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In the swelter of a 90-degree afternoon, my groomsmaid Mia and I were on a mis-sion. We’d abandoned the comfort of my apartment

— and a tantalizing bottle of chilled rosé — to search for 100 place cards, rubber stamps and ink.

With only days until my wed-ding, I could suddenly see the event clearly enough to realize that, while everything was in place — fl owers, cake, shuttle buses — it needed that personal touch. I’ve read enough bridal magazines to know that your guests recall the little things.

They won’t recall the food (unless there wasn’t enough of it) or the speeches (unless they go off the rails), but they’ll reminisce about the maple syrup favors from the groom’s father’s farm or the moment when the bridesmaids did a line dance or how uncles Al and Ernie jumped into the pool.

In the early stages of plan-ning, eccentricities had been my focus. I joked to my fi ancé that I would make my entrance

on the prow of a boat, in full merman costume, belting Whit-ney Houston’s “I Have Nothing.”

“And during the bridge,” I said, “that’s when I throw myself onto the beach and fl op across the sand to your feet.”

I was kidding (at least sort of), and as things progressed, my comic stylings gave way to logistics. After all, there’s no point in pyrotechnics if your guests are stuck on the other side of town because the trans-portation never showed up.

Now I have a team behind me: Paula, the limo dispatcher; Muhammad, the bus coordina-tor, and John, the innkeeper/caterer. My attention has turned to baking 200 blondies to give as favors, and negotiating for half a case of Jack Daniels nips to hand out after the re-hearsal dinner.

Mia, a friend with an eye for details, chose the perfect moment to move back from California.

After arranging my seating chart, she said: “I’ve got all day. What else can we do?”

Half an hour and one foray for supplies later, the apartment was a veritable Santa’s work-

shop — if Santa was obsessed with monogramming things.

We stamped 100 gift bags with Chris and my initials, then 100 place cards, in a color that matched the invite, lightly enough so that the letters formed a background over which the names could be cal-ligraphed. I poured the wine

and watched Mia go. The girl is a stamping machine.

She did the C’s and I took charge of the P’s. The kitchen island was a fi eld of drying, inked items. Not since second-grade summer camp have I spent a hot afternoon immersed in a craft project. I have to say, I forgot what I was missing.

In that hour, Mia and I traded the news and gossip I’d longed for while she was away. I’d almost forgotten that, in the harried last days of wedding planning, there would be quiet moments with old friends.

That night at dinner, I was seated next to a glamorous bride-to-be who was until recently the rep for a major Champagne company. Her nups are in Ibiza, and the theme color is classic white. I pictured wait-ers in tails pouring bubbly with just the right Catalan lisp.

“Mine’s a little less formal,” I said. “I spent the day rubber-stamping place cards.”

“Stamps!” she said. “That’s what I need. I have everything reserved — the place, the food — that’s been booked for months. But now I need the details.”

“That means,” I said, “you’re getting to the fun part.”

SECOND QUARTER

PATRICK HUGUENIN

BY JI HYUN PARK AND LYNETTE PEREZ

For the second stop on our sum-mer tour, we hit up Brighton Beach for a seaside escape from the recent heat wave. Keep checking back to see how

locals and tourists alike are spending summer in the city.

nWHO: Classmates Ron Tureteky, 14; Ballamossa Kouroma, 14; Nellie Farrow, 14; Jamie Lovelace, 14, and Rosie Roben-

stein (r.), from the Computer School in the upper West Side. nWHY: A staff development day gave them a break from classes.

Not having to spend money on entrance fees at this public beach gave the kids more cash to buy fries and Icees from the popular Moscow Cafe.

After chowing down, the middle-schoolers spent the day tanning and rolling around in the warm sand. The crazy crowds didn’t scare the kids off. “It’s a very non-restrictive but safe beach,” says Nellie.

Travel early to score the coolest seats at this Brooklyn hot spotBrighton Beach

nWHO: Two friends from Harlem, Lynette Fortune, 31, with her son, and Danna Nock, 32, with her daugh-ters Asia, 3, and Mahogany, 13 (not pictured). nWHY: An easy train ride to a clean shoreline has Nock and her daughters heading to the beach nearly every other week.

This time, Nock brought her friend along on the

familiar ride to Brighton Beach to escape the scorch-ing heat. Brighton is “the cleanest and closest beach. It’s a nice place to be, plus it’s train-accessible,” says the registered dietitian.

Shaded by two umbrellas, Nock advises beachgoers to bring their own food and to stop by early.

“We came around noon, and it’s still crowded.”

