Chris and Molly's Wedding Blog

Tuesday, May 08, 2007

Welcome!

Thank you for visiting our wedding blog (and Molly thought I was nuts for registering "chrisandmolly.blogspot.com" within days of us getting engaged!)...

We're very excited about getting married and beginning a new life together and we're looking forward to having our friends and family with us when we take this big step forward in our lives.

All the information (I hope) you will need to know can be found here on the site, but if there's anything we forgot to put down, please leave it in the comments or email us at traciwedding@gmail.com.

Thanks, and we can't wait until October 20th!

The Facts

Our wedding will take place on Saturday, October 20, 2007, at the Sts. Peter and Paul Church in Williamsville, NY. The ceremony will be held at 2:00 PM.

An adult reception will be held at the Niagara Falls Country Club in Lewiston, NY (just outside of Niagara Falls, NY). The cocktail hour will begin at 5:30 PM with the dinner to follow.

Directions to these locations can be found below in the directions post.

Where to Stay

There are several options of where to stay the weekend of our wedding. Our main hotel, at which we have a block of rooms, is the Seneca Niagara Casino & Hotel (10 minutes from the reception location and about 35 minutes from the church and airport). The price per night of a room in our block is $190 per night for Friday and Saturday nights.

To reserve, please call 1-877-873-6322 before September 19, and ask for the Whipple/Traci Wedding Block. Please do not make your reservations online, as you won't be able to access the block online.

If the block is full, please email us at traciwedding@gmail.com, and I will have more rooms added to the block and let you know when the rooms have been added.

Another option is the Crowne Plaza Hotel Niagara Falls, which is located right across the street from Seneca Niagara. Beyond these two, we would not recommend any other hotels in Niagara Falls, NY.

Also, we would not recommend staying at any of the hotels on the Canadian side, as the border crossing can be unpredictable. We'd hate to have you come all the way to Buffalo for our wedding and then miss it due to a Mountie-related delay!

If you would like to stay back closer to Buffalo, we would recommend the Hampton Inn Williamsville, which is a block away from the church and about 5 minutes from the airport.

Gift Registries

We have registered at several places as we begin to fill our new home (mostly because my bachelor pad furnishings were a bit, well, shabby): Macy's, Williams Sonoma, and Crate and Barrel.

All of these can be accessed by searching for one of our names (who are we kidding, even I search for Molly's name instead of my own) at WeddingChannel.com.

Important Directions

The following directions are primarily from googlemaps with some slight modifications for clarity. However, if you would like to know mileage for each step, we recommend using googlemaps.

Airport to Niagara Falls Hotels

1. Take NY–33 West.

2. Merge onto I–90 East/New York State Thruway East toward I–290/Niagara Falls/Albany

3. Take exit 50 to merge onto I–290 West/Youngman Expressway toward Niagara Falls.

4. Take exit for I–190 North toward Niagara Falls

5. Pay toll at first bridge (75 cents and you can use E-Zpass) and proceed across the Island to second bridge (there is no toll for the second bridge)

6. Take exit 21 for Robert Moses Parkway (at this point you will start to see signs for Seneca Niagara Casino) and merge onto Robert Moses Parkway North.

7. Take exit marked "City Traffic" and this will put you on John B Daly Blvd.

8. Turn Left at Rainbow Blvd/Rt 384-North

9. Turn right at 4th Street (for Casino Hotel) or right at 3rd Street (for Crowne Plaza hotel)

Total time: approximately 30 minutes
Total mileage: approximately 24.5 miles

The following directions are to/from Seneca Niagara Casino Hotel and Crowne Plaza and wedding events:

Hotels to Church

1. Head north on 4th St toward Wendel Way (if coming from Casino Hotel) or head north on 3rd street (if coming from Crowne Plaza) (Note: Based on where your car is parked, this first step may vary. If confused, just ask the front desk how best to get to Robert Moses Parkway from where you are parked)

2. Turn right at Niagara St

3. Turn right at John B Daly Blvd

4. Crossover Rainbow Boulevard and follow signs for I-190 South

5. Take the Robert Moses Pkwy ramp

6. Merge onto Robert Moses State Pkwy S

7. Exit on left at the I 190 to Lewiston/Buffalo Exit. Stay in the right lane of the exit.

8. Exit immediately to the right on I 190 south. This will bring you immediately to the Grand Island Bridge. 75 cent toll.

9. Cross the second bridge (No toll) off Grand Island and stay to the right.

10. Exit to the right at Exit 16 to I 290 East- Tonawanda- Rochester.

11. Proceed to Exit 7B-Route 5 Main Street East.

12. Go .7 miles through 4 traffic lights and the Church ( Saints Peter and Paul) is on the left.

Total Time: approximately 25-30 minutes
Total Mileage: approximately 22 miles

Church to Hotels (reverse above directions)

1. West on Main Street (Route 5) through four traffic lights (approximately 0.7 miles)

2. Bear right on I-290 West/Youngman Expressway

3. Go approximately 9 miles and take exit for I-190 North towards Niagara Falls

4. Pay toll at first bridge (75 cents and you can use E-Zpass) and proceed across the Island to second bridge (there is no toll for the second bridge)

5. Take exit 21 for Robert Moses Parkway (at this point you will start to see signs for Seneca Niagara Casino) and merge onto Robert Moses Parkway North.

