingy on them. But definitely flats. I'm going to try to convince my bridal party not to wear heels...I don't want to be waiting for them to catch up while we are galvanting around taking pictures. But that may not work...I might just get them cute purses with flip flops to carry around for the lengthier walks.


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  • caityinphillycaityinphilly
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Have you checked out Perfect Day Photography? That's who we're using. Their prices are very reasonable. Some of the photographers I've seen people use on the Knot boards (NJ and Philly) cost like $4000-5000. Our budget was aorund $2,000 and they were able to work with us to put together a good package.

    http://www.perfectdayphotography.com/
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  • sbf2sbf2 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Thanks for the information Caitlin, fortunately I have several photographers in my family that are giving me a lot of great contacts. We have a list of about 20 photographers to get into contact with. That is our price range as well....but it still seems outrageously high...lol....all the costs for a wedding seem so inflated.

    I met with a photographer named Jason Meehan, he my friend's cousin, and he seems to do really great work and he also offered to set up a photobooth for us. We have a lot more people to meet with, but I like the idea of having a personal connection to the photographer, it makes things less stressful. 

    I  put FI in charge of hiring the photographer, he asked to take a vendor in order to help my stress level out....love having a helpful Fiance!
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  • caityinphillycaityinphilly
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    That's awesome that he's helping you out. My finance is very supportive, but is really leaving everything up to me. I don't mind, though. My mom helped me with a lot of the planning and my fiance's mom helped, too.
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  • ejojtqejojtq member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Hi Ladies!  
        I am getting married in Cape May as well this summer. I am having my reception at Congress Hall. To the ladies who are getting married there as well. What kind of flowers and colors are you using for the dining room since it has blue walls & the checkered floor??
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  • caityinphillycaityinphilly
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I'm not getting married at Congress Hall, but when I looked there I thought about using hot pink and lime green. I love how those colors pop against contrasting colors (like turquoise.)
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  • ejojtqejojtq member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    The hot pink and green sound nice. I was looking at using orchids and like the white, pink, purple, & green colors....haha, too many too choose from! Not sure if I want to use one big centerpiece or a couple of small ones with candles since flowers are so expensive.  Thoughts on using a table runner to break up an all white table cloth.  Not sure where to begin.
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  • sbf2sbf2 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Thus far, I am the only one on this post having my reception at Congress Hall, the other two ladies are having receptions at Union Park and Peter Shields.

    Color wise, I think a larger decorating budget is required in order to make the pinks work with Congress Hall...you really need to go over the top with it to make it work well...but that is just me. I saw some pictures from our visit with pink centerpieces and they looked great.

    I am going to use black & white patterned tablerunners...not sure if I'm using damask or not. I agree the tables are stark white, they need something to vary the blandness...even though they do market their linens are 'imported italian linens' lol.

    As for flowers, I highly recommend meeting with a florist to work color issues out, Maria from Mum's the Word really helped me make a cohesive design. I am going to be working yellow into my centerpieces through sunflowers, but mostly it will be greens and buttercream dahlias. I'm also using beargrass (it's cheap and a good filler). Along with lots of other stuff that I don't remember :) But that's the general scheme. The bridesmaids are wearing a light blue silver dress and carrying sunflowers. I'm not using yellow anywhere else other than in flowers, but I like the contrast against the tiffany blue walls. To be clear, my colors are blue, black & white with some sunflower. I'll be using blue votives and other accents to bring the color from the wall to the table.
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  • Jessie888Jessie888 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Hi Ladies!!

    I am a cape may bride as well. I am getting married in September at the Southern Mansion! The ceremony is being held outside in the gardens and the reception is inside in the ball room!

    I love reading about all your ideas!!
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  • sbf2sbf2 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    LOOOOVE the Southern Mansion....great choice!

    This is a question for everyone....are most of your guests from the area or will they be staying overnight? All of my guests are OOT. What hotels/inns are you recommending?
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  • cmaygrlcmaygrl member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Oh definately.. SOuthern Mansion is beautiful. As for OOT, I'm not booking anything.  Our wedding is in the afternoon, and is over by 4! :-(  My FMIL has a house down there if anyone on FI's side does want to stay over (doubtful). 

    My parents are renting a house for our family (much larger than FI's).  The cost was less than getting hotel rooms (by the time you add up all the little charges).  
    The house we are renting is absolutely beautiful (sleeps approx 18, has back/front patio/porchw/furniture /bbq/bar/pool table, etc). I want this house for myself.

    My friends reserved rooms at "The Montreal Inn" right on Beach Ave (a few blocks away from the hub-bub of town).  I looked into that hotel last year... thinking that would be a fun place to stay ... I believe they recently renovated, and they have an outside tiki-type bar poolside. But... the house ended up being cheaper and would just work out better for my family. 
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  • sbf2sbf2 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Would you mind passing on the information for the house? FI's family are looking into hotels, and since there are so many of them it probably would be more cost effective.
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  • cmaygrlcmaygrl member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Absolutely.  But... I don't have any info w/me .... I'm @ work.  If you can, look on the Cape May website under Accomdations "house rentals".  The woman I worked w/was "Mary McKenney (www.maryhouse.com).  There are many more houses out there.. all sorts of sizes and ammenities... depending on what you are looking for.  Mary is extremely nice to work with.  My Mom & I looked at a few of her larger (sleeps 18+) houses back in October.. and booked shortly after. 
    Hope that helps. Let me know if you need anything else. Cathy
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  • sbf2sbf2 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    OMG...the rates are amazing for my time of year...I am definitely going to let them know about this!
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  • cmaygrlcmaygrl member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Cool!  Good luck.  You won't regret it.  Wait until you actually SEE the houses!  They are BEAUTIFUL!!  And.. the further away from "in town", the cheaper.  Just an FYI.. :)  Ours is a few hundred chaper than 1 in the middle of town. 
    But... it's your choice. :-)
    It was fun to look at the houses.  Once my MOm & I saw (the 1 we are staying at), and looked at other "older" (in town) houses ==they just didn't cut it. lol  (you'll see)
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