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?
September 26th, 2021 was the most perfect day! For our wedding, we wanted a waterfront venue that gave clean and modern vibes with amazing food. We did not have a specific theme, but wanted to keep everything simple and natural. The colors we focused on were blues for the bridal parties with little pops of fall colors. The bridesmaids we picked out Steel Blue for dresses, silver for shoes, and their bouquets were a beautiful fall mix of pink, burgundy, dark orange, and white. The groomsmen wore Navy suits, dark brown shoes, and pair them with burgundy ties and burgundy boutonnieres. For the venue, we loved how sleek and beautiful it was with the large windows showing the Navesink River, so we kept décor minimal, wooden accents and flowers White/ Green and little pops of light pink. Steven and I are not super traditional but we did want to add a very special detail to our wedding to acknowledge and incorporate Steve's Mom, who has passed, into our special day. We added the releasing of Doves into our ceremony to let her know we are thinking of her and know she is looking down from Heaven watching our special day.
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?
The ceremony took place in a grassy area next to the water. To decorate, we kept it simple and let nature be present. There was a cathedral shaped arch, which white and light pink flowers on each side to match our flowers in the reception. We had a dark stained wooden sign with our names and wedding date, and then there were Dove's in a white basket for the release, and a few white cages with flowers to match the bridesmaids bouquets and our bridal party, that had Dove's also in them. The flower "woman" released white rose petals for my entrance down the aisle. Outside our Reception continued with our dark stained wooden sign, a beautiful Wooden Seating chart with Cards to match the colors of the bridesmaids, a table filled with loved ones who could not be here with us, and my favorite Guest "book" where everyone filled out a wooden leaf and dropped it in our circle frame to build our new "Family Tree." Inside our reception our table centerpieces were white flowers with little pops of light pink. Votive candles dressed around the centerpiece with dark stained wooded table numbers. We did include a menu in the napkins, which matched our invitations and the colors of the bridesmaids bouquets and our bridal party.
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?
For florals, I did a mix of real and for the bridal parties, we did sola wood flowers! I love floral and I wanted to do a mix of colors but not for everything. I kept it fun and fall for the bridal parties with burgundy, orange, pink, and white bouquets. The groomsmen wore a sola wood burgundy rose. For myself and Steven, I had a sola wood white bouquet and he had a white sola wood rose. These bouquets were so beautiful, looked so real, and we can keep them forever!For the wedding décor, I wanted to do real flowers but I wanted to keep everything light to match the venue and the beautiful views. The centerpieces, the sweetheart table, and the card table all had a mix of different white flowers, light pink flowers, and greenery.
4. Did you personalize the day in any way (food trucks, guest entertainment etc.)? What were some of your favorite parts of your wedding?
For our wedding entertainment, I was so lucky to have my friend from High School MC our wedding! He made the day so much fun and made sure it incorporate all types of music to reach everyone but he made sure to throw in fun group activities that got everyone out of their seats! Not many people were sitting the whole night! We also had a super fun photo both where after everyone took a photo, they also added it into a photo album and wrote a personal message for us to read later. For the later part of the dancing, we added in Foam Party Lights for everyone to dance with and it was such a great addition to dance with.
5. Let's talk fashion. How did you both choose your wedding day look? Describe the looks in detail.
I love sparkle and design. I knew I did not want a plain dress and wanted something with lace and/or sparkle. Lucky enough, I found just that. My dress was stunning, champagne with lace and sparkler on top. The bodice was slightly corset with a sweetheart shape. It included beaded straps that branched off two ways on my back. I felt like a princess and a bride. The details and layers were beyond beautiful. I matched it with a simple veil that included similar lace detail around the edges. For jewelry, I had two things "something borrowed and something new." These were earrings from one of my bridesmaids who wore them for her wedding and then I was given Steven's Moms tennis bracelet to wear a piece of her on our special day. My shoes were super comfortable and so pretty! I do not love heals and wanted more support and comfort. I went with a sparkly gold chunk wedge sandal that had jewels around the ankle and over the toes. There was a garter that was in Steel Blue to match the bridesmaids with very unique jewel design. My hair had extensions for more length and volume as I wanted a little poof but hair down. We did a braid on one side to the back of my hair and a twist on the other. The rest of my hair was down and curled. Makeup I wanted natural tones as I do not often wear makeup. We kept everything neutral with light browns and a little shimmer on the eye lid! My lip was my favorite nude matte.
6. How did you meet? Tell us about the proposal.
Steven and I met back in 2010! We went to different high schools but had mutual friends. Steven made the first move to get to know me and I took the bait. We started talking and he quickly asked me to his Senior Prom. I was a little hesitant since I had just met him, but I of course said yes. From there, we became best friends and that led us to the proposal 9 years later! On June 9, 2019 Steven had set up a beautiful dinner date at the Liberty house in Jersey City, with not just me but with my two best friends. He thought it would be fun for all of us to walk through the park and enjoy the views and dinner. We showed up early so the girls could "take pictures" by the water. On the way to our photo location, he dropped down on one knee and my two best friends were ready with their cameras to record the moment. It was the perfect day!
7. What was the most anticipated or special moment of your wedding day?
The most anticipated and special moment was our first look. We both wanted a moment together to react and spend time together once seeing each other on that day. We met each other on the docks and our friends and family watched from our suites balcony. Steven and I both had our hearts racing and immediately cried seeing each other. It was a beautiful emotional moment that we were able to spend with each other. Next to that was of course the ceremony. Even though we had already seen each other, we were both so emotional walking down the aisle as well as listening and taking in everything our Minister was speaking. Just thinking about these two moments just warms my heart as I am reminded of all the love and emotion that was our day.
8. Do you have any wedding planning or marriage advice that you'd like to share with other couples planning their day?
For those brides planning their day, take your time! I was a "Covid bride" having to reschedule. I think back to the additional time I now had to plan and not rush. One year to plan does seem like a lot but there is a lot of life that gets in the way and can make it stressful. Even though I had my vendors, there is a lot of other planning involved that you don't realize. I have heard from a lot of other brides "I can't wait for this to be over already." Instead, with the extra time, I enjoyed my process, I took the reschedule as a blessing. When you are planning to be with someone forever, there is no rush to get to the big day. Enjoy every moment shared together planning and all the fun activities and events that come with it.
Event Venue: The Oyster Point Hotel
Dress Store: Seng Couture
Floral Designer: Cascade Queen
Officiant: Mitch Maged, Mitch the Minister
Makeup Artist: Make Me Up Eva
Transportation: Long Branch Trolley Company