HOW THE HELL DO WE GET THERE?

So you may be asking yourself how are we supposed to get to the big city?

Airports:

Laguardia: The best. Sure it is the smallest and the grimiest and has the shittiest duty free… But it is by far the closest and the easiest, and because of the grime and its shitty demeanor, it is also the quietest. I would do anything I can to fly to Laguardia.

JFK: This is a wonderful, big shiny international airport! And because of that it is FULL of lost tourists and hassles. (If you already booked into JFK, SOOORRY…) Bottom line: it is the farthest from Manhattan.

Newark: Unless you are trying to cross the Garden State off your bucket list, in the most harmless way possible, we don’t recommend this option.

Islip (Long Island): For you folks coming from the Orlando area, this is certainly an option. Sanford to Islip is a very painless flight on a few budget airlines, and the one time we took this route, the Long Island Railroad proved to be a reliable form of transport into Manhattan with the only gripe being several connections and trains and cabs which all have to be met in time or you are left waiting for the next one with all of your worldly possessions.

Driving:

So you won’t be traveling in a chair in the sky? Well driving is perfectly painless as well. We won’t bother you with things like directions (I am assuming you all have grown accustomed to the inter-web by now). But once you get here you will need to do something with your fancy automobile. Two options: Garage or the Street. I actually recommend the latter. The street may be more of a pain in the ass but it is exponentially cheaper than garages, that is, as long as you don’t get any tickets… The NYC parking authority gets pretty gangster with their tickets and a simple mistake CAN cost you hundreds. If you are staying in our neighborhood, the on-street parking can be hard to find occasionally but we usually have pretty good luck with it! Other than fire hydrants it is pretty straight forward—just follow the instructions on the nearest sign. But if you have questions, we are here to help. 

WHERE DO WE STAY?

We have all sorts of offers and suggestions, and we are sorry some of this stuff gets expensive…

The Doubletree in Midtown (51st and Lexington):Waaaaay down the street (Lexington) from us (a cab ride or subway ride away), this is a big hotel with all the amenities you’d expect in a Hilton property.  Laurie’s mom’s good friend Mary has secured an excellent price, and if you need more info on this, please let us know.

The Franklin Hotel: A block from our apartment and with very quaint and cozy rooms (read small and creative with where they put the bathrooms in each room), the well-appointed Franklin is actually pretty reasonable. And as far as location, you literally can’t get closer!

Marriot Courtyard New York Manhattan/Upper East Side (410 East 92nd Street): About seven blocks from us, this is another big hotel with everything you’d expect a big hotel to have, including parking at $45 per day. Book early and online to lock in the lowest prices.

Air Bnb: This is a relatively new thing for us…we plan on using this service often when we travel for our honeymoon. Basically, you stay at someone else’s place and pay them a nominal fee. No pillow chocolates or turn downs and you may have noisy neighbors with no one to complain to, but you will save significantly! When you do your search, select our neighborhood (Upper East Side) where the wedding will be, or Union Square, which is close to Edi and the Wolf where the reception will be. Rhonda, Dan's mom, is the expert on using this if you have any questions or just need a quick tutorial.  Email her at rmorton@stny.rr.com or call her at 607.742.9356.

HOW SHOULD WE GET AROUND? (TAXIS AND TRAINS)

Our primary mode of transportation is the Subway. It is cheap, safe and reliable. We live on the 4, 5, 6 (Green) Line. These trains run the east side of Manhattan. The 6 train is the local and makes all stops. In Manhattan the 4 and 5 are both express trains, which mean that they make fewer stops, but luckily all the places associated with the wedding are express stops. For our house, the stop is 86^th Street. For Midtown you can use 59^th Street or 42^nd Street/Grand Central. And for Union Square, use 14^th Street.

