Quiet Weekend

Alas, I will not have any appointments to write about this weekend. Work has been incredibly busy, and I just haven’t had the time to make any!

So we’re going to spend a quiet weekend together, home in Brooklyn. Well, relatively quiet- last night we went to see Harry Potter (!!!!!), met up with some of Mike’s friends afterwards and didn’t get home til 3:30 am. (Oops.) We’re also going to punish ourselves with a trip to Target for some holiday decorations and gift shopping later, then tomorrow might swing by a friend’s new apartment to watch the Giants game, but for the most part we’ll just be relaxing.

Next week I’m getting back on the horse- I’m planning to see at least two places north of Monmouth County and possibly one south (as well as bang out some Christmas shopping).

I realized this blog was getting a little venue-heavy anyway- maybe I’ll post some other inspirations this weekend. My grandmother keeps asking me if I’ve added things to my ‘Hope Chest’- I tried to explain to her that I was blogging, and how I could use it as a sort of electronic Hope Chest. She’s 81, but she tried to understand- she asked if a blog was ‘something on facebook’ and then told me she was going to get lunch at ‘Pantera Bread’ for her birthday J.

So anyway, this weekend will just be about Mike and me relaxing… and maybe some online bouquet gazing!

Here's what Mike's doing:

Here's what I'm doing:

Here's what I'm really doing:

Have a great weekend everybody!

Welcome to Your Honeymoon Fantasy Suite. Beware of Plastic Stalactites.

Here’s a major PRO for having our reception at the Pop Shop- or anywhere in Cherry Hill. Whenever I find a new venue, I check around to see what hotels would be available for my guests- and which ones have bridal suites for the wedding night.

While searching around Cherry Hill, I was disappointed to find nothing but Hiltons, Holiday Inns and a Clarion- until I stumbled upon The Feather Nest Inn.

I didn’t click on this the first couple times I saw it, because ‘Feather Nest Inn’ sounds like a homey little Bed & Breakfast to me. I was wrong.

FNI does have standard rooms- even ones without a jacuzzi, which come as low as $100 a night on Saturdays. But staying in a standard would be doing yourself a disservice.

Why not go for a Romance room, like ‘ManhattEn’?

So chic!

A Theme room, like French Kiss?

Ooo la la

Personally, I’m going for a Fantasy Suite. For some reason, Michael wasn’t as thrilled as I was to stay in Treasure Island on our wedding night:

The bed is a boat! What’s not to love?

You’ll be happy to know that apparently they have bridal packages, but they also have ‘4 hour specials’. Wink, wink. Wait, a wink is way too subtle for this place.

Bridesmaids, I’ve already chosen suites for you! Aren’t I the best?

For my sister, the royal pain (hehe):

King Tut

For my nature loving friend:

Treehouse

And for my math/science/technology geek bridesmaid:

Space Odyssey

As for Michael and I, if I can't get Treasure Island, we'll meet in the middle at the 'Natural' Cave. Marriage- so full of compromises!

My open loft art gallery shore wedding

Art Gallery #2- SICA, the Shore Institute of Contemporary Art

A friend reading my blog recommended them (thanks Amanda!)- the best man at her wedding had his wedding there. It’s on Third Ave in Long Branch. The gallery itself is open regular hours and also has a little coffee shop attached. It’s fairly raw space- poured concrete floors, exposed beam ceilings, which is great because they include adjustable lights. (Mike and I were just talking about how no one likes to dance under bright fluorescents.)

The space is twice as big as the Parlor Gallery. Parlor is more polished with it’s wood floors and glass front, but SICA definitely has a cool edge- it looks like the old downtown NYC loft galleries, but naturally, not like it’s trying to imitate anything.



In a way, it’s got everything- unique venue, enough space for the larger guest list, low fee. Here’s the problem- they’re moving.

