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?
Our wedding from start to finish was everything we dreamed it would be! We decided early on after we were engaged to have a wedding in December because we both love Christmas time and the memories it brings back and why not add another special memory! We had a full mass ceremony at St. Michael's Catholic Church in Netcong, NJ. We didn't so much have a theme, more words that we wanted to describe our wedding, timeless and classic. Our bridal party and close family wore all black and our flowers were all white with some winter greenery. It looked amazing! It was also a week before Christmas so we added touches of Christmas around the venue.
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?
One of the best parts of David's Country Inn is that the venue itself is absolutely stunning. We added another Christmas tree for guests to sign ornaments for us, candles and pictures of our loved ones that are no longer with us and our engagement pictures. My mom helped me make signs on glass frames for around the venue and my grandmother hand wrote out all of the guests names and table numbers on ornaments for the guests to bring home and hang on their tree.
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?
Our flowers were everything at our wedding at both the church and venue! We both love flowers and knew that the floral arrangements would be a huge part of our overall style and decor of the wedding.The church was already decorated for the third Sunday of Advent and the alter was covered with red, pink, and white poinsettias. For everything else flowers we worked with Elise at Calico Country Flowers and truly amazing to work with! She sat with us to go over every detail of our day. We went with all white floral arrangements with hints of winter greenery. It was stunning! My bouquet we personalized with white peonies and ranunculus. Travis's boutonniere was the only one that had a ranunculus as well, which was a cute way to keep our flowers different.
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 entire day was thought out and personalized to exactly what Travis and I pictured our day would be! Our signature drinks were named after our two cats, Moose and Cheddar. The art teacher at my school painted them on frames to be displayed at the bar. We had pizza at our after party. A friend of mine said someone asked her how our wedding was and she said, "it was Travis and Chelsea in wedding form" and that made us so happy because we really did try to make the day special. Our favorite part of the wedding was hands down dancing with our guests. Travis and I love to dance, and we danced the night away!
5. Let's talk fashion. How did you both choose your wedding day look? Describe the looks in detail.
Travis did not know it at the time, but we both went for very timeless and classic looks on our wedding day. Travis loves men's fashion and knew right away that he wanted a black tux with a black bow tie, and all of the groomsmen and fathers to match. It looked amazing! My dress was an A line satin dress with a deep v neckline. I had a long plain vail that I wore low in my hair for the ceremony and switched to a fun embellished headpiece for the reception. It was the fourth dress I tried on and something I did not think I wanted, but I definitely got the feeling that it was the one I was going to marry Travis in.
7. How did you meet? Tell us about the proposal.
Travis and I met online, I swiped right first and he message back with "hey there :-)". We connected instantly texting back and forth for a couple of days and then went on our first date for pizza and craft beer. Flash forward two years and we were vacationing in my happy place, Long Beach Island, NJ and I went for a walk with my best friend and Travis called and said he was down at the beach and to come when we got back. I walked over the dune and started making my way to the crest of the water when I heard music. Travis had set up a blanket with flowers, lanterns, pillows, and champagne. I instantly started to cry and he got down on one knee. He kept it short, he said "I know LBI is your happy place and I want to spend the rest of my life making you happy. Will you marry me?" After a slight pause because I was so emotional, I said "Yes!" We celebrated by having champagne and going out dancing that night. It was an amazing day!
8. What was the most anticipated or special moment of your wedding day?
Definitely our first look! Travis and I are both emotional in our own way and we wanted to try and get ahead of our nerves and excitement so we decided to have a first look. We picked out an absolutely stunning room at David's Country Inn with a Christmas tree and fire place as our background. It was such a special moment having just the two of us, with our amazing photographer present of course.
9. Do you have any wedding planning or marriage advice that you'd like to share with other couples planning their day?
Our best advice that we can give and something we reminded ourselves throughout planning is to make sure not to lose sight of why you are planning the day and make it your own. Wedding planning can become stressful, especially with family weighing in, but at the end of the day it is you and your significant others day, so make it your own and know that it is your love for each other that will bring everyone together.
Vendors:
Hair Stylist: Gianna Giacona Hair and Makeup Artistry
Cake Designer: Palermo’s Custom Cakes & Bakery
Floral Designer: Calico Country Flowers
Reception Venue: David’s Country Inn
Photographer: Laurel Creative