Danielle and Matthew at The Palace at Somerset Park

How did you meet? We met online…the day I sent a message to Matthew’s inbox was the same day he was signing on to delete his account, when he saw the message from me. While on our first date conversation led to us realizing we had crossed paths in the past and had never met. A perfect example was about Matthew being the wrestling coach at Manasquan High School. When I was in high school, I was the wrestling manager at Matawan High School while Matt was wrestling for Manasquan. Fate does play a part in finding love when two people are meant to be together as I believe Matthew and I are.

How did you get engaged? The day Matthew proposed was a gorgeous perfect day. My parents, sister, Matthew and myself took a trip to the Bronx Botanical Gardens on April 17, 2016, for the Orchid show. I had no idea that the reason why the whole family was tagging along was to be present for the proposal and to capture pictures. While waiting in line to view the orchid greenhouse there was a couple in front of us that ended up getting engaged as soon as entering the greenhouse (which Matthew was a little disappointed with, being that that was where he wanted to ask me). So we continued walking through the gorgeous display of different types of flowers when we came to the end of the greenhouse to the best part. There was a waterfall with hanging Orchids all around us. Matthew then got down on his knee and asked me to marry him in front of my family as well as complete strangers who were enjoying the orchid show. I could not catch my breath and could not stop crying when I said YES without any hesitation. Everyone whistled and clapped in congratulations while taking pictures of us. It was the best moment of my life!

Details of your day: Our wedding day was elegant, traditional, and absolutely perfect. The day started with some rain in the morning, but after Matthew and I said “I DO” in our church filled with our closest family and friends the sun appeared and it was the most perfect day in July!

Our exit from the church was perfect…I made ribbon wands for our guests to wave instead of the traditional bubbles and such. The pictures were amazing!

Our colors included blush, gold, white and black. My husbands spectator shoes were a huge hit to match his ivory jacket and black tuxedo pants.

My bouquet had an array of different white and pink flowers. Our church was decorated with baby’s breath. I went with light pink roses for the bridesmaids and they complimented the dresses very well. My flower girl carried a flower wand that was made by me and was the perfect choice to add to her adorable dress with lace ivory shoes. The venue flowers were tall crystal candelabras that were filled with white and pink hydrangeas, roses, and more gorgeous flowers which that caught your eye as soon as you entered the room.

We decided to have a trolley as our transportation for the day. A traditional limo is nice but it gets a little cramped with a large wedding party like ours and we did not want a party bus. The ride up to the venue was awesome and the perfect start to our BIG DAY! Our wedding party loved it as did we, it was a great decision!

I made different signs at our wedding reception that tied our reception together, from our love story dates to canvas pictures of us, and more.

We had engraved corkscrews designed by the same company who had made my parents corkscrews 35 years ago. It was the perfect touch and will always be put to good use! Our guests loved them!

Why did you choose your venue? We had visited a few other venues before going to the Palace, but when we walked in the doors we knew it was on the top of our list! When we had walked into the room where our reception was taking place and the banquet manager said “at the top of those stairs is where we will announce you as Mr. & Mrs.” we knew we had found our venue! It was absolutely perfect! They went above and beyond for everything. Everyone was a pleasure to work with!

What was your wedding menu? As an appetizer we had Crispy Shrimp “Strudel”Shredded Phyllo Wrapped Prawns Herbed Couscous Lobster Chardonnay Butter paired with Canyon Road Sauvignon Blanc . There was an intermezzo Lemon Sorbet. We had guests pick one of two entrees for their meal, both paired with Canyon Road Merlot. There was Macadamia Nut Crusted Grouper Sesame Potato Cake, Sautéed Spinach Thai Coconut Beurre Blanc for one option. And  Grilled Breast of Free Range Chicken Maple Scented Sweet Potatoes, Pencil Asparagus Morel Mushroom and Andouille Creamor Herb Grilled Chateaubriand Caramelized Shallot Potato, Spaghetti Vegetables Glace de Viande as the other.

For dessert, we had The Palace Viennese display and of course, wedding cake.

All about your gown: My Maggie Sottero gown was ivory with both lace and crystal embellishments. It had everything I was looking for…a long train, just enough glitz, and the lace was the icing on the cake. I added straps to have that traditional bridal gown look. I had tried on a lot of dresses but when I narrowed my selection down and tried my dress on for the 2nd time I got that feeling that every bride should get and started to cry. I felt like a princess when I looked in the mirror and knew it was the dress that I wanted to say “I DO” to the man of my dreams in.

Favorite moment? I don’t think I can pick just one favorite part to our wedding day. The whole day was absolutely amazing. Everything was exactly how I imagined it would be and more. The best part was marrying my best friend and love of my life!

One detail you couldn’t live without? Being able to share our special day with all of our friends and family was amazing. Knowing that we had so many people there that have been a big part of our lives made us both feel so special and loved.

Did anything go wrong? NOTHING went wrong!

First dance song? Have I Told You Lately – Rod Stewart

Advice for other brides? – Every bride will tell you this, but try not to stress because everything gets done! Cherish every moment of the day because it flies by with a blink of an eye. Take as many pictures as possible, because there will never be enough. Plan ahead and don’t try to cram everything into the last couple of months because those will be the most stressful. Space things out, that’s what I had done and it helped tremendously. Try not to stress and remember that it is 1 day…all of the preparation is for 1 day and that day passes by very quickly. Remember that when that big day comes everything else doesn’t matter and you will soon be husband and wife for the rest of your lives. It is an amazing day that you will remember forever so enjoy every single minute of it.

Where did you go on your honeymoon? Sandals Grande St. Lucian – it was nothing short of amazing! The staff is so accommodating and friendly. The resort was so clean and the food was amazing! There was something to take part in every day and every night.