A Stunning Summer Wedding at the Pleasantdale Chateau

“After seeing the Pleasantdale Chateau for the first time, we both absolutely fell in love with the beautiful, fairytale vibes of the venue,” says bride Hunter.

For their September 1, 2023, big day, Hunter and Bobby wanted, “a French chateau inspired summer wedding.” Their florals—a mix of white, green and pops of blue—“featured a combination of tall and low textured floral arrangements, as well as tall tree designs with touches of gold branches,” says Hunter.

Other special details of their day included a fresh mozzarella station, a humongous ice sculpture of their dog, a cigar bar and an Aperol Spritz bar.

Their Story

“Sometime in 2018, we first crossed paths at The Parker House, a fun beach bar down the shore, and little did we know that a couple of years later, we’d meet again,”  says Hunter. “I could not live without Bobby. He is smart, kind, loving, hilarious and the most handsome! We reconnected during one of the most difficult times in my life in 2020. My mom had become really sick with early onset Alzheimer’s – and he was there to support me through it all.”

The Proposal

“While on vacation in London (where I used to live when I was little), Bobby planned a special day that began with some fun sightseeing, including a trip to the London Eye, where Bobby had a lock engraved with ‘H&B 5/13/2022’ prepped for us to lock on a bridge,” says Hunter. “Bobby proposed to me in Rembrandt Gardens – a special garden in Little Venice across the street from where I lived when I was little. He proposed to me right after we walked by my childhood home. The garden was even more special because my mother used to play with me there when I was young. Bobby surprised me with the amazing Emily Montay as our photographer – who also came from London to shoot our wedding day. Following our photos, we celebrated with champagne and tea at Dalloway Terrace and a special dinner at The Chiltern Firehouse. I then came home to our hotel room at the Savoy decorated with roses, rose petals, balloons and candles galore.”

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Their Pleasantdale Chateau Wedding 

“My fiancé at the time (now husband!), Bobby, grew up in the same small town in New Jersey as my father did,” says Hunter. “They both have a special connection to their hometown, Verona. We held our church ceremony at the church they both shared growing up, Our Lady of the Lake Church, which now holds a special place in my heart. For our September 1, 2023, wedding, I wanted to play off the classy elegance of our venue, The Pleasantdale Chateau, and really accentuate it with special, personal touches for a French chateau inspired summer wedding.

For the ceremony, we kept it classic and simple with white flowers at the altar and leading down the aisle. The cocktail hour was dripping with candles throughout the space. For the reception, we worked with Debbie’s Designs to create a mix of floral centerpieces with unique, tall tree designs. We featured a combination of tall and low textured floral arrangements, as well as tall tree designs with touches of gold branches. Each table was filled with different sized candlesticks and floating candles–I think the floating candles really help make a statement. We had a long, mirror table for the center of the room (where my fiancé and I sat with some of our bridal party). The flowers featured seasonal flowers like, hydrangeas, roses, lisianthus, ranunculus, delphinium, thistle, dahlias and more–a mix of white, green and pops of blue. Each table had a large custom, double-faced mirror gold table number.

We carried a simple, classy gold ‘K’ logo throughout the night, including on our menus with gold foil, cocktail napkins, cigar wrappers, and video photobooth design. We also purchased custom gold chargers to elevate the tablescape. I think the uplighting that Debbie’s Designs provided really helped highlight our tables as well!

Our band, Dreamtime Band was incredible – who also had instrumental musicians perform at our cocktail hour. We booked intelligent lighting that made the dance floor even more fun – with firework sparks at the reception. Our afterparty was AMAZING with an epic DJ and soooo many late night bites – ranging from sliders, disco fries, grilled cheese, breakfast sandwiches and more.”

Why Pleasantdale Chateau?

“After seeing the Pleasantdale Chateau for the first time, we both absolutely fell in love with the beautiful, fairytale vibes of the venue,” says Hunter. “Each room in the venue is unique and brings so much character and charm. I noticed something new that I loved each time I visited the venue. The estate included gardens, ponds, walking bridges, little gazebos–all of which I knew would be fun and beautiful photo spots for us and our guests.”

Favorite Moment

“The day was very emotional for me – marrying the love of my life without my mom present was difficult,” says Hunter. “Leading up to the church, I was in a trolley with my bridesmaids (all 15 of them dressed in all different blue dresses as my something blue!) and dad, and I couldn’t help but get so emotional when the ‘Chapel of Love’ song came on. Seeing Bobby on the other side of the aisle immediately calmed my nerves and walking towards him with my dad by my side was the most special moment.”

Special Details

“We both are part Italian, and many of our guests are Italian, so we were dying to have a fresh mozzarella station where the mozzarella is made right in front of guests (everyone loved it!),” says Hunter. “We have an English bulldog named Bellini (who we love SO much!), so we were obsessed with our humongous ice sculpture of Bellini at the raw bar. Bobby is a HUGE cigar fan, so we booked the amazing Mobile Cigar Lounge during our cocktail hour. Lastly, we both love an Aperol Spritz (or two!!) so we had an Aperol Spritz bar set up outside. I LOVED these details at the cocktail hour. I also could not live without my Adi Shlomo dress and Galia Lahav veil from Bridal Reflections or my epic hair and makeup artists. I felt really beautiful! I also could not live without our photographer, Emily Montay, who also shot our engagement in London!”

Advice

“For wedding planning, try not to stress the small things,” says Hunter. “Everything will get sorted out. Lean on your friends and family for help. If something small goes ‘wrong’ on the wedding day, you will be SO happy, you likely won’t even notice it (and your guests won’t either).Remember that the most important thing is that you are marrying the love of your life. 2)I booked a two-month out planner, Kathleen Deo, who was fantastic. She really made sure that my hard work paid off and helped with all of the final details and day-of scheduling. She was a lifesaver. She was also always there to hop on the phone to chat through anything and everything. I think having someone available to talk through things with who is outside of your family and friends is SUPER helpful .If you can book a partial or day-of planner–I’d highly recommend it ! 3)Pick vendors that you connect with–make sure you work with people who are not only amazing at what they do, but that are also great people. I was fortunate to work with amazing vendors who were all wonderful people and helped make me feel even more special on my wedding day. 4)Enjoy being engaged. Try to create fun and special memories during this time and cherish it. Especially during ‘lulls’ of wedding planning. 5) Book my vendors!!!! :)”

Honeymoon

“Our honeymoon was incredible – I could talk all day about our trip and recommendations in Santorini and Paros,” says Hunter. “The Canaves Oi Epitome hotel in Santorini was SPECTACULAR. We were gone for a week and a half – did fun adventures like a boat day, hikes, LOTS of Greek wine and food, dips in the Ageean Sea, shopping and more.”

Check out gorgeous Real Weddings at Pleasantdale Chateau from Kenny & Amy Pickett and Matthew and Gabrielle.