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Kristi and Pat at The Berkeley Oceanfront Hotel
Posted on December 14, 2020 by Ariana Baio
After both growing up in Freehold, we finally met when we had – coincidentally – moved to Asbury Park. I went to a bar downtown to hang out with some friends, and Pat was there with other friends who knew my friends and that’s how we were introduced.
We had just moved across the state together to our second apartment. One night while we were getting ready for bed, he got down on one knee. It turned out he had spent the few weeks before working it out with my dad and the two of them had driven down to Maryland together to ask my Nana for her ring, which is now my engagement ring.
We had originally planned a much bigger celebration, but had to postpone due to the pandemic. However, we didn’t want to wait another second to get married. So on our original date, we gathered our closest family members to witness our official union. My grandfather has been battling Parkinson’s over the past few years and his health has been declining, and we couldn’t stand the thought of him not being there for our wedding. So we did it, albeit small and much more intimate. A friend/bridesmaid made our cake and helped me craft all of our decorations. We stuck with a fall theme with mostly sunflowers and mums. We used reds, oranges and yellows. My brother officiated, a friend of a friend made our flowers, and I ordered my dress and shoes from Amazon. We didn’t have much of a theme but it was simple and beautiful out by the beach and we loved every second of it.
We met in Asbury Park, and moved in together for the first time in Asbury Park, so it only felt right to go back there for our wedding. The Berkeley is a beautiful and historic hotel overlooking the ocean so once we found out our original date was open, this was a no-brainer.
For appetizers, we had rigatoni alla vodka and cypress salad. For entrees, we had a choice between beef Wellington, chicken francese or Chilean sea bass. For dessert, we had tiramisu and wedding cake. Our wedding cake was chocolate and vanilla cake (dyed red to stick with the fall colors) with a simple, but delicious, buttercream.
Simple, lacey, flowy and comfortable. I wanted something beachy to go with the venue and when I saw it on Amazon I knew it would be perfect.
Our first look was my favorite moment. Pat is a very sentimental guy, and I knew he would be super emotional. Seeing him in that moment, before we were officially married, was so special and intimate. All I felt was love.
My flowers! A-friend-of-a-friend who worked at a grocery store floral department made them for me and they came out absolutely beautiful.
The only thing I could think of is that we had to move inside because it got a little chilly but we didn’t really mind. We still had a beautiful private space the rest of the night.
“Come to Me” by the Goo Goo Dolls.
Don’t sweat the little details. I stressed so much leading up to the day, because I wanted every little thing to be so perfect. In the end, a lot of the little things went completely unnoticed because everyone was paying attention to each other and the overwhelming amount of love in the room.
We visited Great Smokey Mountain National Park.
the details
Hometowns
Ewing
Reception Location
Photographer
Officiant
Justin Schiavone
Bride’s Gown
Amazon
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