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Cynthia and Ricky at The Westmount

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Cynthia and Ricky at The Westmount

Posted on September 25, 2018 by New Jersey Bride

How did you meet?
Ricky and I met in our junior year of high school. I went to Queen of Peace High School and I met some of his classmates from St. Peter’s Prep at an overnight community service retreat a month earlier. One day, one of his friends I had met brought Ricky along to a Powder Puff Football game at QP. After that we became close friends and 8 months later began dating in January 2009. We have been together for 9.5 years!

How did you get engaged?
My family is from Portugal and Ricky knew it would mean the world to me for my family in Portugal to get to see a momentous occasion in my life since we don’t get to celebrate holidays or birthdays together. After a fun day of celebrating at our little hometown’s feast followed by a relaxing beach day, we were sitting on the slider chair reading when Ricky asked me if I’d like to take a picture on the rooftop terrace at my grandma’s house to recreate one of those pictures of the girl looking away while holding someone’s hand. I said sure. So up we went to the terrace and after we take the picture, I turn around and there is Ricky down on one knee. After the shock of this low key, intimate moment he chose during sunset, I finally spit out the words yes!

Details of the day!
Simple elegance was all we wanted to portray with navy (our favorite color) and gold (the color of my ring) with beautiful white/ivory flowers with greenery. Ricky wore a navy custom suit with a paisley lining inside. He had a gold and navy watch I gave him as a wedding gift and a gold tie clip. His groomsmen wore a grey suit with a navy tie and gold tie clip. For the bridesmaids, they wore navy dresses with shawls made by a family friend in ivory colored yarn. Gold earrings from Portugal accented their dresses as well as gold shoes. I also wore a shawl with my dress for pictures with my gold jewelry.

Centerpieces varied from high/low with gold touches included in the white/ivory flowers with greenery. A sprig of greenery lay on each menu with our monograms. The favor for the wedding also doubled as place cards – gold photo booth frames. Favors also included a donation to the organization I work for (Spectrum360) to help special needs individuals throughout their lifetime. My mother and I also love beautiful music so we had Enki Bello (a harpist) for the ceremony and Farrell Hutchinson (pianist – he arranged for the TV Show “Luke Cage”) for the cocktail hour.

Why did you choose your venue?
Ricky and I knew we most definitely needed a place with great food (because we are huge foodies) and that could fit about 250 guests. We walked into the Westmount and were instantly floored. The elegant decor with neutral tone marble and elegant use of metallic gold and silver throughout captured the theme I wanted so well. Our ballroom also had huge windows with a view behind our sweetheart table and a balcony accessible to our guests right off the dance floor. We also loved having another outdoor area to use for a cigar bar later in the evening – a plus for the groom and my father. The door inside was so elegant with beautiful light fixtures and the cocktail room seemed like a rich Manhattan bar (Ricky and I love going for dinner and drinks in the city). We instantly felt like the venue represented our personalities and the vision we had for our day.

What was on your menu?
Cocktail hour with a variety of food including sushi, pasta, seafood station, kobe burgers, chourico, kielbasa, etcChampagne ToastSalad: Tri Color
Baby Arugula, Radicchio, Red & White Endive,
Extra Virgin Olive Oil & Fresh LemonEntrée Choice
Beef:
14 oz. Roasted Prime Rib served off the bone
Seasonal Vegetable & PotatoPoultry:
Medallions Chicken served w/Exotic
Mushrooms & Artichoke w/Roasted Fingerling
Potatoes in a Natural Chicken Jus w/Rosemary

Fish:
Grilled North Atlantic Salmon with
Sautéed Swiss Chard, Shaved Baby Artichokes,
Tomato & Gaeta Olive Vinaigrette

Vegetarian:
Homemade Eggplant Parmigiana al Forno

Dessert:
Wedding Cake – one layer of red velvet cake with cream cheese and cannoli fillings, another layer of vanilla cake with vanilla custard and fresh strawberries
Sampler Plate
Gelato cart
espresso cart
custard cups (for Cindy’s culture)

All about your gown!
Rosa Clara gown in a “natural” color made of silk/satin with a high boat neck. It also has two looks to it due to the detachable ballgown piece, therefore going from a ballgown for the ceremony to an A line for the reception. The back of the dress had breathtaking beadwork on the entire back that could be seen when the dress was worn both ways. The dress was so well made and so flattering on my figure. It made me feel bridal but didn’t force me to choose between a more formal ball gown or a more fun A-line. I also had a gorgeous (and heavy) veil with beading along the side and longer than the train on my dress.

What was your favorite moment?
Seeing my husband for the first time as I walked down the aisle. We had planned for our wedding and talked about it for 9 years so to see him with tears in his eyes when we finally got to this special moment made it even better. In that moment we both knew we could finally live together, begin our marriage, travel together, and start a new journey together that was long awaited.

One detail you couldn’t live without?
This is so hard as I’m a detail oriented person! I may have to say the antique car our family friend let us use for the day. It was the perfect two-tone blue and added more elegance to our day as well as a unique touch. So many of our guests kept taking pictures with it and even other brides/grooms at Lambert Castle posed with it.

Did anything go wrong?
It was a very smooth flowing day! The only little “oops” moment was when my maid of honor accidentally stepped on my veil as I was walking back up the aisle at the end of the ceremony and my head snapped back. We easily recovered and the part continued on!

First dance song?
Say You Won’t Let Go by James Arthur (it played literally every time we made a wedding decision whether it was while we met with a vendor or immediately after in the car)

Any advice for future brides?
At some point, let go of the to do lists and the stress and just enjoy the few days before the wedding as much as you can. If you can be relaxed those few days before than you’ll be so much more relaxed on your wedding day. I am typically an anxious mess and I was calm as could be on my wedding day. It helped me to take in each moment as much as I could and appreciate it with my husband. We even took a moment to snuggle during dinner and just look around the room at all of our guests mingling, laughing, and the small details of the day surrounding us.

Honeymoon Location
Secrets St. James in Montego Bay, Jamaica. Amazing!!