As you wish...

I saw this posting on indiebride.com. And I am flabbergasted. She must really like the movie, "The Princess Bride".

"I'm trying to do something special for my cocktail hour - hiring 3 actors to mingle with guests and act as part of the "Princess Bride" movie. I would be buttercup, my fiancee: Westley, two of the actors would be Westley's friends and the 3rd would be the evil prince.
Any recommendations?"

And where do you put that...

I have been watching all the bridal shows for some time now and one is Rich Bride, Poor Bride. The episode I saw today that got me cracking up is one where the couple wanted to (and actually did) rent an ATM for their reception. Why did they rent an ATM? Perhaps it was a cash bar and they wanted guests to have a chance to drink more? Um no. They wanted the ATM there so that if a guest came to the reception and saw how nice it was, they would be able to add more cash to the cash gift they were giving.

Even if they did want to give more, won't the envelope be sealed?

People are crazy, just pure crazy.

One of those trendy ideas we will not be doing...

Signature drinks are one of the latest trends and all the rage right now.

People pick the drinks based on color mostly and then flavor. You can even meet with mix-o-logists to find the perfect drink. A bit much in my book but if you want a unique drink then go for it. In my mind, a better idea would to have a drink that means something or pertains to you as a couple or individually. If we did have it, my signature drink would be some kind of Sangria. And most of you know why.

Our mail box of sorts...

While out shopping last Sunday, B and I were discussing what we were going to use for our post card guestbook (read more here). While in Michael's we stumbled upon these miniature replica luggage boxes. So after looking at a bunch we found one that we thought was a good size and may actually get used again. The best part is that it was onsale and we didn't realize it until we were checking out. Yay!

Here is the box closed:


Here is the box opened and with our vintage postcards inside:

Guestbook Idea

B and I were talking to Emily and Lowell (our friends who got married on Block Island in a kickass fashion) about their guestbook idea. They got Block Island postcards and had them out on a table. The guests then wrote them a message on the back of the postcard. While they were on their honeymoon, B and I took the cards, made sure their address was on the card and we mailed them to New York City. So when they returned home, they were greeted by all the warm wishes of their guests. We really liked their idea and this weekend, they gave us the greenlight to steal it. Or I should say, borrow it.


We are going to be having postcards for guests to write something to us instead of a guestbook. I hope everyone understands it and does it.


So now I am on the hunt for postcards. Here is one we found...

Feast on this...

I just got back from visiting Brooklyn (where I had some awesome grand-mama pizza) and the Hudson Valley (where we visited with our caterers - FEAST Catering). And the end result of the weekend is our menu.

As it stands you will be feasting on the following:
Cocktail Hour -
Crudite
Fruit
Cheese
Bruschetta
Hummus
Duck Burritos
Loin of Lamb on Crostini
Crab Cakes
Prosciutto Empanadas
Puffed Cheese Ravioli
Vegetarian Quesadilla
Spanikopita

Dinner -
Salad
Butternut Squash soup
Rolls
Chicken with Wild Mushrooms and a Light Cream and Madeira Wine Sauce
or Medallions of Beef with Cabernet Sauce
(Kids can get chicken nuggets and fries)

Dessert -
Cup cakes
Coffee/tea

Hopefully the food on the wedding is as good or better than what we have had (and that has been pretty amazing!)!

Dial Directions

While we hope most people will take advantage of the free transportation we will be offering at the reception, I do fear people getting lost. A new service has decided to take on the events industry, Dial Directions. You can just dial "DIR-ECT-IONS" and say the name of the function and then directions will be sent to your cell phone via a text message. Even though I don't think we will use it, it is an interesting idea.

http://www.dialdirections.com/default.html

Bird's Eye View

While B was surfing the World Wide Web, he came across these pictures of the Picnic House. I like the new take on it.

Here are pictures from http://newyorkbirds.free.fr/brooklyn/prospect%20park/index.php. I guess they were shooting pictures of the Park from the sky.

Front

Back

Some more pictures of the reception site

I had pulled together some pictures I found on flickr.com of other weddings at the Picnic House for B to send to his mom and I thought I would share them with my adoring fans as well.

So here are some interior shots to give you a better sense of what the reception will be like.


I like the random high tables set around the other tables. I think I may "borrow" this idea. It will give people a place to hang out during the cocktail hour (since it is all the same space) and during the reception people can lean their drinks on them while talking to old friends.


