How did you meet? Matthew and I met at Penn State University in Fall 2011. I was starting as a freshman and he was a senior. I had a bit of a crush on him but I didn’t think he would ever go for me since I was so young! One thing led to another and I found out that he too had a crush on me! We started talking and eventually exchanged numbers. We started dating February 3, 2012 which is also the same weekend he met my parents since they were hosting a bevy of Penn Staters for our canning fundraiser for THON.
How did you get engaged? The night before Matt proposed to me, there was a holiday party in NYC for Matt’s brother’s old employer. Later that night, we were heading back on the LIRR to Matt’s hometown of Garden City when I noticed that the car we were in had rings plastered everywhere! I then commented on how I think we will be getting engaged soon and Matt throws her off saying that it won’t happen for at least a year. I was not happy to hear this since Matt was acting strange and I thought for sure he was going to pop the question! The next day, December 11, 2016, Matt had planned an outing. Brunch at our favorite place in the city, snap a few photos at the tree in Rockefeller Center, then head home. I was still furious about the night before and was thinking the whole time that I should look like a slob to annoy Matt! Thankfully I decided against that. I was getting ready, curling my hair and what not when I noticed while Matt was getting ready that he wanted to look his best. I did not catch on at all and thought he just wanted to look nice in the pictures at the tree!
While we were in the city, Matt kept trying to apologize and I slowly warmed back up to him. While we were at the tree, Matt decided to surprise me and go to Central Park, a spot where we took one of our first photos together. Matt did not miss a beat. He wasn’t nervous at all and kept his cool. I on the other hand, was still a little upset since I thought for sure that would be the day Matt proposed. Matt took me on top of the tallest rock in Central Park, snapped a quick selfie, and Matt got quiet. He grabbed my hand and said he was really sorry that I was upset and hurt and he wanted to let me know that he was lying the whole time. I was very confused until he dropped on one knee and asked me to marry him. I was crying profusely and didn’t say yes, I said “of course!” Matt then surprised me with having her entire family and his family at a bar in the city to celebrate. It was the most unforgettable day of their life thus far.
Details of the day! Our wedding day started with a Catholic ceremony. We got married at the same church my grandmother and my parents got married in. It was very special to have that tradition carry on after so many years and countless happy memories. Following the ceremony, we had our reception at the Westmount Country Club. Funny enough, my parents wanted to have their wedding reception here 26 years ago, but it did not work out. Our reception for them was fulfilling their wedding dreams too! We were so happy with our choice in venue. Not a napkin was out of place and our guest could not stop raving about the food, music, decor, flowers and my gown! While we did not have a theme, we wanted to evoke the feeling of being at an exclusive event. Our welcome sign was a brain child that I had come up with since I was so tired of seeing canvas welcome signs. I had the idea of getting a large mirror and having our names etched on it! That was a cool piece to have and a lot of our guests took photos with it! We had hired an accordion player for cocktail hour, had a man hand pulling fresh mozzarella for our guests and our flowers were ivory and pale pink. We had a live band for the reception which also happened to be my uncle. He played all of our favorites and then some! We danced all night and the best part about my dress was the fact that I could easily move around in it! My husband and I love to party and our wedding was just that, a big party celebrating us!
Why did you choose your venue? We picked the Westmount because the decor was just jaw dropping. It was classy, modern and stylish. Just like us! We loved that they specialized in Italian food. Coming from a big Italian family who is in the catering business, it was important that our food was stellar. They absolutely blew us as well as our guests away with the presentation and outstanding food.
What was on your menu? Our wedding menu was classic. Our guest had a sit down five course meal which included a pasta dish, a salad dish, a lemon sorbet to cleanse the palate, then a choice of chicken, prime rib, eggplant parmiggiana and salmon. Our cocktail hour menu had everything from fried zucchini flowers to hand pulled mozzarella and even an Asian station!
All about your gown! I have always dreamed of being a Pnina bride. Naturally when it was my time to shine, the first thing I did was look at the trunk show schedule. Luckily, I was able to go on the very last day of Pnina’s show to look at gowns. My consultant, Lisa, was incredible! She knew exactly what I was looking for and when she picked this gown for me to try, it was love at first sight. My gown is from the 2018 LOVE collection and had just the right amount of bling and accentuated my figure perfectly. The dress looked like it was made for me! I knew my husband to be would love it. At that moment, Pnina was there to ask me the very important question and I said yes! I was surrounded by my mom, dad, and my grandma and we were all overjoyed! We even took a video of that moment. Even now, I am sad my wedding is over because I want to wear my dress again!
What was your favorite moment?
One detail you couldn’t live without? My husband might disagree with me on this one but I think we could not live without our custom monogram created by Anna Soiree. It really personalized the venue and made it our own! We had it on our invitations, our menus and even place cards!
Did anything go wrong? Yes! We had arranged for a 1968 Rolls to be our get away car. But being that it was 100 degrees, it broke down. When we got a replacement, that too broke down! In the end we still got to ride in it and also got fabulous photos. Shout out to Barry for making it all work out!! We were so grateful!
First dance song? “The One” by Kodaline
Any advice for future brides? Don’t sweat the small stuff. If you are over thinking something, just take a step back and remember what this day is about. No one will notice if the flowers are wrong or if the programs are not right. Your guests are focused on you and most of them wont even care!
Honeymoon Location? We went to Hawaii!! We saw Maui and Kauai and had a blast. We saw waterfalls, swam with sea turtles, hiked and relaxed. It was paradise and totally worth the long plane ride!
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