Whoa, One Month to Go
Get some rest.
Good Times (to know)
Here are the important times:
Friday 9:00 pm - Welcome Drinks at Sperry’s
Saturday 4:15 pm -The Wedding at Bethesda Episcopal Church
Immediately following ceremony - Reception at Universal Preservation Hall Center
Saturday 12:00 am - After hours at Saratoga City Tavern
Sunday 10:00 am - Recovery Brunch at Saratoga Hilton
Dresscode
What is cocktail chic you might ask?
Guys: Dark suits (that’s what I’m wearing)
Ladies: Whatever ladies always wear to weddings. Just make sure your shoes are really expensive and even more uncomfortable.
Reception Food
You might have noticed the invites for the reception have cute little photos of food. We sent the invites out on a Wednesday; by Thursday morning Bertonis were calling to ask what kind of fish we were serving (like they didn’t already check off the cow).
So here’s the deal:
Chicken: A chicken breast stuff with Fall Flavors.
Cow: Tenderloin with a tasty demiglaze.
Fish: Herb roasted salmon—packed with omega-3 acids
Carrot: Portobello mushroom with cheesy goodness
T-Minus 6 Months…
Hotel Updates
Howdy,
I know many are starting to book hotels—good idea because town is starting to fill up. There are plenty of options from bed and breakfasts to big hotels—see the Accommodation tab above for some recommendations.
We made two more room blocks at the Saratoga Hilton and the Courtyard by Marriott (still walking distance to town and the wedding, but a little further out).
We have Web pages all set for online for both hotels with the block rate:
The Saratoga Hilton (starting at $165) // Click Here
Courtyard by Marriott (starting at $169) // Click Here
And They-re Off
Welcome Friends & Family. As we approach October 8th, we would like to invite you to visit our wedding blog for updates about our wedding weekend: festivities, ceremony, reception, lodging, photos and Saratoga Springs suggestions. We might even add some commentary posts about the wedding process, depending on how ambitious we become. We are ecstatic to share our wedding with all of you, and look forward to what is guaranteed to be an amazing weekend!
First, the facts:
Date: October 8, 2011
Location: Saratoga Springs, NY
The Registry
Some women get married for a Green Card…
Betsy is getting married for the china.
please click on the bold name of the registry, to go directly to its website
Michael C. Fina: An afternoon at this place took a week off my life. First rule: don’t touch anything. The first china Betsy chose cost $700 a plate. “What can I say, I have expensive taste,” Betsy said as I held my hands over my head and slowly backed away from the china. She We chose another pattern. Visit this site for things I will one day accidentally shatter into a thousand pieces like so many broken dreams…
Bloomingdales: The 6th floor at Bloomingdales is like death row. Stone-faced brides-to-be solemnly escort dead-eyed men down the linoleum hallway to their doom—the Le Creuset section. I even saw some poor guy passed out in a chair in the Juliska section. Yeah, we registered for that too.
Sur La Table: Perfect for reheating take-out.
Watch the Video Here.
Even better: Checks. They don’t break (although they’ve been known to bounce). Betsy doesn’t think this is funny.
Meet the Wedding Party
Co-Maid (soon Matron) of Honor: Elizabeth Cobb - “EZ Dubbs”
EZ and I picked each other up at a party in 2004…it has been love ever since. You can always count on her to bring the party and ensure a good time. She is a sick karaoke singer and will be on the stage between the band’s performances, during their breaks. She is a super hero of friends, and I am the proud Godmother to her precious dog, Uma - Baby Umes. A Cali girl born and bred, EZ currently lives in NYC.
Co-Matron of Honor: Erika Tarantal (Nathan) - “ET”
ET and I may have happened to meet through her husband—my college buddy, Lucas—but I am certain we were destined to become dear friends, regardless…okay, I stole her! She is one of the most beautiful and considerate friends, a girl could be fortunate to have—and has been known to get super silly, after a drink or two! :) An eagle fan who flew the nest and currently lives in NYC.
Bridesmaid: Elizabeth Bertoni - “Lizzard”
Lizzy is the brave little sister of the Bertoni brothers. She may be the first Elizabeth Bertoni, but I could not be more ecstatic to soon share the same name and more importantly, to have the little sister I always wanted. I vicariously relive my college years through her, and always look forward to her visits—though my liver may not. Lizzy is currently in Boston where she is a student at Boston College.
Bridesmaid: Katie Brownstein - “Kates”
Kates and I were “set up” by friends in the city who thought we were meant to be—they were right! A fellow lover of art and fashion (and Sauvignon Blanc), I cannot imagine my life without her in it. We can dance all night long, laugh until our stomachs hurt, and always manage to add some spice to the agenda. Another Cali girl, Katie currently lives in NYC.
Bridesmaid: Sandi O’Connell D’Avella - “Sandarella”
Sands and I met while studying abroad in Paris at AUP, over many baguettes, cheese and copious amounts du vin. After college, she then moved around the corner from my apt, and we pretty much “grew up” in the city together. We can certainly entertain ourselves and laugh for hours on end, and know how to tear up NYC - for better or worse. Sandi currently lives in NYC, escaping the cold of the Buff.
