Bonnet Island Wedding from Kay English
This bride knows weddings. As the editor of (201) Bride magazine, she sees beautiful soirees day in and day out. So when it came to her own wedding, she knew what she wanted, and what she wanted was beautiful. NJ Wedding Photographer Kay English was brought on to capture the stunning day in her signature way, and she's left us with a gallery that is beyond.
From the gorgeous bride... On Saturday, April 13, 2013, I married my best friend. I can honestly say that our wedding was the best night of my life! It was absolutely amazing.Everything I had envisioned and planned had come together to create the most memorable wedding. And I have such beautiful photos to show of it.
I really cannot say enough wonderful things about our wedding photographer Bonnet Island preferred wedding photographer Kay English. Her photographs of our wedding are in one word: stunning. She was so sweet and professional. When I had seen her work previously, I knew she was an amazingly talented photographer. She was the first photographer I contacted because I knew that I loved her work and that she would do a [insert another flattering descriptive word here] job! I was not wrong. Hiring her was the best decision I could have made!
Another fabulous vendor was our florist, Donna, from The Loft Florist in Toms River. Everyone has complimented me on the beautiful bouquets. Even though I was hoping to have dahlias in our bouquets and table settings, Donna was able to replace the dahlias with other beautiful pink and coral blooms (she tried everything to get me my dahlias but they were not in season or available from any of her suppliers). I also love how the blue succulents looked in my bridal bouquet – they were just what I wanted! And I added blue hydrangeas last minute to the bridesmaid bouquets – to tie in the blue I wanted – and Donna was able to add them no problem. The blue glassware through the ceremony site and reception area (which I loved!) also tied into the color scheme into the wedding. Our rustic beach chic wedding came together perfectly because of Donna and her amazing work.
Our wedding wouldn’t have been a party without our fantastic DJ Phil Walsh from Elite Entertainment. I had hired Phil to DJ our wedding because he had done such a great job at my brother Greg’s wedding. People were on the dance floor all night. Our wedding was no exception. Phil had the crowd dancing all night long, and he played some fun favorites. And I guess I can now tell everyone what our wedding song is – since we had been keeping it a secret. Our first dance was to Adam Sandler’s “Grow Old With You.” We both thought it was just too perfect for us. Phil has never played our song as a first dance at any wedding before, so we were happy to be somewhat original.
Our cinematographers Darrell and Emily from DMart Films were also amazing and easy to work with. I cannot wait to see our wedding video!
Other vendors I cannot forget to mention are Bijou Bridal in Paramus, where I found my breathtaking wedding gown. I wish I could wear it everyday. I loved everything about it – the lace, the beading, the chiffon pedals everywhere. It was a work of art!
Our wedding cake from The Bake Works in Northfield (the bakery that works with Bonnet Island Estate) was not only beautiful but delicious! I loved that Amanda at The Bake Works was able to work in the colors I wanted on the cake. She used a type of “spray” coloring to make the shades of peach/pink and turquoise on the cake. Our cake was hazelnut cake filled with white chocolate ganache and chocolate buttercream frosted in vanilla buttercream. I can’t wait to eat it again so I divided up the top layer of our cake into 12 slices and froze them so we could eat one slice on the 13th of each month for a year. I thought it was better than waiting a whole year to enjoy a slice again!
And last, but not least, I have to thank everyone at Bonnet Island Estate and Merri-Makers Catering and Special Events. They pulled together a wonderful wedding for us. I heard the food was fabulous (You get scared to eat when you’re wearing such a beautiful dress! But I did enjoy a nibble here and there. I know the guacamole was delicious! So was my lobster dinner.) And I have to send a special thank you to Mary at Merri-Makers for dealing with all my questions and menu changes; and to Meghan at Bonnet Island Estate, who followed me around most of the day and night seeing if I needed anything. She was so sweet and very helpful!
