1.Tell us about your wedding! What was the inspiration behind your day? Did you have a specific theme, style or color palette? Did you incorporate any cultural or religious traditions in any part of your day?

I was always torn between an elegant and a rustic wedding. Our original venue, before the pandemic hit, was to be Terrain. Thankfully my sister and her fiancé offered their beautiful home & backyard as a replacement venue. We used their gorgeous black and white checkered floor as our starting point. With the addition of natural wood, greenery and fall florals we were able to achieve an elegant yet somewhat rustic feel that suited us perfectly.

2. Let's talk wedding decor. How did you decorate your space for the ceremony and the reception? Was any part of the decor DIY?

There were a lot of DIY elements to our decor, the biggest of which were the wooden folding room dividers we used as a backdrop for both the ceremony as well as our sweetheart table. We also designed and hand assembled the personalized menus, and my wonderful cousin made our delicious cake for us!

3. What were the florals like in your wedding? Did you use flowers in any of your design elements like the bridal bouquets, centerpieces or ceremony backdrop? Did they play an important part in the overall style of your wedding?

The flowers were beautifully done by Gardenias Florals in Metuchen. It included lots of textures with white, sepia tones, and fall colors in addition to a whimsical touch of mushrooms.

4. Did you personalize the day in any way (food trucks, guest entertainment etc.)? What were some of your favorite parts of your wedding?

Our menu consisted of a variety of pizzas, both savory and sweet, from New World Pizzas catering food truck as well as a pot luck buffet including some of our families best party dishes! Entertainment came curtesy of Daniel Arbelaez of Rollout DJ Productions, we were dancing all night!!

5. Let's talk fashion. How did you both choose your wedding day look? Describe the looks in detail.

The dress I fell in love with was nothing like what I’d originally imagined. I started out looking for an all over lace, bustier top and a-line skirt... instead I ended up with an elegant strapless number including delicate folds on the bust, a ball gown skirt with a dramatic train, a large off centered bow at my waist and not a bit of lace in sight. I kept my hair down with glamorous curls tucked behind my ears and accentuated with scattered pearl pins holding my veil in place and matching back to my contemporary pearl hoops. My husband opted for an all black outfit; a tux with satin details throughout and accessories which we rented from The Black Tux, I must say he cleaned up VERY nicely!

6. How did you meet? Tell us about the proposal.

We are lucky enough to call each other high school sweethearts! We started spending time together in the summer leading up to junior year and the rest is history. We have been together over 10 years now, waiting to marry once we finished school and were settled in our jobs. He finally popped the question at Longwood Gardens in PA September 6th 2019. The where and how was meant to be a surprise but as hard as he tried (he’s terrible at keeping such secrets) I knew what was coming. To his credit it is hard to hide such plans when we picked the ring together! Even so, after 10 years together, he was somehow still nervous... it was adorable!

7. What was the most anticipated or special moment of your wedding day?

Our first dance. Let me start off by saying he is far from a professional dancer... imagine Kevin James as Albert in Hitch before he’s given lessons (I kid you not). Thankfully we had our own personal dance instructor in the bridal party! Our friend helped us choreograph a dance to a mashup of Parallel Lines by Keith Urban and You’re Still The One by Shania Twain created by Louie Nocito. Despite his lack of dancing experience, I was the one to mess up our dramatic lift. We did not have a chance to practice underneath the DIY twinkle light roof over the dance floor so I panicked at the last second thinking I’d get caught and bring it all down with me. Nevertheless it was perfect in the end as it provided us a good laugh!

8. Do you have any wedding planning or marriage advice that you'd like to share with other couples planning their day?

Believe me when I say I understand the urge to want every single detail to be perfect and go off without a hitch. However, keep in mind that all you can do is your best to plan ahead with a back up or two in place for the important parts. Once you’ve planned what you can, ENJOY THE DAY hiccups and all. Eat, drink, have fun! Don’t cry if you spill red wine on your white after party jumpsuit, just shrug it off and keep on dancing cause you just married the love of your life and that’s all that matters in the end!!