Alyssa and Steve at Rock Island Lake Club

Posted on December 29, 2022 by New Jersey Bride

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How did you meet?
Steve and I met May 29th, 2011. We were both studying abroad through the “Engineering a New Tomorrow” short-term program traveling through Central America. The night that we met we were in port in Colon, Panama and went with a group of friends to a Lebanese restaurant where we got Hawaiian pizza. From there we were glued together for the rest of the trip. When we returned home two and a half weeks later Steve asked me to continue our relationship and the rest was history.

How did you get engaged?
In April of 2013, I told Steve that when it was time for us to get engaged I wanted to help pick out the ring and I wanted him to propose in Greece. At the beginning of 2020, we decided we were ready to make this happen. I picked out a ring and we booked a trip sailing around Greece for July 2020. We were obviously unable to do that. Getting antsy and needing a break we booked a week away at Greenwood Lake. When Steve was packing up the car I checked his hiding spot to make sure the ring wasn’t there. When we got to the Airbnb I checked his luggage to make sure the ring was packed. In October of 2020, Steve proposed on a dock on Greenwood Lake as the sun set over the mountains.

Details of the day!
Going into it my husband and I knew that we wanted to embrace color. We were on the same page about having a bright, happy, summery, aesthetic. Our florals came in different shades of oranges, pinks, and blues. For our centerpieces, we ditched traditional florals and had oranges (the fruit) dispersed within garlands of mixed greenery. My bridesmaids wore the colors: papaya, tangerine, sunset, coral, and watermelon from Azazie. The groomsmen wore light gray suits with a pink ties. My husband wore a beautiful vibrant blue suit with a watercolor liner. I had lines of clear beading in the bodice of my dress replaced with velvet ribbon to match my bridesmaids. I purchased a veil that was custom dyed with an orange-to-pink ombre at the end. We tried to infuse as many small details as we could to show our personalities. We had golden dinosaur figurines dressed as a bride and groom for our cake topper. We had three-foot-tall cardboard cutouts of our cats on display beside our escort card display. We made our signature drinks puns of our names: The Katz Meow, The Good Stuff, and El Bueno Libre. We had a lot of fun picking music for our ceremony. The groomsmen and my husband with his parents walked to the Jurassic Park Theme Song performed by Vitamin String Quartet. My bridesmaids walked to Rainbow Connection performed by Vitamin String Quartet. I’m a big fan of musicals so I walked down the aisle to a piano version of All I Ask of You from Phantom of the Opera, which I personally find to be the most romantic song in musical theater. We exited the ceremony to the Cantina Bar song from Star Wars performed by Vitamin String Quartet. We made a playlist for our cocktail hour with instrumental versions of theme songs and soundtracks from our various interests. We had violin covers of video games like Halo, credit scene music from shows like Avatar the last Air Bender, and violin covers of musicals like Rent.

Why did you choose your venue?
I knew that I didn’t want a traditional ballroom, that I didn’t want anything too rustic, that I wanted to be married by the water, and that we wanted something all-inclusive. Rock Island checked all of these boxes for us. The venue is absolutely beautiful and the staff does such a great job making sure that everything goes according to your vision. An added bonus was the enormous selection of food we were able to provide our guests. My family keeps kosher so I knew that we were going to need plenty of vegetarian and fish options for them to eat. With the size of the menu, we were still able to include plenty of meat options for everyone as well.

What was on your menu?
At the cocktail hour we served: Passed hors d’oeuvres: -buttermilk chicken & waffles -smoked chicken arepa with cojita and guacamole -Japanese style tuna tartare taco -baby brie, strawberry bites with strawberry maple sauce -wild mushroom ravioli with truffle mushroom sauce -crispy risotto bites with marinara and parmesan -mini beef wellington, garlic whipped potatoes & frizzled onions

Cast Iron Fillers: -penne alla vodka -four-cheese mac ‘n’ cheese -braised short ribs

Live Stations: -Nonna’s Kitchen (an Italian food station) -NYC Food Cart (a Middle Eastern food station) -La Cantina (a taco station) Butcher Blocks: -breast of duck -brie en croute