Next summer, or as late as September, the Long Branch gallery is closing and reopening in Asbury Park, on Lake Avenue. In many ways, this is even better- the owner said it will be about the same amount of space, and the same price. Lake Avenue is right on the lake (duh), and a short block from Cookman. So we’d have downtown Asbury around the corner, the lake right in front of us, plus the ocean and the boardwalk  right down the street- hello photo opps!

We could still have an after party in Asbury if we wanted to and we could stay at the Berkeley  that night- ocean view! So we- and our guests- could spend the next day recovering on the beach- if I can hold off getting married long enough to do it in the summer, that is. They don’t have separate seasonal rates, so I could do it at the end of June, which would be awesome.

Window into the coffee shop

This sounds really great in so many ways. The only thing bothering me, is I’d have to wait until next summer to actually see it. This isn’t unreasonable considering we’re not getting married until spring 2012- I just want to decide NOW, damn it!

BUT, I should probably wait until this spring to book something anyway. I’m just anxious to figure out what’s going to work for us NOW so I can fine tune our budgeting.

PROs: location, location, location; unique venue, enough space for whole guest list; reasonable price, plenty of photo opps- what doesn’t this place have going for it?

Current Exhibit- 'Some Strings Attached'

CONs- can’t see the actual venue for 8-9 months! And if I wanted to knit pick, it’s a little grittier than I’d like- I do still have this vision of my wedding being fun, funky, but just a little city-chic.

Honestly I think I just still have a vision of the museum we’re going to visit next week that's clouding my vision to other places. But we're pretty excited about this!

My retro 50s soda shop budget-friendly wedding

Something amazing happened last week, on the heels of a budget stress induced meltdown- I found a way to have an affordable wedding reception. Maybe.

A place I’d come across during my research but which Mike had dismissed POPped back up in my mind. The Pop Shop in Collingswood, NJ.

It’s a retro soda shop with a real soda fountain, super fun décor and award winning menu outside of Cherry Hill with a new party room that can fit up to 100 people.

The décor is super cute- the shop has a counter run by ‘soda jerks’ and a bunch of 1950s touches.

The menus are printed as newspapers, with the dessert menu like a TV Guide, and cards at the table let you know that their grilled cheese was subject to a challenge on Throwdown with Bobby Flay!

They have 31 types if grilled cheese, plus a ton of other burgers, sandwiches, and extensive breakfast options- pancakes are another specialty. Egg creams, flavored sodas, and of course milk shakes. Yum.

The party room recently went through a quarter million dollar renovation and has its own soda counter and separate entrance on a side street around the corner from the main restaurant. There are several dinner, buffet and cocktail menus to choose from. 

Downtown Collingswood is a cute little pedestrian friendly town- it has charm.

Pros: Super Budget Friendly. We could do this whole thing without ‘losing’ thousands, which is what we’re facing in every other scenario. The vibe is really fun and I can really visualize a great party here, with lots of The Beatles and other music, as well as the one dress I have in mind. We can bring in all our own alcohol, which will save us a bundle. And it’s pretty unique, and visually cool. Oh- and they have a vintage photo booth! I wanted one of those and didn’t think it would be in my budget- and here it’s included!

Cons: Can I really serve grilled cheese at my wedding??  I mean, are our families going to be kind of miffed? The fun factor goes out the window if half the guests are put off. Speaking of pissing off guests, Collingswood is a dry town.  So we can only serve beer and wine (and champagne, of course.) Frankly, this is enough for me, but will our guests go bananas? I know it might not sit well with some.  Lastly, the coordinator said we could max out at 90 with a dance floor, but it still seems like it would be pretty tight. We’re struggling to get down to 100; 80-85 would be really tough. And we don’t want it to be too packed.

(There’s one other bonus to this venue- the hotel we could stay at on the wedding night! Next post!)

It’s definitely something to think about, if only for the cost saving bonus- we sat down and tried to do a guest list and budget last week, andwere  left feeling kind of defeated. This is the single budget-frienly option we’ve found so far. In the meantime, here are the pictures!

