The loveliness of this Avalon, New Jersey wedding has us dreaming of warm Summer days in a quaint beach town. Between the stunning pearl and diamond ring, the handsome pup, and the personal touches every step of the way, this wedding is quickly becoming one of our faves. Add in the incredible shots from Alison Conklin and you’ve got a full gallery worth swooning.
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From the Alison Conklin Photography … This wedding was a charming nod to nautical. Brooke and Jordan put so much time into their details. It rained most of the day but just in time the clouds parted and we had such an incredible sunset.
From the bride … Jordan and I met in the Spring of 2011 and had an instant connection. It took a bit of effort on Jordan’s side to convince me to go out on a date because we worked at the same company. After a few failed attempts, he persisted and I finally gave in. At dinner, we bonded over our enormous families and could easily feel there was an undeniable bond being formed. We were inseparable from that date on and it wasn’t long before I introduced Jordan to my favorite place on earth, Avalon, New Jersey. After one visit, Jordan fell in love with it as much as I had.
Personalizing our wedding was very important to us. While all of the individual details of the weekend were important, the ceremony was the most special for us to plan. We were married in St Mary’s Episcopal Church, which is a very small and intimate church on the island. To us, the marriage is the most important part of a wedding and we wanted to make sure that it represented and included God, our families, and genuinely portrayed us and our love for one another. The most romantic and special moment was definitely our Reverend reading heartfelt and emotional letters that we wrote to each other that no one in the congregation knew about. Hearing our special words to each other brought on plenty of water works for us and I don’t think there was a dry eye in the house.
Following the ceremony, the wedding party headed to the beach for pictures. We were a bit hesitant because there was a consistent drizzle throughout the day; they do say a wet knot is the hardest to untie! I’m so glad we braved the rain because the group had so much fun and made so many memories on the beach. Despite the drizzle and somewhat grey skies, the most gorgeous and fiery sunset poked through the clouds. Low and behold we were even graced with a gorgeous rainbow as well.
We added several special personal touches to our reception. We absolutely loved our gold painted oyster shell escort cards that were situated in hand made re-used lumber mini sand boxes. We also added a “memory table” to honor our grand parents who are no longer with us. As you walked through the foyer into the main reception area, you were able to see antique maps of Avalon and Stone Harbor as well as our unique “message in a bottle” guest book. We are lovers of ice cream so in addition to cake we included the popular Springer’s Ice Cream, an absolute must on the island.
In the end the vision we had perfectly came to life. Our friends and family have not stopped commenting on how personal the wedding ceremony was and how it was perfect depiction of the two of us as a couple. It was so special to have all of our friends and family celebrate on the 7 Mile Island we cherish so much. We are so thankful for everyone who contributed in making our wedding such a perfect day. About once a week, my husband and I ask ourselves if we can go back and do the entire weekend over again.
Photography: Alison Conklin Photography | Floral Design: Pink Dahlia Vintage | Cake: Stella Baking Company | Reception Venue: Avalon Yacht Club | Bridesmaids Dresses: Amsale | Makeup: Face the Occasion | Band: Jon Bates Band | Brides Dress: Sassi Holford | Caligraphy: Juliet Grace Design | Candy In Welcome Bag: Trisha's Almond Toffee | Grooms Tux: Armani | Signage/Place Cards/Menus: Lettered Life | Video: Abominable Productions