I like the chinese lanterns hanging but I doubt we will have those. I also like how this picture shows you the low lighting as opposed to the site fully illuminated with all the lights on.



Fully illuminated.

The Reception Site Selection

So we have narrowed it down to the NYC Fire Museum and the Prospect Park Picnic House.


Considerations they have in common:

1) A caterer is needed

2) At least some rentals (tables and chairs) are necessary

3) Both are not typical reception sites

4) Neither has a coat room



NYC Firemuseum:

Pros:

1) Has a small kitchen and prep area
2) Has nice brick walls
3) Museum is kept open during the party
4) Comes with a real NYC fireman to act as security at the entrance


Cons:
1) Near a heavy traffic area
2) You cannot take pictures on the antique firetrucks
3) Everything has to be rented
4) On the smaller side (in terms of square footage)


Prospect Park Picnic House:
Pros:
1) Comes with round tables and chairs
2) More space and high ceilings
3) Patio area overlooking the park
4) Quick drive from church to reception


Cons:
1) Public area around the Picnic House can be used by anyone
2) No kitchen, just large prep area that is curtained off


Because I am not good at visual/depth perception I undertook a craft project to help us decide. I had both venues send me a floor plan. Then I cut out, to scale mind you, circles to represent 60' round tables and placed them where I would want tables. This is what I had in the end:


If 10 people sat at each table, we would need about 15 tables. Clearly the Picnic House has more room. When you add the horrendous traffic we encountered going to the Fire Museum, the Picnic House became the clear winner.

Now we would have to find a caterer...

Search for the Reception Site - Part III

So the third time we went reception site hunting, we were visiting three places: one I found, one B found, and one the head huntrer place found.

I was excited to visit the head hunter found one because I knew it was in our price range and I had read on certain blogs that it was hard to get someone to call you back and schedule a visit. I had a visit scheduled without even trying. Now this place is called 3 West Club as its address is 3 West 51st Street. It is right across from St. Patrick's Cathedral. Now, it is at this point that I will ask my aunts to stop reading for a few paragraphs and pick it back up a few paragraphs down. You see, the owners of this building have a difference in opinion with my mother's entire family. 3 West Club is a private club for the National Republican's Women Club of New York (please don't tell Grandma). I figure the least the Republican's can do is give me a good price on my wedding reception. However, to get over the difference in political beliefs I needed to really like the place. Also, we took B's mom with us to visit this place but left out the republican part and she saw the sign before we entered so I realized others would notice. And here we are met by Klaus (he told me he is like Madonna and only goes by one name) who is the cutest, funniest event managerwe met with. I loved him. We visited the Solarium which has a balcony with a view of the Cathedral - the bad news is that our guest l ist is probable too large for us to use this room. This is a bummer since that view was a major selling point to us. The other problem was that when you stepped out of the elevator, you were greeted with a large, and I mean large, potrait of a smiling Ronald Reagan circa 1986. The picture is centered with the elevator doors and when I saw it, I started to laugh. Luckily, the pictures of Ronnie and the Bushes can be removed. We go into the main reception area and it is on the smaller size. I think it is slightly larger than Moran's and it has lighter walls and a higher ceiling. The menu looks good and the price is good but in the end, I don't think it is the best place for us given the political leanings of the building.


The other place we visited with B's mom was the NYC Fire Museum which is located in an old fire house and the museum is open throughout the whole reception. We thought this was a kind of cool and different reception site. Before entering it we did find one snag - a lot of traffic as it is near the Holland Tunnel. So for those driving it could be a nightmare but our firends would love being in SoHo after the reception ends. The museum had really nice brick walls but it is T-shaped and I worried about flow. I also had some reservations about fitting our guest list in the space. It became a major contender. However, an outside caterer is needed for this space.












The other place we saw is the Prospect Park Picnic House in Brooklyn. We drive down Fourth Avenue (the same route we ran for the Marathon) and park outside the park. I notice that parking may be a problem in this neighborhood but we did find a spot on Prosect Park West near the entrance. (All the places in Manhattan had paid lots near by.) This place is a large converted park house so it is just one room - but a large room.

It also has a nice view of the meadow and if it is nice out, people can mill about outside.







So we have the second contender who also needs an outside caterer. In the next post I will show you how we made the final decision.