Kelly and Noah at Fiddler’s Elbow Country Club

How did you meet?

We grew up in the same town, attending school together since the 6th grade. Although we had known who each other were since we were young, we did not connect until a summer in college when Noah was visiting NJ in-between semesters. We attended different universities and our families lived in different states, but we both quickly realized that we had found something truly good, and so became committed to making our new relationship work.

How did you get engaged?

Noah proposed on 12/22/16 in our apartment in Burlington, VT. He had made a reservation for dinner that evening, and although I was dressed to walk out the door with my shoes, jacket and purse, Noah asked me multiple times if I was ready to leave. I thought this was odd, but wondered if he felt flustered since we were running late. Despite being pressed for time, he asked that I sit down on our couch before we headed out. I obliged, and Noah pulled a wrapped present underneath our Christmas tree. He had gifted me a puzzle, and asked that I complete it. Due to the intricate design, it took some time, but it gradually spelt out “Will You Marry Me?”

Details of your day!

Even though our ceremony and reception would be inside due to the time of year, I wanted to incorporate as much greenery as possible. I wanted it to feel romantic, classy, and natural. I worked with my florist on decorating the space with candles, and soft, organic pieces. The bouquets consisted of heavy greenery and white roses. We had a mixture of centerpieces. One was cascading greenery on tall, gold pillars, and the other was a short, gold vase filled with white roses and greenery in a loose and organic style. The room had soft, purple side lighting.

For our favors, we chose small bottles of Vermont maple syrup. Prior to living in UT, we spent a few years living in Burlington, VT. We often skied at Sugarbush Resort, and so when we found maple syrup produced on Sugarbush Farm, we felt this would be the perfect sweet, and personal favor.

Why did you choose your venue?

Choosing where to have our wedding was probably the most challenging part of planning, since we live in Utah and the majority of our family and friends live in the NJ area. Once we decided on NJ in March, I flew out to look at venues. My parents had both visited Fiddler’s Elbow Country Club, and recommended that I consider it for our wedding. We made an appointment to visit and I loved it immediately. The tree-lined driveway to the country club was gorgeous, and I absolutely loved the stone building. Almost instantly I knew this was where I wanted to get married.

What was on your menu?

First Course: Maryland Lump Crab Cake with Cajun Remoulade

Salad: Artisinal Greens: Boston Lettuce, Carmalized Walnuts, Bosc Pears, Bleu Cheese, Walnut Vinaigrette

Entree: Pan Seared Chilean Sea Bass: Sun Dried Tomato and Roasted Garlic Crust, Saffron Butter Suace Or Chateaubriand: Slinced Terloin of Beef, Sauce Bearnaise

Dessert: Wedding Cake: Black Magic Cake with Pastry Cream and Mixed Berry Filling and Buttercream Icing

What was your favorite moment?

It’s hard to choose just one favorite moment! I’ll never forget how happy and excited I was getting ready with my family the morning of our wedding, or seeing Noah for our first look. However, if I had to choose one moment as my favorite, it would be seeing him at the end of the aisle as I was walking towards him during the ceremony.

What was a detail you couldn’t live without?

I couldn’t live without celebrating with all of our closest family and friends. It meant so much to us to have everyone there!

Did anything go wrong? 

During the reception, my dress became slightly torn after part of the bustle broke! By the end of the night, I had to dance by holding up the loose bottom of my dress. Despite this mishap, I still had so much fun dancing all night with my family and friends!

What was your favorite detail at the wedding?

I was so happy with how everything came together. My favorite detail was having a guitar player play and sing the song, “First Day of My Life” by Bright Eyes as I was walking down the aisle. While we were dating long distance in college, Noah surprised me by sending me the video of the song. Since then, it has been one of several songs that has meant a lot to us in our relationship. While I think the lyrics are beautiful, it was a very personal touch during a very meaningful moment.

Where did you honeymoon?

Because of our busy schedules, we took a delayed honeymoon in October to Maui. We spent the first four days staying in a beautiful ocean-view room at the Fairmont in Wailea, Maui. Next, we went to Hana and spent three nights at the Travaasa Hana. It was the perfect mixture of relaxation and adventure.