Melissa and Jason were the winners of Eagle Ridge Country Club’s wedding giveaway in 2018! Special thanks to the following vendors for providing their wonderful services for free: All The Best, Little Black Dress , i do i do , Purple Iris, Studio Photographers, and of course Eagle Ridge !
My aunt is a good friend at of his; we met at my aunt’s college graduation party. “Sugar Honey Honey” by the Archies came on the sound system, and Jason asked me if I’d be willing to be his candy girl.
Jason designed a custom escape room where the hints were all details from our relationship. The story of the room was that a scientist (named after our cat) had discovered the cure to a lifetime of happiness, but it had been locked away. When we got to the final lock, the code was the date of our anniversary, and the box had been placed in a spot where he had to be on one knee with me facing the camera for him to open it. He told me “I know what will make you happy for the rest of you life” and asked me to marry him. I knew he was my forever, and something I love about him is that he is so sweet and creative. This was the perfect proposal that represented so much of us as individuals and as a couple.
Our theme was celestial romance—the room was dimly lit with accent lights that made it look like a starry room. Tables had hand-painted globes with messages on them, and each was surrounded with string lights. The groom and groomsmen had navy accents, while the bridesmaids also had dark dresses that sparkled like the night sky. Our signature drinks were named after our cats, and the guestbook was a custom hockey jersey, with a logo representing our new family. The hockey theme also carried through to our cake, which was in the shape of the Stanley Cup.
We were the winners of Eagle Ridge’s Dream Wedding Sweepstakes, and the venue was provided for us. At first this was a scary thought, but when we got to Eagle Ridge and saw the ballroom, we absolutely fell in love.
What was on your menu? Our cocktail hour featured passed hors d’oeuvres and stations with a “NJ Boardwalk” theme. Dinner was a buffet featuring a beef carving station, chicken francese and eggplant rollatini. The cake was designed after the Stanley Cup, and featured yellow cake with a raspberry cheesecake filling. It was by far the best tasting and most unique filling we tried when looking at dessert options!
This was the fifth dress that I tried on, and it was an immediate feeling of “the one.” The bodice is fitted, and then flows out in a very romantic style. The delicate lace and intricate details made me fall in love!
Looking out over the dance floor after the ceremonies were all over, realizing we had gotten through all the parts that could have caused any trouble and that we had our whole lives ahead to happily love each other. Everywhere you looked, everyone was having a great time. It was really a perfect night all around.
The thing that really made our wedding special was the culmination of so many little details. We really put time and thought into each aspect and made it our own. We’d been to weddings that felt like they were more about the institution of marriage than they were about love, fun and the couple…and we stayed as far away from that as we could. The whole night was uniquely us and that’s the thing we couldn’t have done without.
The contest really made wedding planning interesting—it meant that a lot of decisions were already made for us. At times it was great. Some vendors really went out of their way to make us feel like we were the luckiest couple on Earth. At the other end of the spectrum, we dealt with things like internet trolls and threats, and vendors changing offerings or dropping out. But fortunately at the end of the day, we ended up with a perfect wedding and we’re beyond thankful. By the time the day came, the only problem that popped up was a few missing batteries, and a friend was able to run out and pick those up for us before anyone ever noticed.
We picked a cover of the song “When I Look at You” by Miley Cyrus, sung by Lily Rose. It’s a beautiful song about how no matter how bad things can get at times, and no matter how dark the night is, we can always find light and love in each other. It’s about loving each other on the best days and on the worst. We’d actually decided on that song years before we got married, and spent hours and hours trying to find the perfect cover.
At times, wedding planning will be great and that’s what most people end up talking about. Other times, it’ll be stressful, intimidating and downright awful. Push through it together, and remember that in the end the most important thing is that your day represents you, your partner and the love and happiness you share.
We haven’t gone yet, but we’ll be traveling to the Maldives in the summer.
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