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Melissa and Greg at The Palace at Somerset Park

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Melissa and Greg at The Palace at Somerset Park

How did you meet?
Greg and I have both always spent our summers down the shore. It wasn’t until a mutual friend brought me to Manasquan that I met Greg. I was at a local bar with some girlfriends and Greg offered to take our picture since our selfies just weren’t cutting it. At the end of the night, I was walking out, tripped and my foot started to bleed. Since his shore house was across the street, he offered for us to come inside and get cleaned up. We’ve been together ever since!

How did you get engaged?
After dating for four years of long distance dating (Hoboken to Morristown), Greg and I decided to move in together, but at a mutual location. We landed in Jersey City and love it! On our 5 year anniversary, Greg proposed in our apartment with a tear filled request – I couldn’t wait to say yes! After the proposal, Greg had a black car ready to bring us to a waterfront restaurant in Jersey City, playing live jazz and serving champagne. It was perfect!

Details of the day!
For a theme, we went for romantic luxury, focusing on pinks, golds, whites and pops of glitter. To accentuate my all lace gown, I had my bridesmaids in Rent the Runway rose gold, all sequined gowns and the men all wore navy tuxedos with pink ties. Greg’s only request was for ‘all American’ socks!

Music was a big part of our day, so we made sure to have our favorite music playing for guests from start to finish – while everyone was arriving, we had instrumental Disney classics, during cocktail hour we had autistic duo performing and for the reception we had one of our favorite Jersey Shore bands performing, plus my Aunt performed a song of her own!

From being to dozens of past weddings, I knew that I didn’t want big, bulky centerpieces, and instead opted for short, round in-season florals surrounding a candle. Also on each table, we placed a rose gold sequin runner that looked just like the bridesmaids gowns! To add some personality, Greg and I framed pictures of ourselves from ages one to twenty five for each table number! For our favor, we gave all guests a custom can koozie and a magnetic frame to hold their pictures from the photobooth.

Why did you choose your venue?
Ever since I was little, I always wanted to get married outside. September easily rose to the top for timing because the craziness (and HEAT) of the summer has passed but it’s not too cold to hang outside. When we pulled up to visit The Palace, we instantly knew it was the place for us. With the grand entrance, the outdoor patio, the rooftop ceremony area, the massive bridal suite and so much more, we fell in love.

What was on your menu?
For our cocktail menu, we strayed away from the ‘his & hers’ theme, since Greg and I like all the same cocktails! For our first drink, we recreated our favorite cocktail from our favorite happy hour spot in Atlantic City (bourbon, grapefruit juice, orange bitters and a cucumber garnish) and the classic summertime beverage, a margarita. Our cocktail hour had some people stuffed before the reception even started with options such as philly cheese steaks, raw bar, carving stations, meat & cheese, sitr fry and more.

Our meals started with scallops that were HUGE and delicious. For entree’s we went with the chef’s recommendation of chateaubriand, along with a chicken and salmon. For dessert, the Palace opens up a wall into the foyer for a Viennese hour accompanied by our wedding cake.

All about your gown!
I wore an off white Maggie Sottero , all lace gown. The gown had a sweetheart neck line, a trumpet body and removable lace cap sleeves. I found this dress on Pinterest when I first got engaged but had trouble finding it in bridal shops. Finally I was able to get an appointment at I Do, I Do in Morristown NJ and my shopper brought out that dress based on my description of a perfect dress – I put it on and it felt meant to be. Two things I loved about my dress: I was able to have a blush undertone so match the color scheme AND I loved wearing it. The tailoring done by I Do, I Do was spot on and the gown fit me like a glove. The one thing I didn’t love about my dress was going to the bathroom, because of the trumpet style it was super difficult to get the dress up over my thighs/butt.

What was your favorite moment?
I had two favorite moments: cutting the cake to Mariah Carey’s “Sweet Fantasy” and when my Aunt performed an acoustic song for us.

Did anything go wrong?
It wasn’t ‘going wrong’, but it was super difficult to gather all of my family members together to take photographs. Since I was one of the first to get married in my family, it was important for my side of the family to gather and take one large group photo – with the craziness of cocktail hour, it was difficult to gather everyone and get them to stay put for the photo!

First dance song?
Our first dance song ended up being extremely difficult to nail down! Greg and I are classic rock songs but it was hard to find one that was romantic but don’t ‘overdone/common’. We ultimately went with James Arthur’s “Say You Won’t Let Go” performed by our band. At the time we were planning the wedding, the song was brand new and when we first herd it on the radio, Greg and I could relate to the words and it ended up being up tempo enough to dance to!

Any advice for future brides?
Use Google Docs/Sheets! The programs became essential for my husband and I to keep track of all our details, share research we had done, start checklists, create seating charts, etc.

Honeymoon Location
We went on a mini-moon to Newport, Rhode Island. We’re still trying to plan our honeymoon!