Engagement Dinner Celebration (Friends #1)

Tonight I had my first ‘celebration’ dinner with a friend.

Midu is my adventurous dining partner in crime. We were friends in high school who reconnected a few years ago, thanks to social networking.  We both have husbands/fiances whose palettes aren’t as expansive as ours, so we meet every other month or so to try exotic or haute cuisine, or just the more interesting dishes at better restaurants, places that would be wasted on our partners.

Midu in front of Minetta Tavern's Black Label burger

(sorry for the crappy low light camera phone pic)

Tonight we finally made it to Marc Forgione in Tribeca, a place that we’ve been meaning to visit for a year now. Chef Forgione just won The Next Iron Chef competition, so we figured we better get in quick before the place explodes- we were almost too late, because the 5:45 reservation we got it was the only one available all night.

Holy Crap. It was possibly the best meal of my life! We started with a celebratory glass of champagne, then I moved on to the autumn sangria: Demi-Sec Rose, Quince Soup, Calvados, Citrus & Herb Essence, Bubbles, plus a candied slice of pear that I ate and some pomegranate. Appetizer: BBQ Baked Olde Salt & Hummock Island Oysters, Aromatic Sea Salt, Bacon Powder. Entrees: Duck Breast with Foie Gras Ravioli, Braised Brussel Sprouts, Butternut Squash and Nutmeg Emulsion; and a Ribeye with Dry Aged Potato, Maitake, Black Kale and Ginger Ketchup.

Oh my god. So damn good. In between bites, we talked about weddings- she’s a fairly newlywed (under two years) so she has a lot of advice to give. Still, we barely scratched the surface because we spent so much time eating!  Which means we have a great excude to go back soon... to talk, of course.

Now I have to go to bed and dream about those oysters…

My romantic historic waterfront Sandy Hook wedding

The third appointment we had on the Saturday before Thanksgiving was at The Fort at Sandy Hook. The venue is a former chapel, built in 1941 and renovated in 2006, in the Fort Hancock section of beautiful Sandy Hook. This is an option for Wedding Scenario #1. (WS#1 is basically the more expensive, larger guest list option, using an outside caterer at a non-all-inclusive spot.)

The building is on the bay side, right next to the water. You have several options to utilize the site, including the chapel itself and the grounds, with or without a tent. Some get married in the chapel and have the whole reception under a tent. Some get married next to the water and have the whole reception inside. We’re most interested in the third option- get married outside (or somewhere else), have the cocktail hour under a tent, and then the reception inside the building.

Mike is standing on the top of the slope, the beach is bigger than it looks- and of course Mikey the giant makes everything look small!

The chapel can seat up to 140 comfortably and still have a nice sized dance floor. Tents are expensive (yowza! I had no idea) but for just the cocktail hour, we could use a smaller tent, which is half the price.

There’s a small beach directly behind it, perfect for photos. You can also use many of the historic buildings for photo opps- the event coordinator told us about a bridal party who’d used the front porch of one to recreate a period scene.  An old canon is mounted directly across from the building.

I'm about to get blown away- by this beautiful venue!

The manager, Davina, was really great and helpful. She leases the building from Sandy Hook, so she’d take care of everything to do with permits and would be the only person we’d be dealing with. She is actually a perk to the site- I think she’d be great to work with. She had a book of photos from another wedding and let us take pictures of them for our own reference.

One of the best selling points- aside from the beauty of the water itself- the sun sets directly behind the building. Depending on our time of year, she can help us plan with our caterers to have the cocktail hour just as the sun is dropping into the hills of Atlantic Highlands.

What’s great about the interior is that it’s very low key, but with enough natural beauty (like the original wooden beams in the ceiling) to give it character. You can keep the decorations to a minimum and it’s perfect. In other words, you don’t have to go crazy with giant centerpieces or expensive, ornate chairs- simple is actually better, and of course, less expensive!

