Real Weddings
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Bianca and Jason at Mallard Island Yacht Club

Posted on October 04, 2017 by New Jersey Bride

Bianca-Jason-Mallard-Island-Real-Wedding Your story: Jason and I met in high school. Despite growing up in the same small town it took a school trip to Italy for the two of us to meet. I was a sophomore and Jason was a junior. After that trip we became good friends, and in July of 2005, Jason asked me to be his girlfriend. And the rest is pretty much history. We dated through high school, college, medical school/law school, and finally almost 12 years later we tied the knot. Bianca-Jason-Mallard-Island-Real-Wedding Will you marry me? Though we went to different colleges, Jason adopted my school’s basketball team as his own. (He really didn’t have a choice). Jason decided to pop the question on Friday the 13th in March of 2015 right before we went to watch Villanova play in the semi-finals of the Big East Tournament. Villanova ended up winning, so it was a great day all around. Bianca-Jason-Mallard-Island-Real-Wedding Bianca-Jason-Mallard-Island-Real-Wedding Bianca-Jason-Mallard-Island-Real-Wedding Details of your day: We went with a neutral color palette with gold accents. My bridesmaids wore “dusty shale” which is J. Crew’s name for a minty/sage color. Bianca-Jason-Mallard-Island-Real-Wedding The groomsmen wore coordinating bowties. Bianca-Jason-Mallard-Island-Real-Wedding I’m not a big flower person, so I wanted to use a lot of greenery instead. Our florist decorated the mantel in the chapel with eucalyptus. Bianca-Jason-Mallard-Island-Real-Wedding My bouquet consisted of a mix of greens and white roses. Bianca-Jason-Mallard-Island-Real-Wedding The centerpieces at our reception also consisted of lots of greens with white roses. Bianca-Jason-Mallard-Island-Real-Wedding Rather than traditional favors, we had a dessert bar where our guests were invite to help themselves to cake pops, cannoli, chocolate covered pretzels and sugar cookies in the shape of NJ.     Bianca-Jason-Mallard-Island-Real-Wedding Why did you choose Mallard Island? Long Beach Island has always held a special place in my heart. My family and I have been going there every summer since I can remember. Jason came to love LBI too after spending many summer weekends with us there. One look at Mallard Island Yacht Club was all it took for this couple who wanted to be married down the Shore.   When Jason and I got engaged we knew we wanted an nontraditional venue. The Mallard Island Yacht Club was the first venue we looked at, and we instantly fell in love with it. Bianca-Jason-Mallard-Island-Real-Wedding We loved that it was right on the water and offered suites to accommodate our bridal party over night. Bianca-Jason-Mallard-Island-Real-Wedding The bridal penthouse suite was breathtaking! Bianca-Jason-Mallard-Island-Real-Wedding Wedding menu? At the cocktail hour, guests munched on passed hors d’oeuvres, which included tuna tartare, bacon-wrapped sea scallops, mini quiche, fresh fruit bruschetta, sweet potato fries and coconut shrimp. Bianca-Jason-Mallard-Island-Real-Wedding Guests also enjoyed our slider station, which served crab cake sliders and Philadelphia cheese steaks. As for entrées, guests had their choice of the portobello Napoleon (vegetarian), filet mignon, ginger-glazed Atlantic salmon or the herb-crusted stuffed chicken. Bianca-Jason-Mallard-Island-Real-Wedding Our cake consisted of alternating layers. Two layers were chocolate cake filled with chocolate ganache and fresh raspberries. The other layers consisted of vanilla cake with cannoli filling. Bianca-Jason-Mallard-Island-Real-Wedding Your gown: I had no idea what style gown I wanted. My mom and I decided to take a trip to NYC to look at dresses. I had several appointments with different bridal salons. Bianca-Jason-Mallard-Island-Real-Wedding Our first stop was BHLDN. When I walked into the boutique, I was instantly drawn to the Irene gown by Willow by Watters that was on a mannequin. It was the first dress I tried on, and I fell in love. I still tried on several others but none of them compared to the first. Bianca-Jason-Mallard-Island-Real-Wedding I loved the simplicity of the trumpet skirt but the intricate beading on top added a little bit of pizazz without being over the top. The simple elegance was exactly what I had hoped for. Bianca-Jason-Mallard-Island-Real-Wedding Favorite moment: My favorite moment was when my groom surprised me with a choreographed dance to Neo’s “One in a Million.” I later learned that he had recruited some of his groomsmen and a few of my friends and they had been rehearsing for months before the wedding! Bianca-Jason-Mallard-Island-Real-Wedding One detail you couldn’t live without? We had to have a Villanova Championship flag!   Bianca-Jason-Mallard-Island-Real-Wedding Did anything go wrong? Not a thing. The day was perfect. We had a beautiful blue sky as our backdrop during the day and a strawberry moon at night. Bianca-Jason-Mallard-Island-Real-Wedding First dance song: This I promise you by N’Sync. Bianca-Jason-Mallard-Island-Real-Wedding Bianca-Jason-Mallard-Island-Real-Wedding Advice for other brides: Don’t sweat the small stuff. Just be happy. When you look back on your special day, you don’t want to remember fighting with your mom or missing handing out with your bridesmaids because you’re arguing with one of your vendors. Relax (as much as you can) and take in every moment. Remember it’s about marrying the love of your life not about makeup or flowers or table settings. Bianca-Jason-Mallard-Island-Real-Wedding Bianca-Jason-Mallard-Island-Real-Wedding Honeymoon: We spent five days in the Amalfi Coast and then four days in Santorini. Bianca-Jason-Mallard-Island-Real-Wedding

the details

Reception Location

Mallard Island Yacht Club

Photographer

Ann Coen Photography

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