Gabrielle and Justin at Greenbriar Oceanaire Golf and Country Club

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Gabrielle and Justin at Greenbriar Oceanaire Golf and Country Club

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How did you meet?
Justin and I met Spring 2012 at Madriver, a bar in Manayunk, through mutual friends. He was a junior and I was a senior just graduating in a few short weeks. Although we both attended Philadelphia University, neither of us knew about each other until we met that day! Hard to believe since I was the captain of the women’s soccer team … just kidding! His good looks were definitely the reason why we started talking that day however I quickly realized that this relationship we started to build was something different and special. There was something about him and I knew that how I felt about him so early was an indication that this would not be like anything I had had in the past. And I think he felt the same.

How did you get engaged?
Justin proposed January 10, 2016 in Saint Petersburg, Florida. Justin had arranged this long weekend vacation as my Christmas present. As you probably know it is really hard to keep anything a secret now a days considering it is necessary to have real life conversations about the future, etc. So did I know that we were eventually going to get engaged, yes. But was totally surprised when he did propose in Florida because it was almost midnight!! Justin had been super nervous all day about popping the question, the ring was tucked away in his pocket since 10AM that morning when he had left the hotel for a day full of adventures. Not until we were about to leave the rooftop lounge that he had asked our waitress to take a picture of us over by the balcony overlooking the bay. Thanks to our waitress we have the whole proposal on video! One of the best weekends of my life.

Details of the day!

I’m not sure if we had a theme, but I knew I wanted our wedding to be romantic and classy with a touch of rustic! Our flowers were all white however our reception tables also had small lavender accents. We had a lot of hydrangeas (both of our favorite flowers) and included a lot of greenery. We had fresh bellinis as our welcome drink and signature drinks. We had hand made rustic decorations made by my sister’s boyfriend such as a wooden welcome sign, aisle sign that stated “it was always you” and a Buchholz wooden box to collect our wedding cards. I loved that our ceremony was outside under a beautifully decorated wooden arch by Kirk’s Florist in Farmingdale, NJ. Our arch was then moved inside to our reception and attached to it was our handmade photo booth sign which was a total surprise!! We also had a very touching 15 minute montage that played after dinner on flat screen TVs made by Noble Productions with shuffled pictures of ourselves, family and friends throughout the years!

Why did you choose your venue?
My mom had recently been to a friend’s wedding at a different venue and loved the food so much she met with the caterer, Joe. I reached out to him and we met at the newly renovated Greenbriar Oceanaire, which was where his catering business was located. We loved the look and feel of the venue and fell in love with Joe’s food, but most importantly we felt extremely comfortable with his team and everything they had to offer. We really appreciated how Joe and his team were genuinely nice people and were invested in our big day.

What was on your menu?
Everything about the menu was perfect. We were able to completely customize our cocktail hour from stations to passed hors d’oeuvres. Personally, I’m all about the raw bar, but the chateaubriand for dinner was to die for! Our cake was a cupcake tower with an assortment of flavors from peanut butter, chocolate, vanilla, cookies and cream with a cannoli filled cake on top.

All about your gown!
It was an Allure gown from Castle Couture in Manalapan, NJ. I envisioned my dress to be classy and elegant but sexy as well and I thought it was just that. From it being form fitting, lace, high neck and the illusion back I couldn’t have asked for anything more. When I tried it on not only did I know it was the one but my family also knew right away! I knew I would feel beautiful in it and Justin would love it!

What was your favorite moment?
That is very hard to pick as we had so many unique details and moments throughout the entire day that made our wedding so special. I can narrow it down to two. Our ceremony was absolutely gorgeous with the beautiful arch of flowers we stood under, so heart felt with a personalized ceremony from our officiant and obviously filled with love that so many of our guests have told us that they have never been to a more beautiful ceremony.

The second would have to be when my stepfather, who is not musically inclined at all, surprised me with a original song following his speech during our reception. I still watch that video to this day and sing along!!

One detail you couldn’t live without?
Our ceremony by far. Our officiant was absolutely amazing! I knew she was going to do an amazing job when I met her and she did not disappoint the day of. Our ceremony was very personalized for the two of us, was filled with love and celebrated our relationship and future marriage. It was everything I could have hoped for and I know if it wasn’t for Kris Bruno, our officiant, it wouldn’t have been as special as it was. Plus I may be biased but our vows were handwritten and amazing!

Did anything go wrong?
Absolutely nothing, I couldn’t have asked for a better day.

First dance song?
Haley Reinhart – Can’t Help Falling in Love.

Any advice for future brides?
Enjoy the day and don’t worry about any of the details or continue to stress yourself out. You worked so hard to plan every little thing for this day so you deserve to enjoy each moment of the day. Just let be what is meant to happen and have fun!

Honeymoon Location
Greece, which was the most romantic and beautiful destination either of us have ever visited. We spent 3 Days in Athens with a day trip to Hydra and then spent a week in Santorini. I cried on the last day when it was time to leave so you could only imagine how amazing it was!!

the details

Hometowns

Howell

Ceremony Location

Greenbriar Oceanaire Community & Golf Course

Reception Location

Greenbriar Oceanaire Community & Golf Course

Photographer

Nikki & Chip Photography

Officiant

Kris Bruno Wedding Officiant

Bride’s Gown

Allure

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the details

Hometowns

Ceremony Location

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Officiant

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