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Dena and George at Grand Marquis

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Dena and George at Grand Marquis

How did you meet?
George and I first met in 2002 when I was 14 and George was 15 on the island of Karpathos, Greece where both of our families are from. Our first memories together are hanging out in the village, going to local bars, and spending time with mutual friends. In the summer of 2019, after being friends for 17 years, George and I both traveled to Greece. George’s sister Zoe got engaged, and they were all out celebrating. This night sparked something different between us, we spent hours talking together and realized sd had way more in common than we thought. We both wondered, could this lead to something more than just friends? When we returned to New Jersey, George asked me out to dinner for an official date. That first week of September, we spent a lot of time together at the beach, out to restaurants, and even cutting out decorations for the start of my school year. We knew right away this was something different and so special. It instantly clicked after that first week of being together. We spent our first Thanksgiving and Christmas together before the pandemic struck in March of 2020. The pandemic showed us that we were meant to be even more than we ever imagined.

How did you get engaged?
On November 14, 2020, George took me out to eat at my favorite local restaurant, Patricia’s. I was nervous to go out to eat with the pandemic getting worse again, but thought it would be fun to get out of the house. We enjoyed a delicious meal together. When we returned back to my house and started to walk up the driveway, George used his phone to wirelessly light up the house. “Will you marry me?” lit up in Christmas lights. I was shocked!! Before I knew it, George was down on one knee. George spent 9 hours and 800 Christmas lights creating these signs by hand because I love lights and Christmas time so much. He spent months planning this and the moment was perfect.

Details of the day!
I wanted the day to be very timeless, so my color scheme was really just neutrals. I always wanted a cascade bouquet, so that was made with white and ivory flowers. There are a lot of Greek traditions that were included. Each place setting had a small clear jar that included honey & sesame dessert. This is meant to represent a sweet life for the couple. Also an ivory box for each person filled with traditional breadsticks. The favor was a custom flavored olive oil with a Lenox dipping dish. I included details like a custom drink sign with my dog Chewie and a Star Wars theme, flip flops for anyone with hurt feet, and drink covers. D&G lights were rented and placed in the hallway. I also rented chair sashes which gave the room an elegant touch. Our seating cards sat on top of small bells. This was used to get us to kiss. We took this tradition from my parents. My father is Swiss and in Switzerland cows & cowbells are very popular. At their wedding, a cousin brought real cowbells and started to ring them. For memory, we decided to include the small kissing bells!

Why did you choose your venue?
I love the Grand Marquis because they are so easy to work with and very flexible. I had been to some events before and they do an excellent job. Their cocktail hour, in my opinion, is one of the best. They offer so many choices! Our guests were all impressed!!

What was on your menu?
We started off with a full cocktail hour that included a sushi bar with a roller, a bacon bar, pastrami being sliced and more! The first course was a beet & goat cheese salad. Guests had a choice of champagne chicken, chateaubriand, bronzini, vegetable risotto or grilled vegetable stack for an entree. For dessert, we had a full Viennese hour with a smores bar, donut wall, and more. Our wedding cake had three different flavors: funfetti, red velvet and dulce de leche. Dessert also included over 20 homemade Greek pastries brought in by guests who are close family members. This is a custom and tradition from the island in Greece our families are from.

All about your gown!
I always knew I wanted to have a gown with sleeves. At every dress store, I automatically asked to see dresses with sleeves. Seng Couture was great because they allowed me to browse their inventory online & they had those dresses ready to go. I picked the dress out online and when I tried it on, I knew it had all that I hoped for. There were lace sleeves, a-line skirt, a big train, and a little low back with lace!

What was your favorite moment?
Seeing George as I walked down the aisle. He had tears in his eyes! Also, my father-daughter dance!! My dad and I love Star Wars, so we had to incorporate it. At the start of our dance, the music switched over to a Star Wars medley I made. Darth Vader walked in & my coordinator gave us lightsabers. We fought Darth Vader together!!! After that we went back to the sentimental slow dance.

One detail you couldn’t live without?
I loved having a live musician at the ceremony. Patricia Turse played the harp at the church. It was so beautiful as I walked down the aisle. She also played during cocktail hour and switched to keyboard for a live version of our first dance song.

Did anything go wrong?
No!

First dance song?
Our first dance song was A Whole New World from Aladdin. This was played live on keyboard by Patricia Turse. I did not want it to sound too Disney, but we had a connection to that song. During our first few dates, George came over and we just relaxed. We watched the live-action version of Aladdin. During the end credits, A Whole New World plays and George asked me to dance. We danced in my basement and it was such a romantic, special moment. I knew he was going to be the one!

Any advice for future brides?
Book all of your major vendors right away, then take a break. At the 6 month mark, start getting everything you can done in advance. I am a teacher and overly organized, so I suggest creating lists and spreadsheets to keep things on track. Because of this, I found wedding planning to be super easy, George was very helpful in the process too!

Honeymoon Location?
We went to Disney!! With Covid issues, we decided not to travel out of the country. We could not risk testing positive on the return trip and not coming back to our jobs on time. Disney was a great choice because there is so much to do. We were able to sit by the pool and enjoy the sunny skies, get a couple’s massage and eat like crazy!