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Samantha and Justin at The Grove

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Samantha and Justin at The Grove

Posted on May 26, 2022 by New Jersey Bride

How did you meet?
We met on the dating app, Coffee Meets Bagel, in May 2013. We were messaging for a few weeks before meeting up because I was traveling. Our first date was at Hillstone in NYC. Justin was running about 15 minutes late and when he finally arrived, I went in for the hug and Justin went in for the handshake. I guess it wasn’t as awkward as I thought because the rest is history.

How did you get engaged?
Throughout the summer of 2018, Justin kept telling me that he had a work dinner at some point during the summer and that I was invited. I didn’t really think anything of it at the time, but as it got closer to the date, I became suspicious. The date of the “work dinner” kept changing and finally the “work dinner” happened on August 17th, 2018. I made sure to have a nice dress, nails done, and get my hair blown out. Justin took me to Daniel in NYC for dinner at 5:30pm. Then afterwards he told me he wanted to walk to Central Park in the dark. As every New Yorker knows, never go to the park after dark plus it was a million degrees outside and I hate the heat, so there was no way I was walking there in heels. I made him get in a cab to go 3 blocks and totally messed up his plan because a photographer was supposed to be walking behind us! He ended up proposing in front of the Central Park Zoo entrance where our 2nd date was. After that, he surprised me with drinks at The Plaza with our families!

Details of the day!
I’m a Covid bride, and our wedding was postponed 4 times. We were 8 days out from our original date, March 21st, 2020, and postponed to July 31st, then April 17th 2021, then finally wed on November 6th, 2021. I had A LOT of time to think about the details between the 4 dates (an extra 596 days to be exact) so I changed my mind a lot. I knew I wanted the wedding to be elegant, romantic, and have beautiful pink and white flowers. We also really like gold and black, so we incorporated that into our menus, place cards, signs, Ketubah, napkins, and our two invitations. The ceremony and reception took place at The Grove, which is a beautiful, elegant, breathtaking wedding venue and exactly what we envisioned. We had flowers down the aisle, a beautiful Chuppah, and candles behind the Chuppah.

Leading up to our 4th date, once we finally knew the wedding was going to happen, I decided to order a few different things with our four wedding dates on them. We had a black and white welcome sign that said “We waited an extra 596 days for this, party accordingly.” We had napkins that had our first 3 dates crossed out, with the actual date on the bottom. We also ordered T-shirts to wear to the after-party and brunch the next day. Inside the ballroom, we had two long tables on each side of the dance floor with bridge centerpieces. Then we had about 12 round tables with tall centerpieces with pink roses, white hydrangeas, and some greens. I must have changed my mind about the centerpieces at least 10 times, but Kim at Marquis Florals was SO patient with me!

Why did you choose your venue?
The Grove was one of the first venues we went to visit. Justin always knew we would end up getting married there. It was exactly what we wanted- a venue that only has one wedding at a time, a beautiful and grand ballroom and entrance, a separate room for the ceremony, and UNREAL food!! The food was EXTREMELY important to us and the menu blew us away. Also, the team at The Grove is amazing. Jason, the general manager, is the best and really made sure to make our wedding the best day ever. We felt more like friends than customers!

What was on your menu?
As I mentioned above, the food and drinks were the most important to us. We wanted to make sure our guests were well fed and served. One thing that we loved about The Grove is that after our ceremony, we went upstairs to the bridal suite and The Grove brought up every appetizer from cocktail hour to our suite for us to try, it was amazing! Now onto the menu, we had an assortment of pass arounds and stations, and the amount of food was plentiful! Some were baby lamb chops, bacon-wrapped dates, Maryland crab cakes, seared tuna, short rib paninis, and Coney Island hot dogs. We had a raw bar, a southern Italian village station, a comfort food station with fried chicken, short rib chili, a slider and float bar, a meat carving station, and a dim sum bar with glazed Peking duck. Since I had an extra 596 days to think about the menu, I changed my mind another 15 times, and every time I did, Jason was so patient and worked with us. He made sure we had the exact food we wanted and the exact liquor we wanted. We requested a particular Tequila and Scotch, and Jason made sure to have it for us. For dinner, we served a green salad with Roquefort cheese, poached pear, and toasted walnuts. For the entrée, guests could choose from one of four options. For dessert, we did a plated Viennese Sampler Plate with four desserts and cake from Palermo’s. Our cake flavors were Devil’s food chocolate and red velvet. It was delicious. But wait, the food didn’t stop there. Just in case our guests were still hungry, we had a to-go station with all of our favorite junk foods- Mozzarella sticks, mini sliders, Beignets, bacon egg and cheese, and truffle fries.

All about your gown!
I knew that I wanted a ballroom-style wedding gown with detail and lace. I found my dress at Kleinfeld’s after about 2-3 days of shopping. I loved that my dress was a bit off-white with some pink undertones and loved the sweetheart neck. Also, I cannot wear heels for an extended period of time, so I found these amazing sneakers that I changed into after the ceremony. My bouquet was white and blush pink roses and was exactly what I had envisioned. The bridesmaids wore burgundy dresses from Amsale and their bouquets were white and blush pink roses with a few burgundy ranunculus flowers to match the dresses.

What was your favorite moment?
It’s so hard to choose one! Walking down the aisle with my parents by my side and seeing my future husband. After all the stress we went through with changing our dates, walking down the aisle was so exciting and emotional. Also, finally having all our family and friends in one room celebrating with us!

One detail you couldn’t live without?
Honestly our amazing vendors! Every single one was so accommodating during our four postponements, we really couldn’t have asked for better vendors. They made it so easy to move our date and made our day so special! Jason at The Grove truly is the best and our day wouldn’t have been what it was without him. John Bacolo from Gabelli Studios took the most beautiful pictures and video and really made us feel comfortable in front of the camera. Kim from Marquis Florals is so sweet and patient and let me change my mind so many times. Melissa D’Aloia and her team did an amazing job on my hair and makeup and all the bridesmaids’ hair and makeup. Ian and Russ at Hank Lane—unfortunately with all the postponements, our original band, The Russ Bennet Band, was not available but Ian found us another band so quickly. We had The Billy Stone Band and they were truly amazing and kept the party going!! Our live painter, Jessica Stevens, created a beautiful painting of our day. SmileUAreFamous was our photobooth and super affordable and easy to work with. Rabbi Jordan Millstein of Temple Sinai of Bergen County was the best and really took the time to get to know us. Our ceremony was beautiful, and he told amazing stories of our relationship. Christian from Doorbell Barbers gave the Groomsmen and Justin facials, haircuts, and shaves. He did an amazing job and all the guys looked great! Robbie from Robbie & Co. did all of the Groomsmen’s tux rentals and made it really easy. He also designed Justin’s custom tux which came out great. Debbie at Kleinfeld’s helped me find my perfect dress!

First dance song?
Stand by Me by Ben E. King

Any advice for future brides?
The day goes by so quickly. Make sure at some point throughout the night, you are able to take a step back with your significant other and look at your ballroom and friends and family celebrating you! Also, make sure to eat and change into sneakers (Grooms too).

Honeymoon Location
We did 2 weeks in Hawaii, one week on the Big Island, and one week in Maui. It was amazing!!

the details

Reception Location

The Grove

Photographer

Gabelli Studio

Officiant

Rabbi Jordan Millstein

Bride’s Gown

Allure Bridals- Kleinfeld

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Samantha and Justin at The Grove

the details

Reception Location

Photographer

Officiant

Bride’s Gown

Bride’s Shoes

Bridesmaid Dresses

Hair

Makeup

Groom’s Attire

Flowers

Cake

Invites

Music

Videographer