A ‘Jersey Shore in 1969’ Theme, a Rainbow Cookie Cake & a Shore Club DJ at Cross & Orange in Asbury Park

Cross & Orange

When Shelby and Danny chose Cross & Orange in Asbury Park for their August 29, 2026 reception, they weren’t looking for a traditional wedding dinner—they wanted a party, with a constant flow of amazing food and drinks and a dance floor that never emptied. Their theme was “the Jersey Shore in 1969,” and they leaned into a rom-com vibe with a church ceremony at the Church of the Precious Blood in Monmouth Beach, matching bridesmaids with vintage gloves from France, cans on the back of the car, a cheesy cake topper and a welcome party at the Silverball Vintage Arcade on the boardwalk. Their cake was a towering Italian rainbow cookie, their invitations were hand-painted by Shelby herself, and their DJ was given one instruction: make it sound like a Jersey Shore club. He delivered. The night ended exactly as it should have—Shelby and Danny walking into Johnny Mac’s, still in their wedding clothes.

Their Story

“No one ever believes our story is real. We met on Danny’s brothers bachelor party in Tampa. After hitting it off the night before, I surprised him at the airport. Three days later, I was up visiting him at his house on the shore and basically never left. As close to love at first sight as you can get!”

The Proposal

“From the first week we met, he said we would spend the rest of our lives together. He proposed at our spot in Hartshorne woods overlooking the water, and then surprised me by renting out our neighborhood italian restaurant, Porcini, and flying my family up. Ring is an Ethiopian emerald, designed by Danny with our family jeweler.”

Choosing the Venue

“We chose Cross & Orange because of the amazing food and their cocktail style reception! Instead of breaking up the night with a dinner and having to worry about place settings, we really wanted everyone to focus on partying. The constant flow of food and drinks was much more our style.”

Details of the Day

“The theme of our wedding was ‘imagine the Jersey Shore in 1969.’ Every tradition and corny trope you could think of, we did. From a church wedding, to matching bridesmaids with gloves, to cans on the back of the car, to a cheesy cake topper, to “just married” signs, we had a blast leaning into the rom-com stereotypes of the day.”

The couple had their welcome party in the Silverball Vintage Arcade on the boardwalk, went to Johnny Mac’s after their wedding in their wedding clothes, and their wedding cake was a giant Italian Rainbow cookie stacked in layers made by Del Ponte’s bakery.

Favorite Moment

“Besides the ceremony at our church, my favorite part was hands down the music. The dance floor was full all night because we didn’t hire a wedding DJ- we hired the DJ from Porta and said ‘we want our wedding to sound like a Jersey Shore club’ and he knocked it out of the park. Looking around at all the things I thrifted also made me happy.”

Wedding Day Attire

Shleby’s wedding dress was custom from Piondress, an homage to the her background as a ballerina and to her mothers, grandmothers and Danny’s grandmothers 50s style wedding dresses. Her veil was her mother’s. Daniel’s tux was custom from Duru in Shrewsbury. His Rolex was a gift from the bride. The bridesmaids wore vintage gloves from France.

Advice For Other Couples

“Treat each step as a meditation on your future life together. Make everything a ‘moment’: drop off the invitations at the post office together, take time to get a drink and celebrate after you choose your venue, etc. It is a representation of you two and your love alone, so don’t worry about what anyone else wants.”