Bridesmaid: Stevie Howell - “Steves”
The first Steve in my life…Steves and I were Art majors and compadres at Skidmore together - she even proudly stood by me when I lived in leopard print pants and rocked a super short hairdo. Aside from being the most talented and fashionable person I know, she has a huge heart and an amazing sense of humor, that may be a bit raunchy at times! A Cali girl who has left the East Coast and returned to her home town of San Francisco.
Bridesmaid: Meredith Strong White - “Bears”
Bears is my oldest and dearest friend…we first met at Petite Ballet as little girls, and then she moved next door and we became neighbors (the neighborhood was never the same again - we’ll blame her brother Geordy for that). A loyal friend and a feisty, witty woman - as a professional debater and amateur dancer, she will win any argument and dance off. Another Cali girl, who lives in gorgeous La Jolla - and yes, we are envious.
Best Man: James Bertoni
I first met James when I was three years old, although I can’t remember life without him—there is also a time when he couldn’t talk; I don’t remember that either. We’ve been through way too much together to fit here, but lets just say Jan dressed us the same from 1984-1990 and Bob would bring up the inverse relationship of a bond’s price and yield when all we wanted was help with our addition problems. The bond part stuck and now Betsy is trying to dress us.
Groomsman: Peter Byrne
Pete and I met on the Ridge School playground in 1st grade. We’ve since replaced the monkey bars with the dive bars. Pete’s the only person I know to have competed in a World Series in two different sports: Poker and Beer Pong—both in Las Vegas. He learned his dance moves in Vegas too.
Groomsman: Jay Landgraf
Half of my groomsmen are named John, hail from Ridgewood and work on Wall Street. Jay lived directly 2,000 feet uphill from me and we used to run through backyards at night thinking we were tough, we were. Plus, it was that kind of training that helped him make Captain in the U.S. Army. We’ve skied down Mountain Avenue in rollerblades, and ripped up summer ski camp in Mt. Hood Oregon—he’s now married to a rabid Duck fan.
Groomsman: Robb Low
Robb is Betsy’s big, little brother. We met in Carmel where he proceeded to pour tequila and beer down my throat for the next few days (Note: the picture on the left was the only one we could find without a beer in his hand, and we had to crop his right arm.) After living in the tundra of Alaska he gave into his California roots to settle in the industrial wasteland that is La Jolla. He added the second ‘B’ to his name, after being mistaken for the actor Rob Lowe.
Groomsman: John O’Neill
Like most of my groomsmen, I met Johnny O in elementary school. We used to play Castlevania on Nintendo in his basement in Ridgewood, now we play Call of Duty in the City. J.O. was my roommate in NYC for 6 years. A two time Providence College Ultimate Frisbee Champ, he enjoys late-night peanut butter & jelly sandwiches and will likely chest bump you on the dance floor.
Groomsman: Lucas Nathan
Betsy likes to call Lucas her 8th bridesmaid. He was born in Philadelphia and lived there for 35 seconds before growing up in Vermont. Naturally he’s a devout supporter of the Phillies and Eagles. His dog Monty even has a Michael Vick jersey.
Groomsman: John Paul Pawlowski
John Paul grew up on the Eastside of Ridgewood; we invited him anyway. The first time we met he probably struck me out in Little League. We lived together in NYC for 6 years. We even drove a U-Haul from New York to Ridgewood—you know JP is brave, because I drove.
Honorary Groomsman: Matt Schibanoff
Schibs and I met in Colgate freshman year. He’s one of three brothers of Beta Theta Pi in the wedding—Bill Low is the second. Schib’s is selfishly attending his sister’s wedding instead of mine, but if he can, he’ll bike 150 miles from New Hampshire to Saratoga—it’ll take him 18 minutes.
Ushers: Scott Davids, Kanan Mehryn, and Alex Scott - “the boys”
If the mothers were okay with Betsy putting the boys in dresses and having them stand aside her as bridesmaids - she would. Her dearest friends, akin to big brothers, they will always be part of her life - and probably some of the funniest damn people we know. The boys all reside in the Los Angeles area, respectively.
Ushers: Luke Fronefield, Kirk Lutwyler, and John Weindler
Also known as (in order) Leukoplakia, El Girko and the Dubber—these Ushers hail from the mean streets surrounding Ridge Elementary School. They’ll escort your lovely dates down the aisle, and later creep them out on the dance floor.
The Travers Stake 137th Running - Saratoga 2006
He said:
Every August I went up to Saratoga for the Travers Stakes with the Skidmore crew (that I initially met through Chris “Dunny” Dunn the summer of 2001) to lose money by drinking fast and betting on slow horses. For 3 years we had crashed on friends of friends couches and in moldy motels. In 2005 we upgraded to an entire Victorian house. I met Betsy that Friday night, and didn’t have the nerve to talk to her until Saturday night. Apparently I said the right things, and here we are.
She said:
Being the spontaneous girls that we are, Elizabeth and I jumped in the car one summer Friday night and headed to ‘toga for Traver’s Day. Only hitch, we did not have a plan once we arrived. I started calling every Skidiot in my phone and eventually we had an invitation extended to us. We arrived to a rented house on Talford St, dangerously filled with antique furniture, 30 dudes and enough Bud Light to fill a pool….fate would have it that the Bertoni boys were also staying there. Somewhere between the horse betting and marathon drinking, I caught Steve’s attention while downtown at “T & L.” Who knew that after a Traver’s weekend and four years later, I would become engaged to Bertoni. I certainly got lucky at the racetrack!
