Festivities
Friday
|
Welcome Cruise around Baltimore Harbor |
Saturday
|
4pm |
Travel
Planes
We suggest flying into BWI airport. BWI is a Southwest hub, so you may want to check Southwest's website directly for flights. You can also fly into the two Washington, DC airports (DCA/Reagan/National or IAD/Dulles), but these are a 1 hour drive and 2 hour public transit journey away from Baltimore, so we think you'll have a better time if you fly into BWI.
To get from BWI to the city, you can take the Light Rail (very cheap, sometimes unreliable), or a car (~25 min).
Trains
Baltimore is a stop on multiple Amtrak lines! Amtrak prices can vary wildly: we like to buy "Flex" tickets as early as possible because they are only a few dollars more expensive and you can cancel up until the minute the train departs...we sometimes buy multiple trains for the same weekend and decide later which one to take..
Automobiles
You won't need a car to get to the wedding, but Baltimore is a fairly car-friendly city if you are driving one--there is parking most places if you are willing to do a short walk, and almost all neighborhoods are a 20 minute drive or less away from each other.
Where To Stay
The festivities will mostly be taking place in the neighborhoods of Fells Point and Canton in Baltimore.
We have reserved room blocks at the following hotels:
- Marriott Waterfront: This hotel is near the main Inner Harbor tourist attractions and is a quick walk to the fun neighborhoods of Little Italy and Fells Point. $189/$213 (King/2 Queen) per night. Room Block Link
- Hotel Indigo: This hotel is just south of the beautiful Mt. Vernon neighborhood, where the Walters Art Museum and Peabody Library are located. $180/night. Room Block Link
Some other hotels we like, by neighborhood:
- Fells Point: We had originally hoped everyone could stay here, as it is extremely adorable and right by the water, but room blocks ended up being pricier than expected. Including here anyway in case they speak to you!
- Inn at Henderson's Wharf $325/night. Room Block Link
- Sagamore Pendry: $450/night. Room Block Link
- Mt. Vernon
- Hotel Revival and Hotel Ulysses are both fun, trendy, boutique hotels that weren't doing room blocks.
- North Baltimore
- The Study at Johns Hopkins and Inn at The Colonnade are near the main Johns Hopkins campus and the neighborhoods of Hampden/Remington/Charles Village.
If you are looking at Airbnbs, the Fells Point/Patterson Park/Canton/Highlandtown areas are nice residential neighborhoods that will put you in the realm of our festivities. We also think you'd have a nice time staying in Hampden, Remington, Charles Village, Mt. Vernon, Federal Hill, and Locust Point, which are all within a 20 minute drive of the main venues.
Baltimore
We love Baltimore and are so excited for those of you who are coming from out of town to experience it. This is a selection of some of our favorite things to do, but we're always happy to give more recommendations.
Art Museums: The American Visionary Art Museum is a must, displaying outsider art with a killer gift shop. The Walters and the Baltimore Museum of Art are also great and free.
Other Museums and Attractions: Visit Bob the moray eel at National Aquarium, or we also like the Edgar Allan Poe House and the Museum of Industry.
Outdoor Activities: Take a walk around Patterson Park, Ft. McHenry, or along the Stony Run trail. Or spend time on the water on the water taxi or renting kayaks or paddleboards at Eastern Watersports.
Indoor Activities: We like Meander Art Bar, Cat's Eye Pub for live music, and the Charles Theatre.
Farmer's Markets: Fell's Point and Waverly both have nice Saturday morning markets with lots of prepared food. We also love the Sunday morning Baltimore's Farmer's Market under the JFX highway bridge.
Food and Drink: There were truly too many to list, so we made a Google Map, and put a SELECTION of our favorites below.
- Drinks: Dutch Courage, Coral Wig or Fadensonnen for cocktails. Beer from Wet City, Brewer's Art, or Nepenthe.
- Bakeries: You could line up for the famous crab dip bagel and many other flaky pastries at Cafe Dear Leon, have maritozzos or pizza by the slice at Doppio Pasticceria, or visit our neighbors at Brunch Supply for cinnamon rolls and other bready pastries.
- Casual Eats: The crab cake from Faidley's is classic, as are pit beef sandwiches Chaps Pit Beef. Everyone (us included) loves Ekiben. We also love the Filipino burritos at Mystic Burrito and the chorizo and eggs at Tortilleria Sinaloa, and Mera Kitchen Collective.
- Fancier Dinners: The margaritas and Mexican food at Clavel, pizza and pierogis at Little Donna's, Basque food from La Cuchara, and general fancy food from Le Comptoir Du Vin and Woodberry Tavern are all delicious and delightful.
- Crab/Seafood: We love LP Steamers for steamed crab (on the roof deck if you can), and Dylan's Oyster Cellar or Thames Street Oyster House for oysters and other seafood.
- Sweet Treats: Choose from one of 100+ soft serve flavors at Bmore Licks or get the salted honey graham ice cream at Taharka. And if we could live above anything, it would be the Corner Juice Bar.
Further Afield: You could visit Annapolis or DC. Harper's Ferry and Shenandoah National Park are <2 hours away and have great hikes. And, since it's fall, we have loved the Renaissance Festival and various haunted houses in the area.
Q&A
Why am I just finding out about this now?
We are sorry!! Neither of us are known for being great at planning super far in advance or for always remembering to share important life updates. We're working on it!
Do I get a +1?
Yes! Please bring whoever you want as your date (could be your mom, or a friend). We will just need to know when you RSVP.
Can kids come too?
Yes! It is completely up to you if you want to bring your kids - we are also happy to brainstorm with you how to make the events enjoyable for you and them.
Anything I should know re: accessibility?
The reception is being held in a three-story venue with only stairs, please let us know if you think this will be an issue for you!
It will sadly be hard for me to make this work with my life at the moment. Should I still try to make it?
We think it's going to be a great time, but we want to emphasize that we are sending you this invitation because we wanted you to know that we love you and love hanging out with you! We will not be the least upset if you cannot make this particular hang, and we will see you soon.
Is there a registry? Should I get you a gift?
There is no registry and we aren't expecting you to get us any gifts (this includes cash gifts)!
RSVP
Please fill out by August 20th.