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Hailey and Mike at the Olde Mill Inn

Posted on January 24, 2020 by Ariana Baio

Mike and I were both college swimmers, he went to Rider University and I went to The College of New Jersey, but we shared mutual friends from swimming. On May 9, 2013, we were both out with friends at Rho Waterfront, a bar in Trenton, and our group of friends met up that night. Immediately Mike introduced himself to me, but I told him he might not want to talk to me, because I might be too strange for me. He replied, “I can do strange”, and we talked the rest of the night. A week later we went on our first date, and have been inseparable since.

I’m a huge fan of Christmas. So when Mike and I were in Chicago, Mike proposed in front of the best Christmas tree in the city. We were in the middle of holiday crowd in Millennium Park when he got down on one knee. I always say I wouldn’t cry when I got engaged but I balled my eyes out. We celebrated with a night out in the city!


The colors of the day were lavender and plum with greenery. The bridesmaids bouquets were baby’s breath with lavender between, while the maid of honor had lavender sprayed roses between her baby’s breath. The bridesmaid dresses were “wisteria” color which was a lavender shade while the maid of honor’s dress was plum. The men wore blue Calvin Klein suits with lavender bow ties to tie them to the bridesmaids. Their boutonnieres had baby’s breath & lavender with a succulent while the best man had a painted rose to match the MOH. The brides bouquet had many different shades of purples with greenery and succulents throughout. The focal point of my bouquet was a purple dahlia which Mike had on his boutonnière. We had a custom made corn hole for the cocktail hour, a donut wall, cigar bar, and ice cream sandwich bar. Our centerpieces were lanterns with a ring of greenery and purple flowers within. The ceremony was at St Peter’s Episcopal Church Inn Morristown New Jersey. I also wore my grandmother’s amethyst ring which is not only my birth stone but went with the color scheme perfectly!

The Olde Mill Inn was our favorite from the first time we went. It was just the right amount of elegance with so much historical character. Every where you turn in the Olde Mill is something different. The multiple layers of stairs and floors makes the Inn so interesting and beautiful. The staff was so caring and made the entire process stress free. They really made our vision come to life and were willing to work with every idea we had. Everything was exactly what we pictured.

At cocktail hour we had several stations: a German grill station, stir fry station, a fried calamari, sausage and peppers, and pasta station. We also had 16 different passed appetizers. Our starter menu consisted of a salad with mixed greens, Roquefort cheese, Anjou pears, toasted pecans and aged sherry vinaigrette. This was followed by an Intermezzo sorbet, then the main course. Guests had a choice of honey miso glazed salmon, herb seared filet of beef, herb roasted French chicken breast or portobello mushroom katchari stew. For dessert, we had an ice cream sandwich bar, mini donuts, and wedding cake. The wedding cake was half naked chocolate cake with buttercream icing and dulce de leche filling with caramel drip.

I always envisioned myself in a simple gown that had details that still made it different. When I put the Mikaella 2090 gown on it was exactly what I wanted. The simplicity of the front tied with the bling in the belt and large bow in the back gave it just enough to make it me. Because of the simple gown I knew I wanted a cathedral veil. When I saw the simple sheer veil with the tiny Swarovski crystals to bring out the bling in the belt I knew it was my exact look. Don’t get me wrong, there were many gowns I loved and were beautiful but this one stood out because it was so me. It was so comfortable and accentuated the things I wanted to stand out. Everything about this dress was perfect for me

I chose not to do a first look because I wanted to be fully in the moment when I walked down the aisle and saw Mike for the first time. Although it gave us slightly less time for pictures of the two of us, it was really important to us to wait until our ceremony. Walking down the aisle was truly the most spectacular moment ever. The person I had loved for the last six years was at the end and it was the moment every girl dreams of. I felt this was the best first look we could get and we will never forget it. With 175 people watching we only noticed each other as I walked down the aisle.

This is silly, but one of the few details I cared about was having a trolley for the wedding parties transportation. I used to love riding trolleys when I was younger on vacation on Martha’s Vineyard and thought it could be a really cute touch to the day. It gave the ride to and from the ceremony some character and was so much fun, plus the pictures are adorable!

If anything went wrong, I didn’t notice because I had the best day of my life!

“Better Together” by Jack Johnson. Mike and I love Jack Johnson and it is an upbeat song about being better when we are together which is really true for us.

On your wedding day try not to stress about the little details of the day. Everything comes together in the end and all that matters is that you enjoy yourself. Let yourself relax in the morning. Be pampered while you get ready and focus on the important things like marrying the love of your life and celebrating with your favorite family and friends!

We went to the all inclusive Iberostar Grand Bávaro in Punta Cana! We relaxed for eight days after the wedding and would recommend that type of honeymoon after all the months of wedding planning.

the details

Hometowns

Rockaway New Jersey

Reception Location

Olde Mill Inn

Photographer

GBH events: Ash Patino

Officiant

Reverend Dan Gross

Bride’s Gown

Mikaella Bridal

+ more