Taxis are also a great form of transport. They are usually pretty efficient, and it is much harder to get lost in a cab than on the train… YELLOW CABS ONLY! Never, if you can avoid it, take unmarked livery (black car) cab. Yellow Cabs are super easy to hail. Look at the lights on the roof of the cab. If the middle one is lit up and the two sides ones are not, it is available. Just stand on the curb, stick up your hand, and the cab will pull over. Cabbies are able to take credit cards now, although they prefer cash, and for a good reason: the taxi commission charges them 5% of both the fare and the tip if you pay with a Credit Card. We would encourage everyone to tip your cabbie 20% of the fare. Four people fit in a standard cab (there are mini-vans and larger cabs but you can never find one if you actually need one). Always get out of the cab on the sidewalk side of the cab! You will have to scooch over but it will totally be better than causing an accident!

SO WHAT’S THE PLAN?

Feel free to participate in any or all of this stuff. You will be in one of the coolest cities in the world and we want you to have fun!

WEDNESDAY MAY 1^ST:

I know a few people may be planning on coming a bit early so we will throw this out there. The Yankees are playing the Houston Astros at 7pm.  If you are interested in going to the game, let Dan know and he can get some tickets for anyone who is interested. (No one cares about the Astros so the tickets will be cheap!  About $20.)

THURSDAY MAY 2^ND:

All sorts of free time scheduled for Thursday as we figure everyone will be coming in at different times and getting settled. We will be having a little cocktail time if you are in town from 6 to 9pm at Swig Bar (2nd Ave and 85th Street). Otherwise, do your thing!

FRIDAY MAY 3^RD:

Wedding Day! Everyone is asked to gather in Carl Schurz Park (the 86th Street Plaza, 86th St at East End Avenue) by 11:45 at the latest. We will walk down the “aisle” at 12pm sharp for a quick ceremony, after which everyone will hop in cabs for the 15 min ride to The Third Man. We will have a few folks at the park to facilitate cabs and we will have specific directions printed for everyone to give to their respective cabby. This ride should cost around $25 with tip per car of four people. You will be our guests for snacks and bubbly at The Third Man beginning around 1pm, and for an early dinner, which will be served a few feet down the road at Edi and the Wolf. The reception will last until 4:30 after which everyone is free to do whatever they like.

If you feel like joining up for more festivities, at 8pm, the new Mr. and Mrs. Morton will head back to The Third Man to finish out the night. Then, before you turn into a pumpkin, hail a cab back to your place, wherever that may be!

SATURDAY MAY 4^TH:

One last hurrah will consist of picnic lunch at 12:30 on the Great Lawn in Central Park (precise coordinates to come). Bring whatever you want to eat from one of the thousands of delis in the Big Apple. We will have plates and cups and utensils, plus the Frisbees and whatnot and hope to just make a relaxing afternoon of it. If you can make it, great; if you can’t, no worries. If it rains or there is a tornado we can figure out something else. Perhaps some museum time or a good movie…

That’s it! Pretty easy and simple! Just the way we wanted it!

WHAT SHOULD WE WEAR?

Not so sure about the weather in NYC in May? Well we would encourage you to check the forecast a week or so before you come but the inter-web says between 53 and 68 degrees with an average rainfall of 4.5 inches. (We have no idea what that means). So let’s just assume it will be sunny and warm the whole time! In case it does rain during the ceremony, we ask that everyone bring a solid color umbrella which you will be comfortable under. (Solid because we think it will make for cool pictures!) Wear whatever you are comfortable in for the ceremony—don’t feel like you have to get too gussied up. And whatever you do, wear comfortable shoes! The city has a way of making you walk a lot even if you are not planning on it. All of the cement and pavement will keep your dogs a-barking! 

WHAT THE HECK CAN WE GIVE YOU AS A WEDDING PRESENT?

Of course, your presence is all we really want for a present (I know, I know…weddings bring out the schmaltz, big time).  But if you can’t leave it at that, we would love to have you contribute to our honeymoon. We have signed up for this cool website that allows our loved ones to choose what you might like to give us—a dinner out, a few drinks, an adventure etc.  In lieu of tangible gifts, which won’t fit in our little love nest anyway, we hope you might have fun helping us make these memories! If so, check out our page on Honeyfund.com.