Addresses and weather forecasts

Click here to find the wedding party venue
For the ceremony place - click here

Weather forecast - sunny and 18 degrees :)

A couple of highlights about Poland

Click here for 12 Reasons Warsaw Should Be Your Next Vacation Spot

Quick sightseeing in Warsaw

Dear all,

Some of you will be arriving to Poland on Friday night, which will give you some time on Saturday morning to visit our lovely capital city. Below is a short guide with all the necessary information, little maps and a walking tour option in one of my favourite parts of Warsaw (you would need to have a week to see it all!). As we do not want you to get lost, let’s stay in the centre and plan a trip that will at the same time lead you to the meeting point, from where our handsome, moustached driver will take you to Białystok.

1.     Check which hotel/hostel you are going to stay at. You should be able to grab a little map from there and ask the way to the Old Town – Stare Miasto, which is also where we will start our trip. In any problems you can always contact me as Ola will probably be too busy being beautiful.

My English number is (+44) 7583581457, and Polish (+48) 790018667.

2.     Let yourself wander through the little streets of the Old Town, you might want to grab a breakfast in one of little restaurants. Zapiecek (there are many, I marked only two on the map) is the most popular one, but there are many beautiful ones in there. However, bear in mind that they serve mostly heavy meals, including pierogi (traditional Polish ravioli-ish dish), and not everyone likes them for breakfast, especially fried and served with pork cracklings as a side dish (yummy). Although, if you are British, that would be exactly what your stomach might expect for breakfast ;)

Picture 1: You can had a nice walk anywhere you want from the street Podwale to Brzozowa (marked with arrows). It’s not as big as it seems!

3.     When you go a bit further inside the Old Town, into the Old Town Market Place, you will see a statue of mermaid with a sword – symbol of Warsaw. There is also a big Royal Castle. You might want to visit it inside. Remember that it’s quite big so it can take you a while! Castle tours are organised from 10AM on Saturdays, and cost PLN 22.00 (GBP 4.50). A guided tour in a foreign language costs PLN 110.00 (GBP 22.00), which might be a good idea if you come in a group. You can check it all here:

http://www.zamek-krolewski.pl/en/your-visit/tickets-and-reservations/admission-prices

4.     As you probably will not have too much time, a simple walk should be enough, so from the Old Town you should take the direction of the street Krakowskie Przedmieście. When walking along this street, you will pass many little pubs, bars (which are better hidden) and shops. There is also University of Warsaw (Uniwersytet Warszawski) – my own lovely school :) and our President’s palace along the way. If you turn from the main road for a while, you will see the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier – there are always guards next to it. Go back to Krakowskie Przedmieście, and the street will smoothly change to ul. Nowy Świat. You need to walk (and admire) until you get to a massive palm tree. 

The tree is situated on Charles de Gaulle’s roundabout at Aleje Jerozolimskie (Jerusalem Avenue) and was a vision of a Polish artist who wanted to create a bond between Israel (remember, Jerusalem Avenue) and Poland. As weird as it is, everyone loves the palm tree :)

5.     From here you need to turn left into Aleje Jerozolimskie. If you go straight, you will get to Metro Centrum (tube station) and you will see our lovely, beautiful and monumental Pałac Kultury i Nauki (Palace of Culture and Science), originally known as Joseph Stalin Palace of Culture and Science. It holds the very honourable 187^th place in the tallest world’s building competition :) It was a gift from the Soviet Union to the people of Poland, and when the Soviet Union collapsed, after many debates the Poles decided to keep the building as a souvenir. Many don’t like it as it’s a symbol of Soviet domination, but it’s also a part of our history. Today there are 3288 rooms inside on 42 floors – cinemas, theatres, museums, offices, bookshops, nightclubs, a large conference hall and even a university!

It will be in front of this building that the bus will pick you up to take you to the best party in your lives – Ola and Leszek’s wedding! The trip will last for about 3 hours so take a book and don’t eat too much – the massive nosh-up is yet to come!

