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Jamie and Michael at Westmount Country Club

Posted on March 27, 2020 by Ariana Baio


My husband and I went to college at Rutgers University. We were at the local college bar when our song, “Levels” by Avicii came on. We were the only two guidos banging on the beam in the middle of the bar. Instantly our eyes locked and it really was love at first sight. Seven years later, we were walking down the aisle to be married to one another.

We were on a vacation in Riviera Maya. Even though I had a secretly hoped that Mike would propose, I didn’t think he was going to because there was only one night left to our vacation! Well to my surprise, he walked me to a private cabana on the beach where we had a dinner reservation. Before we sat down at the table he got down on one knee. It was a beautiful moment with the sound of the ocean.

Since we were the only two guidos banging on the walls the first night we met, we knew that our wedding had to have a fun, first-pumping atmosphere! We planned for months with the Eclipse Events to make it the most epic wedding of all time. We secretly surprised our guests with sparklers going off all night, confetti cannons and CO2 machines. As for the bridesmaids, I knew I needed bling. They all wore champagne colored sequin dresses with all white bouquets, which matched our champagne glitter invitations!

After vendor shopping all around North Jersey, we chose the one and only Westmount Country Club. It was a no brainer when we saw the magical views from their cocktail hour room and the mirrored wall in the grand ballroom. Our wedding had to be classy, grand and over-the-top. The Westmount was perfect for that, not to mention the food for their cocktail hour and Viennese hour was incredible.

The cocktail hour room was filled wall to wall with stations. You name it, they had it. Raw seafood station, Asian station, pasta station, summer BBQ station, etc. Once the reception started, the guest began with a burrata salad. The next course was a baked manicotti. Then for the main course the guests chose from Chateaubriand, stuffed salmon with crabmeat, roasted chicken, or a vegan option. All guests were pleased. For those who still had room in their bellies, the cocktail hour room re-opened for a full Viennese hour. Aside from our four-tiered wedding cake from Palermo’s bakery (half cannoli cream and half buttercream), there was a waffles & ice cream station, pastries, carnival/boardwalk station, espresso bar, etc!

One thing I knew for sure about my gown is that it had to have bling! I went to a couple boutiques, but everything was just too plain for me. Finally the last dress I tried on at Bijou Bridals in Paramus was the one! It was a combination of everything I said I wanted to add to all the other gowns: It had the bling, it had the mermaid style I wanted, and did a good job at showing my delicate curves. To personalize it even more, and make it a dress that no one else had, I had my seamstress customize the dress to make it backless and add beaded straps that I picked up in New York City. It was absolutely perfect.

The walk down the aisle with my dad to marry the man of my dreams was an amazing moment, there is another part of the day that I will never forget, it was the moment that we stepped into the Grand Ballroom at the Westmount. Even though we planned for two years all the details, it was so stunning to see everything put together perfectly. As my husband and I gazed at our beautiful backdrop designed by Wedded Events, our DJ asked, “Would you like to hear what $30,000 of music sounds like?” With all of the subwoofers and speakers that they had set up, he played our song while setting the sparkles off. It was the most magical experience I ever had! I knew it was going to be the best night of my life!

There were too many details that we put into this wedding. One that we cannot live without was our matching Louboutin shoes. They made some really great photo opportunities.  Another detail that I would not have any other way was our sweetheart table backdrop and staging provided by Wedded Events. It completely changed the look of the room to make it personal for our wedding.

Well, I would like to say nothing went wrong but there was one minor mishap- my dress caught in fire!! As my husband and I were sitting at our sweetheart table enjoying dinner, we were starting to smell smoke. In less than a second we realize that there were candles spread out around our table. My dress was so puffy at the bottom that the tulle rested on top of one of the candles. Within seconds we put it out without the photographer even realizing. Lucky for me, it was the tool underneath the dress so that you could not see it from the outside.

“Can’t Help Falling in Love“ by Haley Reinhart


Any advice I can give to other brides is don’t stress the small stuff. Looking back, wedding planning was a fun and exciting part of my life. I would hate for anyone to look back to this magical time and think of it as stressful. Especially on the day of your wedding, everything is out of your hands and you just need to go with the flow and enjoy every moment! My husband and I made sure to eat every meal and look around our ballroom to see all the faces who were there celebrating us.Jamie and Michael - Justin Pedrick Photography

Two days after our wedding we left for Bora-Bora ! We stayed in an over-the-water hut at the Conrad. It was worth every cent. The sunsets and blue-colored waters were amazing!

the details

Hometowns

Saddle Brook

Photographer

Justin Pedrick

Bride’s Gown

Bijou Bridals

Bride’s Shoes

Christian Louboutin

+ more