SUMMER ’11

SNAPSHOT

Putting yourstamp on it

Planning a wedding is a big deal, but don’t forget the little things

40 Wednesday, June 15, 2011 DAILY NEWSNYDailyNews.com

Numbers following movie capsules are keyed to Manhattan theaters only.

BEGINNERS. — HHHH (R). Ewan McGregor is terrifi c as an artist grappling with commitment issues while thinking of his deceased father’s (a perfect Christopher Plummer) late-in-life coming out. Writer-director Mike Mills’ comedy-drama is fi lled with crises of identity, but underneath it all is a humane, intelligent movie that knows exactly what it is. 7, 14, 27, 31 —Joe Neumaier

BILL CUNNINGHAM NEW YORK. — HHH (NR). Though it feels padded at just 84 minutes, this gentle chronicle of the titular New York Times photographer offers a loving tribute to a local character. 5, 9 —Elizabeth Weitzman

BRIDE FLIGHT. — HHH (R). Three women and a young rancher, all traveling from Holland to New Zealand just after WWII, bond over shared secrets in this swoony melodrama. Bring some tissues. 21 —E.W.

BRIDESMAIDS. — HHH (R). Yes, it’s “The Hangover” for ladies. But as BFFs planning a wedding together, Kristen Wiig and Maya Rudolph make it more, with an all-too-rare honesty and a sassy rejection of “chick fl ick” clichés. Just watch out for the food poisoning scene, a sure sign Judd Apatow was involved. 5, 7, 11, 12, 13, 15, 18, 27, 35, 37 —E.W.

CAVE OF FORGOTTEN DREAMS. — HHHHH (NR). Werner Herzog’s amazing documentary look at millennia-old art inside France’s Chauvet Cave has an exquisite use of 3D, but the real knockout comes courtesy of the paleolithic artists who lived some 32,000 years ago and whose work was uncovered in 1994. 1, 5, 9, 35 —J.N.

EMPIRE OF SILVER. — HHH (NR). Though written too broadly to serve as the powerful allegorical tale intended, this historical epic about a 19th century Chinese family is just compelling enough to be taken on its own terms. 1, 14 —E.W.

EVERYTHING MUST GO. — HHH (R). Will Ferrell gets serious, with surprisingly impressive results, as an alcoholic undergoing a serious mid-life crisis. The script falls back on some indie clichés, but Ferrell makes it all worth watching. 6 —E.W.

FAST FIVE. — HHH (PG-13). Now this is how you make a popcorn movie. The whole gang’s back, with Vin Diesel’s big-hearted con planning a Brazilian heist, while FBI agent Dwayne Johnson tries to stop him. With nearly non-stop action, you’ll defi nitely get your money’s worth. 1, 12, 19, 28 —E.W.

THE FIRST GRADER. — HHH (PG). This drama about an octogenarian former revolutionary’s struggles to read by entering an elementary school has unexpected depth. As a former Mau Mau whose history of violence haunts him, Oliver Litando does much with glimmers of emotion and wells of dignity. 14 —J.N.

THE HANGOVER PART II. — HH (R). Todd Phillips’ sequel to the biggest R-rated comedy ever is as safely unoriginal as its title suggests. What happened in Vegas just moves to Bangkok. After a wild bachelor party, Ed Helms, Bradley Cooper, and Zach Galifi anakis wake up surrounded by chaos. There’s some fun to be had, but there should have been more. 7, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 18, 26, 27, 28, 29, 31, 33, 37 —E.W.

HESHER. — H (R). As a drifter who impacts a grieving father and son, Joseph Gordon-Levitt is a wild man of the subconscious, and that ain’t a good thing. The whole movie is bad company, full of hoary conceits and a self-consciously slip tone. Natalie Portman co-stars, in her fi fth movie in six months. 6 —J.N.

JUDY MOODY AND THE NOT BUMMER SUMMER. — HHHH (PG). The perfect summer adventure for girls ages 7 and up, from the bestselling book series. Third grader Judy (Jordana Beatty) partners with her brother, a pal and her artsy aunt to have a rockin’ vacation at home. Fun, good-hearted and witty, just like it’s heroine. 1, 12, 15, 18, 19, 27, 29, 37, 38 —J.N.

JUMPING THE BROOM. — HHH (PG-13). Likable date-night movie about the culture clash between very different African-American families gathered for a wedding. Angela Bassett and Loretta Devine lead the mostly solid cast, though Paula Patton and Laz Alonso make little impression as the bride and groom. 1, 19, 28 —E.W.

