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Sal-Lee and Michael at The Coach House at Ryland Inn

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Sal-Lee and Michael at The Coach House at Ryland Inn

How did you meet?
Michael and I went to high school together. Our junior year we started to hang out more, we went to the winter dance together, enjoyed going on rides through Warren county, celebrated our high school traditions together as a football player and cheerleader, and made so many memories. You can say I was head over heels for him back then but he wouldn’t call me his girlfriend. We ended up having a falling out our senior year and didn’t talk to each other for 10 years. We reconnected in 2020 through an app and pretty much knew from the first date that this was it. He now claims that he knew back in high school that it was me all along.

How did you get engaged?
Michael and I both love the shore. We both grew up going to the shore every summer with our families. My family goes to LBI every Memorial Day Weekend. In 2021, Michael planned to propose to me that weekend on the beach. It ended up down pouring so he asked me Saturday night in the house. After he got down on one knee, my family and best friend popped out of hiding and he even flew in another one of my best friends to surprise me. We got to all celebrate after at Beach Haven Fishery with all the seafood.

Details of the day!
We wanted our wedding day to be traditional and classy. We kept the tradition of not being together the night before, getting ready separately, having a church wedding, and our first look being me walking down the aisle. I wanted simple summer vibes since we had an early June wedding. Our colors were sage green, with a touch of blush, black, and white. My girls were in sage green and the flower girls in blush and they held green, white, and blush bouquets. The guys were all in classic black and white tuxes. Michael wanted all of them in the classic look with him different with a white bowtie. For my bridal look, I wanted simple, classy and a touch of Kate Middleton. I loved Kate’s huge train she had on her dress when she walked down the aisle and that was the look I was going for. My favorite part of my dress was we subbed out the buttons down the train with Swarovski crystals.

We loved the look of the Ryland Inn so we kept our decorating very minimal with only greenery and a few white roses. For entertainment, we knew we wanted a band. We researched online and came across The Silver Arrow Band. They were phenomenal and really felt our guests and had the party going all night. At one point, I swear every single person was up and dancing.

Why did you choose your venue?
I knew I wanted to have my reception at the Ryland Inn the second we got engaged. I loved the look and ambiance of the venue. I followed their Instagram and every time a picture came up I loved the look of it. We ended up booking before we even went for a tour because they had other people looking at the same weekends we wanted.

What was on your menu?
Our main focus that night was the food. We loved the look of the Ryland Inn, but the food included was phenomenal. We are huge foodies and all our guests were highly anticipating what we picked out. We went with the full cocktail hour and added on a slider bar (the cheeseburger sliders were our favorite part of the whole night) and the South Street Seaport station which had mini lobster rolls. For dinner, we went with the Filet and Trout. Dessert is our favorite part, not only did the venue have cake but also did s’mores outside and had a ton of butler-passed desserts like mini milkshakes, cupcakes, and chocolate-covered strawberries. We added on an ice cream cookiewich bar because everything is better with ice cream. For our cake, we brought in Cake and Corolla to make a donut cake for us. We had vanilla frosted and glazes donuts with a vanilla-frosted vanilla cake. They created tiers of donuts and a small cake on top. We then were able to give donuts to all our guests as well. To this day our guests still bring up how great the food was.

All about your gown!
My gown was custom created from a Casablanca dress. I tried on dresses at Bridals by Sandra and picked a dress but didn’t want to settle right away so I made an appointment to go back a week later. In the meantime, my mom tried on dresses at a different store and had time left over in her slot so I got to try on a few for fun. I tried on this one dress and when I put it on I was like WOW this is it. I love this dress. The dress though was WAY out of my price range so we left. When I went back to Bridals by Sandra I showed them the dress and they were able to custom-make it from one of their Casablanca dresses in my price range. I loved the simple white plain look and the square neckline. The train was super long and striking just like Kate Middleton! The bonus was we were able to sub out the buttons with Swarovski crystals to tie it all together.

What was your favorite moment?
The best moment of the night was the hour that Michael and I spent alone while the cocktail hour was going on. We got to sit and pig out on all the apps and just enjoy each other. The band was warming up, so we got up and started dancing to the music. Those moments of just us dancing and laughing were the best.

One detail you couldn’t live without?
Not really a detail, but I wouldn’t live without my photographer. The second she showed up at the salon I literally felt calm and excited. SJ has this calming presence about her and was so on top of everything being on time and getting all the right pictures that I didn’t have to worry or think. She and her husband were so fun and enjoyable to work with all day. These pictures are going to be the ones that live on and be passed down throughout our future family and I couldn’t be happier with how they turned out.

Did anything go wrong?
Honestly, no. It was such a smooth perfect day. If anything we had so much fun at the reception we didn’t end up wanting to stop and cut the cake!

First dance song?
Can You Feel the Love Tonight- Elton John

Any advice for future brides?
Find time during your wedding day for just you and your husband. The day goes by so fast and you’re pulled in a million directions that you have to remember that you are there to celebrate the love between the two of you. By having some time together alone you can just take in be with each other.

Wedding Location
Our honeymoon was a dream. We flew to LA first to adjust to the time change. We got to enjoy In N Out Burger, did the touristy things like the Hollywood stars, and a tour to see the celebrity homes. We then flew to Bora Bora. We took a first-class flight for the first time and got to be in one of the lay-down beds, it was one of the coolest experiences! In Bora Bora, we stayed at the Conrad and had a hut over the water. It was great to have a few quiet days of just the two of us in the middle of the ocean. We were true honeymooners and had matching bathing suits! After Bora Bora, we flew to Oahu. We spent a few days exploring the north shore, swimming with sea turtles, shopping in Waikiki, and seeing Pearl Harbor. Our last leg took us to Maui. We enjoyed the beach, went surfing, did a pineapple tour, and wore Hawaiian shirts with each other’s faces on it! After all the crazy wedding planning the honeymoon was much needed.