Photography: NJ Wedding Photographer Kay English | Venue: Bonnet Island Estate | Cinematography: Dmart Films | Floral Design: The Loft Flower & Art Studio | Entertainment: Phil Walsh | Jewelry: custom made by Haeja Yoo, Toms River | Shoes: Rinaldi’s Shoes by Gina | Wedding veil and flower girl dress custom belt: made by Susan Sharp-Marino, Toms River | Bridesmaid dresses: J.Crew | Bridesmaid necklaces and clutches: Etsy | Grooms and groomsmen suits: JoS. A. Bank | Invitations and wedding day signage: designed by the bride | Favors: photo booth photos, Occasional Sounds Entertainment, Toms River | Hair: Michelle Popp Hynes, Point Pleasant | Makeup: Tina Gould, Toms River | Wedding rings: Hers: Designs by Labelle Jewelry, The Jewelry Center, Paramus, His: groom’s father’s wedding band | Caterer: Merrimakers Catering and Special Events
I really cannot say enough wonderful things about our wedding photographer Bonnet Island preferred wedding photographer Kay English. Her photographs of our wedding are in one word: stunning. She was so sweet and professional. When I had seen her work previously, I knew she was an amazingly talented photographer. She was the first photographer I contacted because I knew that I loved her work and that she would do a [insert another flattering descriptive word here] job! I was not wrong. Hiring her was the best decision I could have made!
Another fabulous vendor was our florist, Donna, from The Loft Florist in Toms River. Everyone has complimented me on the beautiful bouquets. Even though I was hoping to have dahlias in our bouquets and table settings, Donna was able to replace the dahlias with other beautiful pink and coral blooms (she tried everything to get me my dahlias but they were not in season or available from any of her suppliers). I also love how the blue succulents looked in my bridal bouquet – they were just what I wanted! And I added blue hydrangeas last minute to the bridesmaid bouquets – to tie in the blue I wanted – and Donna was able to add them no problem. The blue glassware through the ceremony site and reception area (which I loved!) also tied into the color scheme into the wedding. Our rustic beach chic wedding came together perfectly because of Donna and her amazing work.
Our wedding wouldn’t have been a party without our fantastic DJ Phil Walsh from Elite Entertainment. I had hired Phil to DJ our wedding because he had done such a great job at my brother Greg’s wedding. People were on the dance floor all night. Our wedding was no exception. Phil had the crowd dancing all night long, and he played some fun favorites. And I guess I can now tell everyone what our wedding song is – since we had been keeping it a secret. Our first dance was to Adam Sandler’s “Grow Old With You.” We both thought it was just too perfect for us. Phil has never played our song as a first dance at any wedding before, so we were happy to be somewhat original.
Our cinematographers Darrell and Emily from DMart Films were also amazing and easy to work with. I cannot wait to see our wedding video!
Other vendors I cannot forget to mention are Bijou Bridal in Paramus, where I found my breathtaking wedding gown. I wish I could wear it everyday. I loved everything about it – the lace, the beading, the chiffon pedals everywhere. It was a work of art!
Our wedding cake from The Bake Works in Northfield (the bakery that works with Bonnet Island Estate) was not only beautiful but delicious! I loved that Amanda at The Bake Works was able to work in the colors I wanted on the cake. She used a type of “spray” coloring to make the shades of peach/pink and turquoise on the cake. Our cake was hazelnut cake filled with white chocolate ganache and chocolate buttercream frosted in vanilla buttercream. I can’t wait to eat it again so I divided up the top layer of our cake into 12 slices and froze them so we could eat one slice on the 13th of each month for a year. I thought it was better than waiting a whole year to enjoy a slice again!
And last, but not least, I have to thank everyone at Bonnet Island Estate and Merri-Makers Catering and Special Events. They pulled together a wonderful wedding for us. I heard the food was fabulous (You get scared to eat when you’re wearing such a beautiful dress! But I did enjoy a nibble here and there. I know the guacamole was delicious! So was my lobster dinner.) And I have to send a special thank you to Mary at Merri-Makers for dealing with all my questions and menu changes; and to Meghan at Bonnet Island Estate, who followed me around most of the day and night seeing if I needed anything. She was so sweet and very helpful!
Photography: NJ Wedding Photographer Kay English | Venue: Bonnet Island Estate | Cinematography: Dmart Films | Floral Design: The Loft Flower & Art Studio | Entertainment: Phil Walsh | Jewelry: custom made by Haeja Yoo, Toms River | Shoes: Rinaldi’s Shoes by Gina | Wedding veil and flower girl dress custom belt: made by Susan Sharp-Marino, Toms River | Bridesmaid dresses: J.Crew | Bridesmaid necklaces and clutches: Etsy | Grooms and groomsmen suits: JoS. A. Bank | Invitations and wedding day signage: designed by the bride | Favors: photo booth photos, Occasional Sounds Entertainment, Toms River | Hair: Michelle Popp Hynes, Point Pleasant | Makeup: Tina Gould, Toms River | Wedding rings: Hers: Designs by Labelle Jewelry, The Jewelry Center, Paramus, His: groom’s father’s wedding band | Caterer: Merrimakers Catering and Special Events