KUNG FU PANDA 2. — HHHH (PG). In this chop-socky CG action fl ick with heart, Jack Black again voices Po, the dumpling-eating martial arts-loving bear who now faces a new foe and a mystery from his past. Angelina Jolie again voices Tigress, and the fast, furious family fl ick is fi lled with iron-pawed battles and noble lessons. 1, 12, 15, 18, 19, 26, 27, 28, 29, 35, 37 —J.N.

MIDNIGHT IN PARIS. — HHHH (PG-13). Owen Wilson is a writer in France who fi nds himself transported to Jazz Age Paris in Woody Allen’s latest, a lighthearted, thoughtful comedy and the New York fi lmmaker’s most satisfying work since “Bullets Over Broadway.”

Rachel McAdams, Adrien Brody and Marion Cotillard co-star. 1, 2 , 7, 15, 25, 31, 34 —J.N.

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: ON STRANGER TIDES. — HH (PG-13). This bloated franchise has run aground, despite the spirited addition of Penelope Cruz as a pirate who enlists Jack Sparrow (a clearly bored Johnny Depp) in a search for the fountain of youth. 1, 12, 15, 18, 19, 26, 27, 28, 37 —E.W.

PRIEST. — HHH (PG-13). As a specially-trained priest battling vampires in a barren post-apocalyptic landscape, Paul Bettany is essentially a sun-bleached John Wayne in this remake of “The Searchers.” Cam Gigandet is the Jeffrey Hunter character, helping Bettany seek out his niece, who’s been kidnapped by a vamp/human hybrid (Karl Urban). In 3-D. 13 —J.N.

QUEEN OF THE SUN. — HHH (NR). Eye-opening documentary about Earth’s diminishing bee population, via the scientifi c theory known as “colony collapse disorder.” Some welcome history lessons, but the sting of reality over the past half-decade is alarming. 6 —J.N.

REJOICE AND SHOUT. — HHH (PG). This straightforward chronicle of gospel music has enough remarkable old performance footage to make the dry approach forgivable. 8 —E.W.

ROAD TO NOWHERE. — HHH (R). You’ll do best to accept the title of Monte Hellman’s latest as a promise, rather than a threat. Shannyn Sossaman stars as a femme fatale playing a

femme fatale in a movie directed by an obsessive in love with both the actress and her character. Confused? Just wait. 5 —E.W.

SOMETHING BORROWED. — H (PG-13). Wallfl ower Ginnifer Goodwin falls for Kate Hudson’s fi ancé with predictably cliched rom-com results. Take the title seriously — there’s nothing new here at all. 11, 13 —E.W.

SUBMARINE. — HHHH (R). A Welsh high-schooler deals with life, love and parents while hoping to lose his virginity. This quirky indie fi lm brings to mind “Rushmore,” “Gregory’s Girl” and “My Life as a Dog,” and like those movies it sinks or swims depending on its young cast. Good thing young Craig Roberts and Yasmine Paige are ready for their close-ups. 2, 27 —J.N.

SUPER 8. — HHH (PG-13). So much feels right about J.J. Abrams’ mystery-adventure that evokes classic ‘70s Steven Spielberg movies, it’s a shame more of it doesn’t connect. In 1979 Ohio, a group of kids making an amateur fl ick see a train wreck that unleashes a force on their small town. Soon, the Army swoops in, and the thrills arrive. Despite some great moments, Abrams can’t capture what made those old summer movies so special. 7, 12, 13, 15, 18, 19, 20, 26, 27, 28, 33, 34 —J.N.

THOR. — HH (PG-13). This Marvel Comics adaptation looks cool, but

contains very little thunder. Chris Hemsworth is the titular hero, a Norse god banished to Earth, where he meets a cute astrophysicist (Natalie Portman) and gains humility before battling his evil stepbrother (Tom Hiddleston). Though it has moments of grace and good effects, this warm-weather costume saga is a disappointment. 1, 19, 26, 28 —J.N.

THE TREE OF LIFE. — HHHH (PG-13). Terrence Malick’s epic drama about the creation of the cosmos, family dynamics in the 1950s and the human need for nature and divinity fi lls too many of its moments with light-show epiphanies and yes-we-get-it philosophies, but its nonetheless one of the most thoughtful, moving and gorgeous fi lms in a long time. With Brad Pitt and Sean Penn. 1, 10, 25, 35, 39 —J.N.

THE TRIP. — HHHH (NR). As smart as it is side-splittingly funny, Michael Winterbottom’s improvised mockumentary stars Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon as themselves. Together, the two best friends wander the English countryside, determined to outdo each other in every way imaginable. 9, 25 —E.W.