The fees give us a range of options, too. If we just have the whole thing indoors in the off-season, it’s quite affordable. But moving into the summer months, even on a Saturday, isn’t a whole lot more. Adding the tent is where the costs double, even with the smaller version- but it’s still within our range for Wedding Scenario #1. Also, they have a list of approved caterers, and Mumford’s is one of them! They’ve done several weddings there. Another great thing is that there’s only one wedding per day (no Saturday afternoon events if you’ve booked it for Saturday night) so your vendors have the entire day to set up. Plus, there’s no time restrictions- which means I could party til 1:00am if I want to (which I do!).

Right now this is probably our #1 contender. Michael really liked it. I love that it’s in Monmouth County, but in a secluded spot, not to mention a cool historical site, and it’s RIGHT on the water. There are a lot of fun AND romantic places for photos.

This is actually Sandy Hook, I didn't cheat with a stock Atlantic Ocean photo. And no, it's not the nude beach.

 I have a couple competing visions of our wedding in my head, one of which is more modern and goes with a certain ‘look’ I have in mind- this place doesn’t fit that image. BUT, it does fit another version, one that is more elegant, romantic, and warm, without being fussy, gaudy or overproduced.

It’s currently on the top of the list, but there is a lot more to come. I’m planning to jam a lot of appointments into the next several weeks- stay tuned!

Thanksgiving, Part 2

So, our first Thanksgiving as an engaged couple was a success!

             

 My sister and her dog stayed over for two days, and we calculated that we went through 76 beers and two bottles of wine. That was probably part of the success.

I’ve mentioned my wannabe culinary aspirations, but for this Thanksgiving, my first cooking, I wanted to keep it traditional- our traditions, the way my mom made it. (Except for the turkey. That was the only change.)

So I made mashed potatoes, stuffing, corn, asparagus, rolls and my mom’s famous macaroni and cheese. She taught me the recipe a few years ago and I’ve been trying to perfect it ever since. She cooked like I cook- eyeballing it, not measuring, so replicating is all trial and error.

I’m proud to say that I think I finally got it right! My sister said it was fantastic and I have to say, it tasted pretty good. :) Thank you, Mom.

                                                                                    

On Thanksgiving morning, Mike and I woke up early, watched some of the parade and then walked to the Food Bazaar to get some extra snacks (as well as the can of cranberry sauce my sister insisted on, if only for decoration).  

It was weird being out in New York for a holiday- so many stores were still open, but the energy was so different. It was a perfect fall day, and we enjoyed our walk. We also ducked into a party shop and loaded up on turkey day paraphernalia. I think waking up to the parade and taking a walk through the neighborhood might be part of our new tradition together.

I ‘made’ the appetizer table just like my mom did, with a few small additions- brie and goat cheese in addition to the cheddar, and shrimp for Mike.

Somehow I got everything made, correctly, in the right amount of time. I know it’s not really a big deal, since all the dishes are basic, but the 6 dishes going on the table all have to be made at the same time (by the same person), so I was definitely worried. I'd bought a chef's hat while we were visiting Mumford's, and was wearing my mom's old Christmas apron, so I really had a lot to live up to.

But we pulled it off!

                  'We' pulled it off- here are my helpers, contributing.

Today, we plan to just lamp out on the couch, each with our heads buried in electronic  devices- Mike’s on his phone now, I’m about to spend a few hours looking at OffBeat Bride Wedding Porn. I also found a bunch of locations to investigate thanks to their Bride Tribe. I will leave you with an abundance of our holiday pictures.

Happy Thanksgiving everybody!

                      Yum

The turkey was worth every minute in line- sooooo good!

 Paper table cloth and cardboard turkeys care of Party Glitter on Broadway

The man of the house, carving the turkey- Thanksgiving is a time for gender roles (jk)

                              Stephy always gets the drumstick!

                    The perfect plate

                     Sleeping it off