Real Weddings
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Kerry and Joseph at Basking Ridge Country Club

Posted on November 25, 2019 by New Jersey Bride


My husband and I both grew up in South Brunswick, NJ. Beginning at age eight or nine all through high school, Joe played football and I was a cheerleader for the South Brunswick Vikings. We met and became friends somewhere along the way. He and I both went away for college, but spent our winter and summer breaks at home together with our mutual friends. Our friend group was very close, and several years ago, we all took a “friend-cation” trip to Punta Cana. It was on that trip that the dynamic of our relationship shifted. Occasional flirting turned into something more, and we never looked back!

Joe knew the way to my heart was through my family, my friends, seafood and Dave Matthews Band! He brought my brother and my best friend to recording studios, and had them play guitar and sing one of my favorite DMB songs. One night, out to dinner at my favorite restaurant in Princeton, the professionally recorded rendition of “The Best of What’s Around” began playing over the speakers. I was confused when I started to recognize the voices I was hearing, and when I turned to see what was going on, Joe was down on one knee.

I wanted the colors to be white and neutral tones with touches of green. My flowers were all white with eucalyptus, and my bridesmaid gowns were a neutral pinkish color. I wanted to avoid sparkles and frills, and for the decor to feel simple with a mixture of boho and traditional.


We knew we wanted to be married in a Catholic church, and we fell in love with this gorgeous little church in Morristown. The reception venue actually came second, and we happened upon it because it was located on the same street as this beautiful church. We toured the Basking Ridge Country Club in October, and as we looked out onto the golf course surrounded with the colors of fall, we knew it was perfect for us and our style. We knew the colors would be the same the following October, one year later. Everything fell into place!

We served options of chicken, salmon, or beef, but my favorite part of the menu was our appetizer – a mushroom gnocchi. It was tough to eat the night of the wedding, but luckily our wonderful server packed me about 8 servings of gnocchi to go!

My gown was absolutely perfect, and meshed both my style and my husband’s style (YES he actually had a vision of my wedding dress too!). I had envisioned myself in delicate, long sleeve lace and he loves a more traditional satin. My dress was not satin, but only had patches of lace vs. full lace.  After looking at a couple bridal salons, I realized the type of bohemian style I was gravitating towards just weren’t what these salons were carrying. I put on sparkles and tulle and heavy lace, and I quickly became deflated that it may take forever to find my dress in these huge stores. After some research, I found The Lovely Bride in NYC, and I was quickly obsessed. I felt like I would wear ANY dress in that store! On the day of my appointment, I had five to six dresses chosen beforehand to try on, and my consultant picked one more. That one she chose was the dress. I put it on about five minutes into the appointment, and instantly knew. I wish I could wear that dress everyday. (Luckily, my girlfriend is throwing a “white party” in a few months, where all our friends get to re-wear our wedding gowns!!) I know I am biased, but I still think it is the best dress in the world.

Obviously, seeing my husband’s face as the doors to the church opened!

The custom-made signs and seating chart, done by my calligrapher. She brought my vision to life, from bible verses for the church to custom table numbers for the reception and everything in between. It felt special and personal. We even have one of the signs hanging in our dining room!

Well…it was a Nor’easter! The days leading up to our wedding ay, the headlines were literally reading “worst weekend weather of the year!” I was super calm about it (just kidding, I was freaking out). Even though our entire wedding was planned to be indoors, I was dying for woodsy outdoor photos by this rustic looking fence at the country club. Those fall colors were what we booked our reception there for. Luckily, there were breaks from the rain every time we needed to be outside, but it was FREEZING! Our bridesmaids and groomsmen were the real MVPs for sticking it out for those photos and looking like models while doing so.

“Mean to Me” – Brett Eldredge

Book your vendors quickly so you can focus on details! I thought I was movin’ and groovin’, and then I remember one of my girlfriends, who was married a year before me, saying “yeah, talk to me three months before your wedding”. And she was right! The flip flops, the menus, the hotel welcome bags, etc…all of those things can sneak up on you at the end if you’re not chipping away at it slowly.

Maui, Hawaii. I asked my husband if we could renew our vows there every year. We settled on every 10 🙂

the details

Hometowns

Spotswood, NJ

Reception Location

Basking Ridge Country Club

Photographer

Vanessa Malave - Vanessa Marie Photography

Officiant

Father Marcin Kania

Bride’s Gown

Lovers Society

+ more