TROLL HUNTER. — H (PG-13). “Missing footage” relates how two teens grapple with a giant three-headed troll in this dopey, Monty Python-esque version of “The Blair Witch Project,” by way of Norway. With English subtitles, but really silly in any language. 5 —J.N.

VIVA RIVA! — HH (R). A Congolese criminal returns to his hometown in this crime drama that initially feels like a slice of dangerous life before its tense atmosphere becomes derivative of the duller scenes in other gangster fl icks. 2 —J.N.

WIN WIN. — HHHH (R). Writer-director Tom McCarthy’s comedy-drama about a Jersey guy (Paul Giamatti) who changes

his attitude, thanks to a new grappler on the high school wrestling team he coaches, is satisfyingly grown-up. With Bobby Cannavale and newcomer Alex Shaffer. 2 —J.N.

X-MEN: FIRST CLASS. — HHH (PG-13). Matthew

Vaughn’s origins prequel is so expansive you’ll leave feeling you got your money’s worth. Plus, James McAvoy and Kevin Bacon are terrifi c as the young Xavier and his mutant nemesis. But ultimately, all the fl ashiness distracts from a nagging lack of depth. 1, 7, 12, 15, 18, 19, 26, 27, 28, 29, 37, 38 —E.W.

Journeymen: Steve Coogan (r.) and Rob Brydon are on “The Trip.”

SO FRESH. Grab your reusable bag and head to the kickoff of the New York Botanical Garden’s Greenmarket. Every Wednesday through Nov. 23, it’ll feature locally grown produce and baked goods, as well as cooking demonstrations. 9 a.m.-3 p.m. 2900 Southern Blvd., Bronx.

THEATER WORTH CZECH-ING OUT. “Hitchhikers” and “Metamorphoses,” recently discovered short plays by Czech playwright Vaclav Havel, will be brought to the stage for the fi rst time. The story follows two elderly ladies in search of adventure. 7 p.m. Free. Bohe-mian National Theater, 321 E. 73rd St. Manhattan. (646) 422-3344.

A GAY OL’ TIME. The annual Gay Pride Readings return this year featuring au-

thors Howard Cruse, Steven Haas and David Pratt. 7 p.m. Free. Housing Works Bookstore Cafe. 126 Crosby St. (212) 334-3324.

AN ANTHEM WORTH SINGING ABOUT. Join the Low Anthe, a mellow folk band, as they make a stop to promote their latest album, “Smart Flesh.” Doors open at 8 p.m. $15. Music Hall of Williamsburg. 66 N. Sixth St. (718) 643-6510.

TRES FRENCH. Elaine Sciolino gives read-ers a peek into the Gallic psyche with her newest book, “La Seduction: How the French Play the Game of Life.” She explores everything from the neighbor-hood shops of Paris to the gardens of Versailles. 7–8 p.m. Free. Strand Book-store. 828 Broadway. (212) 473-1452.

PLAYTIME FOR TOTS. Children are invit-ed to grab an instrument and sing along at the weekly Jam Sessions at Mini Max Toys & Cuts in Brooklyn. 10-10:30 a.m. Free. 152 Atlantic Ave. (718) 222-8697.

HER LIFE’S AN OPEN BOOK. See Oscar winner Tatum O’Neal sign copies of her memoir, “Found: A Daughter’s Journey Home.” This latest novel is a continua-tion of her New York Times best seller, “A Paper Life.” 7 p.m. Free. Borders, 10 Columbus Circle. (212) 823-9775.

GIVE HIS REGARDS TO BROAD-WAY. Tom Smith will perform “Broadway & Nightclub Songs of New York.” His show will celebrate

legendary composers and entertainers, such as George M. Cohan, Al Jolson, Ir-ving Berlin and Bobby Darin. 2 p.m. Free. Douglaston/Little Neck Library, 249-01 Northern Blvd., Queens. (718) 225-8414.

‘WILD WEDNESDAYS.’ Get going on this family-based outdoor adventure where gardeners and educators will lead bug hunts. 4-6 p.m. Free. High Line, W. 16th St. and 10th Ave. (212) 206-9922.

TIME TO STEP IT UP. Put on your dancing shoes and learn “English Country Dancing” where you’ll be able to learn the steps from the courts of England and Colonial America. 7-9 p.m. $5. Third County Courthouse, 441 Clark Ave., Staten Island. (718) 351-1611.

Catherine McAloon, Lisa Gomez and Lindsey Thomas

Tatum O’Neal is booked for Borders.

Enjoy more NYC with a daily look at where to go and what to do – close to home and around the city.

MOVIE LISTINGS START ON PG. 42

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