During the reception, we started with a strawberry fields salad. Entree options were filet mignon with bordelaise sauce, asparagus, and mashed potatoes, or French cut chicken with roasted red peppers, tomato, garlic, and artichoke hearts in a white wine sauce served with wild rice pilaf & broccolini, or brown sugar mustard glazed panko crusted salmon with passionfruit sauce over couscous and haricot verts, or vegan spaghetti squash with sautéed shitake mushrooms and tomatoes, or braised bone-in lamb shank with creamy polenta, roasted asparagus, and a port demi sauce. For dessert, we had a Viennese-style dessert display lounge with an ice cream sundae bar, a fire pit with a s’mores station, and our chocolate truffle raspberry and French cream raspberry cake!

All about your gown!
I always knew that I wanted a large tulle skirt with no beading or bling. I ended up finding a dress that fit this description while also having so much more. The skirt had a layer of glitter tulle which gave it a subtle sparkle. The extremely long train had a line of buttons going all the way down. It fit me beautifully. The only issue I had with it was the three lines of crystal beading that almost stopped me from trying it on altogether. When the attendant said that I could replace that with plain ribbon I knew immediately that this could be where I added color to my look and I loved it even more.

What was your favorite moment?
It is incredibly hard to come up with one singular moment that truly stands out. I really loved exchanging vows and dancing with my mom. I also enjoyed the whole time we got to spend on the dance floor. We had dance parties the whole time we were getting ready at the venue. My photographer made photo-taking an incredibly fun experience. Really I think that moment as the ceremony ends and you walk off and you get to truly relax into the evening I think is one of the best.

One detail you couldn’t live without?
We tried to incorporate details to represent family members who have passed. I wore my Nauna’s (grandmother’s) necklace. I wore blue butterfly stud earrings to represent my Bubbe (grandmother). At our ceremony, we were wrapped in my Zeyde’s (grandfather’s) tallis (Jewish prayer shawl) and drank from his kiddish cup (Jewish wine goblet). We had a pillow with us made from my husband’s grandmother’s wedding dress. During the cocktail hour, we displayed old wedding photos of our parents, grandparents, and Steve’s brother and sister-in-law. It was also important to me that at the end of the Jewish ceremony we would both step on the glass and not just my husband. To make it even more unique, instead of stepping on an actual glass, we had the venue secretly wrap a couple of hard-shelled tacos into a napkin and I stepped on that.

Did anything go wrong?
There was one very big that went wrong. Two days before the wedding we’re driving home and I’m thinking to myself “Wow, everything is coming together perfectly. The weather looks like it’s going to be beautiful. I have nothing left to do. I’m not stressed at all.” At that moment my mom called me and informed me that my dad had tested positive for covid. We were absolutely devastated. We all thought that he wouldn’t be able to attend at all. We brainstormed and I reached out to my venue and all of my vendors to see what could be worked out. Eventually, we had it so that my dad stayed masked, outside of the venue, distanced from everyone. The only time he got close was to walk me down the aisle with my mom. The cocktail hour was both indoor and outdoor, so we were able to have food brought to him there and he was able to socialize with friends and family. He wasn’t able to join the indoor reception. At this point, I was just so relieved that he was able to be there at all. My mom was introduced to the reception with my in-laws so she wouldn’t be introduced alone. She danced with me for the father/daughter dance. We had kept the song and the fact that we were going to switch songs halfway through a secret to surprise her. Her smile when she recognized “Forever” by The Beach Boys and then “You’ve Got a Friend in Me” by Randy Newman lit up the whole dance floor. We plan on all watching the video together when it’s ready and eating leftover cake that is currently in my parent’s freezer. We may get dressed up again and take a few more family photos with everyone included this time.

First dance song?
Here, There, and Everywhere by The Beatles.

Any advice for future brides?
Quarantine before your wedding. Have your immediate family quarantine as well. Also, make the wedding as personal as possible. Everyone really enjoyed our personal touches.

Honeymoon Location?
We plan on going on a river cruise through Cambodia and Vietnam. We will then stop for a few days in the city in Vietnam where my father-in-law served during the Vietnam War. We’ll end our trip with a few days in Singapore.