Ah. Jersey City. It’s come quite a long way since 9/11 and all those downtown Manhattan firms have moved across the river. My friend’s lovely event was held at the Liberty House at Liberty State Park. There was a gorgeous moonlit view of Manhattan and at the edge, the Statue of Liberty. Beautiful, just like the wedding.
My friend is Indian and she sent me a sari to wear for her wedding, so my wedding attire was all set. A lot of the non-Indian women at the wedding were wearing them. It was actually pretty awesome to see all the styles and colors. It’s actually a pretty flattering outfit for most body types, from the skinny cousins to the chubby matrons, everyone looked great.
I have yet to send a wedding present to my friend, but I will probably send one shortly. I didn’t have time to think about it. That lack of time also contributed to my expensive hotel room. The bride and groom picked the Courtyard Marriott on the waterfront, so not the poshest of hotels, but certainly not the cheapest either. Had I booked the room reservation when I was supposed to do it, I would have saved $20 a night. However, because I was really sick last week (and still suffering from a lingering cough), I called the hotel Friday night and said there was no way I was going to arrive and to change my booking to Saturday night only. They said no problem. With valet parking, I spent $205.00 on the hotel.
Tolls were probably about $40-50, but I’m not sure since I use EZ-Pass now. It’s a bit of a mystery to me. This includes my trip to Jersey City from DC, then a side trip to Philadelphia on the PA Turnpike to visit my parents on Easter Sunday. Gas was about $80, and I came home with a tank that’s about 3/4ths full. I still hate paying someone else to pump my gas since I obligated to tip the attendant, so I skipped buying it in Jersey for cheap, and pumped it in Delaware twice at my favorite rest stop, i.e. usually the cheapest off the interstate. I figured for a 10-gallon fill up, if I tip the attendant $2, then I’ve added 20 cents to the price per gallon, thus negating any savings for buying it cheap in Jersey.
Since I left on Saturday morning early, after a good night’s rest, I skipped breakfast and had a big lunch when I got to the hotel. I dashed to Cosi across the street since the hotel’s weekend brunch service closes at 1pm, right after I checked in. BOO! But for my money, I got a veggie sandwich, tomato soup and some extra bread for the soup. Total was about $12, but the bread was saved for a snack in the car on my way out. I also bought a snack of chips and a drink at the hotel, very late at night after the wedding for about $4. Annoying, but very necessary since my stomach was growling and there were no alternatives around.
I tipped the maid $5 for putting up with my mess.
Because I was the only one at my wedding table who actually wanted the centerpiece, I took it to my folks for Easter. They were really happy to have some flowers for the house as the centerpiece was quite large and red, a very lucky color. It fit perfectly on my mother’s little table in the front hallway.
I took my folks out to lunch for Easter/my dad’s birthday. Total damage there was $57. The service was terrible so I didn’t tip them extravagantly.
I’m trying to think of what else I spent that day on this trip, but honestly, there was nothing. I had a snack and some bottled water in the car on the way from NJ to Philly.
Total damage for the weekend was $403. Only the hotel room and EZ Pass charges went on my credit card, everything else was paid with my debit card or cash in my pocket. Now I just have to send a gift to the happy bride and groom.
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Aw, you definitely DO NOT have to tip the attendant in New Jersey. Really. It is the law in NJ that you cannot pump your own gas and therefore attendants aren’t a luxury and you don’t have to tip them. Next time buy your gas for cheap! We have some of the cheapest gas in the country; take advantage!
I’ve tanked up in NJ easily hundreds of times and I’ve *never* tipped an attendant.
The best place to buy gas when prices are going up is on the Turnpike because by law they can only change the prices once a week.
I love that she sent you a sari to wear, I wonder how she was able to manage that, or if she only did it for a select few friends/guests?
When I think about a wedding we flew to…not too bad. Cheaper than plane tickets (and separate though cheaper hotel rooms because my parents insisted since I was 18….).
I was going to comment on not tipping the attendants in NJ, but I see other people already have. I hate getting gas in Jersey, the service is usually slow.