6. Take exit marked "City Traffic" and this will put you on John B Daly Blvd.

7. Turn Left at Rainbow Blvd/Rt 384-North

8. Turn right at 4th Street (for Casino Hotel) or right at 3rd Street (for Crowne Plaza hotel)

Hotels to Reception

1. Head north on 4th street (from Casino hotel) or 3rd street (from Crowne Plaza hotel) past Wendel Way to Main Street (Note: Based on where your car is parked, this first step may vary. If confused, just ask the front desk how best to get to Main Street/Route 104).

2. Turn right at Main Street/Route 104.

3. Approximately 0.7 miles down Main Street/Route 104, you will have to turn left to continue on Route 104.

4. Continue on Route 104 for approximately 4.5 miles (note: Route 104 will change names and end up being "Lewiston Road."

5. After passing Niagara University, start looking for a golf course.

6. Turn right at Mountain View Drive (if you drive down a steep hill and end up in a town called "Lewiston," you have gone too far.

7. The country club is immediately to your left and parking is available both in front of the country club and behind it.

Total time: approximately 15 minutes

Total mileage: approximately 5.7 miles


Church to Reception

1. West on Main Street (Route 5) through four traffic lights (approximately 0.7 miles)

2. Bear right on I-290 West/Youngman Expressway

3. Go approximately 9 miles and take exit for I-190 North towards Niagara Falls

4. Pay toll at first bridge (75 cents and you can use E-Zpass) and proceed across the Island to second bridge (there is no toll for the second bridge)

5. Stay on I 190 to exit 25A.

6. At bottom of exit, turn left on Route 265 North to Lewiston.

7. Take this Route 265 until it ends and turn right onto Route 104.

8. After approximately 0.1 miles, turn right onto Mountain View (if you go down a steep hill and end up in a town called "Lewiston," you have gone too far).

9. Country club is on left and parking is available both in front of the country club and behind it.

Total time: approximately 25-30 minutes
Total mileage: approximately 25 miles.

Reception to Hotels

1. Turn left turn from Mountain View onto Route 104.

Note: This is very dangerous turn as Route 104 is a very steep hill at this point and it is difficult to see on coming traffic from either direction. Please be careful.

2. Continue west on Route 104 over the Power Authority Vista and past Niagara University.

3. Continue west on Route 104 and the name will turn into "Main Street" through the city.

4. In the city, the road comes to a fork and Route 104 is off to the right. Stay to the right to continue on Route 104.

5. At 3rd Street, turn left and this takes you right to the hotels.

**If you miss 3rd street go to the end of Route 104 and make a left and you will see the hotels.

Total Time: approximately 15 minutes
Total Mileage: approximately 5.5 miles

Things To Do On Our Wedding Weekend

Buffalo is passionate about two things: the Bills and food. Given Molly's dislike for the Buffalo Bills, our 'things to do' is heavy on the food. However, if you do like football, the Buffalo Bills are in town on Sunday, October 21st playing the Baltimore Ravens.

Chicken Wing Recommendations

-Anchor Bar's claim to fame is "home of the original chicken wing." It is located at 1047 Main Street, Buffalo, NY. Approximately 30 minutes from the hotels in Niagara Falls.

-Despite Anchor Bar's notoriety, Molly's family believes that Duff's is the place for best wings in Buffalo (and when they say hot, they really mean hot...go for medium!). It is located at 3651 Sheridan Drive, Buffalo, NY. Approximately 30 minutes from the hotels in Niagara Falls.

Restaurant Recommendations in Niagara Falls Area

-Western Door (steak house located in the Casino)
-Red Coach Inn (within walking distance of the Casino and the second floor has a good view of the rapids)
-Water Street Landing (approximately 5-10 minute drive from the Casino located in historic Lewiston, NY)

Niagara Falls Activities

If you have never been to Niagara Falls before, it's fun to take advantage of some of the tourist activities on the U.S. side including Old Fort Niagara, Cave of the Winds, Maid of the Mist, and for the brave of heart...whirlpool jet boat tours.

If you have time though, we really recommend going into Canada (passport not required yet, but it would make it easier if you had it!). There you will find:
-a butterfly conservatory
-niagara-on-the-lake (about 30 minutes past the border)
-casino niagara (not to be confused with seneca niagara casino on the U.S. side)
-an IMAX theater
-and lots of wax museums (perhaps not the highlight of your trip!)

Between the Ceremony and the Reception

There is a couple of hours in between our ceremony and the reception. Many of the above activities may help to fill your time (Duffs is pretty close to the church if you need a chicken wing or two to tide you over!), but there are also some things within walking distance of the church if the weather is nice including:
-Glen Park Falls (turn left out of the church parking lot and it's just past East Spring Street)
-Sweet Jenny's Ice Cream Shop (turn left out of the church parking lot and left onto East Spring Street and it is at the bottom of the hill)
-DiCamillo's Bakery and Coffee Shop (turn right out of the church parking lot and left onto South Long. The address is 5329 Main Street and it is at the corner of South Long and Main Street. Try a peanut stick doughnut...best doughnut ever!)