Marie and Michael at The Palace at Somerset Park

How did you meet?
Mike has been friends with my cousins since high school so we have known each other for a while! We started off as friends, eventually started dating and the rest is history!

How did you get engaged?
Mike proposed on December 2, 2016. Every year Belmar has a tree lighting in their town square complete with carolers, meet and greet with Santa, and of course the grand finale- the tree lighting! We made our way down to main street that night, we were so excited to see all the sights; it was truly a beautiful night filled with lots of Christmas spirit. We listened to the carolers and best of all we got to see the tree lighting! Once the service commenced, Mike suggested we take a picture in front of the tree so I agreed of course!

Before I could even get my pose together, he was down on one knee proposing! I was seriously in shock- I swear I covered my face and balled for a good minute before even looking at Mike or the ring! We are so blessed to have each other and such amazing families that love and support us and that night just felt like a culmination to everything we had been through together.

Details of the day!

We really tried to keep everything pretty neutral, lots of whites, creams and ivories; our church and our reception venue were both beautifully decorated for Christmas so we wanted to keep all of our details very simple. All of our florals were made up of different shades of white with greenery incorporated as well. The bridesmaids wore champagne dresses with ivory shawls to keep them warm when we were taking pictures outside (it was FREEZING). We really just wanted everything to look clean and fresh and with the help of our florist we were able to accomplish that!

Why did you choose your venue?
From the moment we walked into The Palace we knew that it was “The One”. The staff was just so warm and welcoming, the grounds were beautiful and the ballroom was a perfect fit for our big group of family and friends. Food was also something that was really important to us, we wanted to make sure no one left our wedding hungry and we knew that The Palace would not disappoint in that department!

What was on your menu?
One of our favorite thing on our wedding menu was the braised ribs entrée; we tried it at our tasting and immediately knew we had to have it on the menu at our wedding- they were amazing!Luckily, we have the same taste when it comes to sweets so choosing our wedding cake was an easy task for us. Our cake was delicious- vanilla sponge cake with buttercream icing and strawberries.

All about your gown!
My gown was a beautiful Lazaro lace dress that had a removable tulle skirt with a cathedral train; I loved that I was able to take the tulle skirt off when it was time to let loose at the reception! I knew my dress was “The One” the moment I put it on, it had all the elements I was looking for; the lace was so delicate and feminine and the skirt gave it that little extra “drama”.

What was your favorite moment?
Marie: By far my favorite moment of the day was walking up the aisle with my dad and seeing Mike standing at the alter with a huge smile on his face waiting for me. I was so emotional, I really tried to take in every second of that walk up the isle with my dad.

Mike: Seeing Marie for the first time on our wedding day! I was so nervous standing at the front of the church but as soon as the doors opened and I saw Marie all of my nerves went away. She just looked so beautiful, I will never forget watching her walk towards me with her dad, it was an awesome moment.

One detail you couldn’t live without?
Our wedding nuptial mass was the most beautiful part of our day. The church that we got married in had a lot of sentimental value for us; getting to get married there in front of all of our loved ones was such a blessing! Everything about our mass was just so beautiful; the readings, the music, the flowers- it was just perfect!

Did anything go wrong?
Honestly, nothing went wrong and if it did we didn’t even notice it- it truly was a perfect day from start to finish!

First dance song?
You Are the Best Thing by Ray LaMontagne

Any advice for future brides?
Don’t let anything stress you out the day of your wedding, it’s really not worth it. No matter what happens, at the end of the day you will be married to your best friend and that is truly all that matters! I really enjoyed every second of our wedding day, I don’t think I ever stopped smiling! Getting to marry Mike and being able to celebrate with all of our family and friends made me feel blessed beyond words.