Cocktail attire
The wedding is called for 5pm, the Jewish Wedding Ceremony, however, begins with a cocktail hour giving everyone a bit of a buffer. But don't come too late, cocktail hour food is delicious and Avi and Katie don't want you to miss out.
For those guests driving, free parking is available at Maritime Parc. Follow signs for the Liberty Landing Marina. When you pull into the parking lot, there is a button to get a ticket which opens the lot, the venue will stamp all tickets to ensure no one is charged for parking. Anyone who needs to leave their vehicle overnight may also do so.
For those guests departing from the hotel (Canopy or Double Tree), a free shuttle will be available to take to the venue. The shuttles will arrive at each hotel at approximately 4:30pm. The shuttles will depart at approximately 4:45pm and will drop all guests off at Maritime Parc. If you miss the shuttle, do not worry! Jersey City has plenty of Uber/Lyft options with short wait times. For those guests returning to the hotel (Canopy or Double Tree) after the reception and/or after-party, there will be a single shuttle running loops to both hotels from 11:00pm-1:15am.
Take the PATH train to Grove Street, then you will be less than a mile from the venue, or a 2 minute walk from the Canopy Hilton where you can join the hotel guests on the shuttle. If you are coming from NYC, via the PATH train, please be advised there is scheduled maintenance impacting trains to Grove Street from NYC. Trains will unfortunately skip the Grove Street Station this weekend, but you can still take the PATH train to Journal Square and transfer to a Manhattan bound train which will stop at Grove Street in the other direction. We sincerely apologize for this inconvenience, see link for additional details: https://www.panynj.gov/path/en/modernizing-path/grove-st-improvements.html
Katie and I love you all and always enjoy time spent with your families, but for our wedding day, let us be your excuse for a night off from parenting!
Resounding yes! Although guests will be moving between the 2nd and 3rd Floors for different parts of the day there is an elevator to facilitate the transfers in addition to the stairways.
Like weddings of all faiths, the bones are the same. We are celebrating love. There will be a ceremony with an aisle and a procession, a reception with dinner and lots of dancing. But here are a few things that may feel a little different that we want to make sure you are prepared for. The wedding opens with the cocktail hour, this builds in a grace period for our friends who are always late (you know who you are) and also allows all our guests to have food and drinks prior to the ceremony. Avi & Katie will be separate for this part, Katie will be in the main room (2nd Floor) to greet guests, while Avi will be stationed a floor above at a table where guests will also be, singing and toasting to the big day. Then near the end of the cocktail hour, the music will shift and guests will start to gather near Katie. Anyone still upstairs with Avi will bring him down dancing and singing to obscure his view. Then Avi will be presented to his bride for their first public look. Brought together they will prepare the Marriage Licenses for the ceremony to come (this part will be joyous but brief). Then guests will move upstairs to the ceremony, and the wedding party will prepare for their entrance. Guests can sit wherever they choose, no formal sides. Both the bride and groom will walk down the aisle accompanied by their parents. The wedding will involve exchanges of vows & rings, but also blessings over wine and other meaningful readings selected by Katie & Avi. Then Avi will kiss his bride, step on a glass and everyone will shout "Mazal Tov". Now it's party time! Avi & Katie will spend their first few moments of marital life in private, just the two of them, and then will make a grand entrance to join you all for dancing. The only remaining thing to know is that the dancing will begin with a Hora, a traditional circular dance full of energy, joy, and a little bit of chaos. Just grab someone's hand and keep moving in circles and you are doing it right!
Of course, feel free to bounce between the rooms Avi and Katie are in, full disclosure though Katie has the better food
We are currently registered through Zola, Macy's and CBL Fine Art. You can access them all through the registry tab on this site, and toggling to access whichever you prefer.