IMPORTANT THINGS TO KNOW:

-        You can use public transport, but do not forget to buy and validate your ticket! You can enter by any door (not like in London) and you need to buy bilet normalny (normal ticket, as opposed to not normal i.e. for students ;)).

-        Don’t cross the road on red light, even if it’s the middle of the night and you are alone. The Polish police only wait for it.

-        People usually talk English, so you can ask young people for the road if ever you feel lost :)

-        Any questions – let me know! 

P.S. If you need these small guidelines in a Word or PDF format please comment this post and Ola or myself will send it to you via e-mail. 

~ Asia, the lil' sister aka. Maid of Honour

Frequently (to be) asked questions

Here are some answers to the questions you might have! Let us know if there is anything else you want to know :)

How is the wedding going to look like?
The ceremony starts at 4 pm at the Registry Office in Białystok. It will take approximately 30-45 minutes, we will say "yes" to each other, put rings on our fingers, shed a tear (of joy?) and head out.

After the ceremony it's usually time for wishes and greetings (in the registry building or in front of it) which will probably take another 30-45 minutes. In the meantime guests can start proceeding to the wedding party venue, which is located outside the city. For guests without their own transportation there should be a mini bus organised. It will take you straight to the venue.

We (the bride and the groom :)) will join you last so that our parents could welcome us at the door in a traditional way - with salt, bread and a shot of vodka. After that we have a toast and Polish "Sto lat" (traditional song with lyrics something like "shall they live 100 years" - you will hear a lot of it during the party). Then the party begins with a dinner and some more toasts. The following parts of the party are: the first dance, dance with parents, everybody dancing and drinking, more food, "thank you" for godparents, grandparents and parents, wedding cake (at midnight), Oczepiny (pron. Otchepeeny; wedding games like choosing the next bride and groom to come etc.). After midnight we keep having fun until we are super tired and go to bed.

There will be a band playing for us the whole evening as well as a photographer and his "photo booth" so that you could have some fun and leave us a souvenir :) Also, if the weather is good (you never know in April) we will have fun with some colourful lanterns outside.

The next day is called Poprawiny (pron. Popraveeny) - the after party. Depending on how late the wedding party finishes we will start around noon/1 pm. There will be more alcohol, food and a DJ (with optional karaoke) for those who didn't have enough fun the night before. Should be fun!

How and where should I travel?
We recommend buying flight tickets to Warsaw Chopin airport (airlines: Wizzair, Ryanair, LOT).
There will be a mini bus waiting for you in central Warsaw at 12 PM local time (hour might slightly change) which will take you to Białystok. Please make sure you confirm to us whether you want to be on this bus. For those who are travelling back on Sunday afternoon/evening we are arranging a trip back to Warsaw on Sunday afternoon (around 3-4 pm).
You might as well take a train to Białystok from Central Warsaw (every 1-2 hours, cost around 10-15 pounds). You can also rent a car (around 25 pounds per day) and drive, but remember don't drink and drive!

What about the accommodation?
We are making sure you will have a place to sleep during the wedding night (Saturday/Sunday).
It will be most probably in a guest house located close (5 mins drive) to the wedding venue so that you could go to bed whenever you feel like doing that. If you want to stay longer in Poland we can give you some recommendations for hotels in Warsaw or Białystok and help you book a room.

What time the bar will be closed?
There is no such thing! Food and alcohol are complimentary until we eat and drink it all (which is not possible, as tradition says). Menu to be confirmed...

What present should I bring?
First of all - bring yourself! As for the presents, we don't really have any particular wish lists and if you are thinking of getting us something, we prefer money so that we could buy something bigger in the end. Also, please don't bring us flowers. If you have a huge inner need to buy them, better bring wine ;)

What's the dress code?
The wedding party is ball-like so men wear suits and women cocktail dresses. Nevertheless for us it's more important to see you there and we won't pay that much attention to your outfit. (and Leszek adds here: "Noooo, if I have to dress up, everybody has!")


We can't wait!!!

Welcome!

Hi there! You are reading this post which means that we would love to see you on our wedding in April next year! You might have a lot of questions, especially if this is going to be your first time in Poland. Go ahead and ask by commenting this post. We will try to run a Q&A session :)