Rain Equaled Romance at this Vintage Inspired NJ Wedding
Rain couldn’t stop the smiles from spreading across the faces of the Bride, Groom and guests alike at this vintage inspired New Jersey wedding. Robert and Kathleen captured the quick bursts of surprise sunshine and when umbrellas needed to be popped open, the romance and magic didn’t fade. See every moment in our Vault right this way!
From Robert & Kathleen Photographers… To hear Lindsay’s family and friends tell it, she knew that Blake was someone special really early on – not long after she had first spotted him teaching tennis at the Bath & Tennis club near her parent’s home. In fact, Lindsay knew how she felt about Blake before he had even realized that Lindsay’s interest in him was not solely based on tennis. But once he did, Blake could hardly believe his luck that he had managed to find a woman so perfect for him – smart, gorgeous and interested in so many of the same things that are important to him. So it’s safe to say that this wedding day was one that all of Lindsay & Blake’s family and friends had been excitedly awaiting. It was even more perfect than anyone could have pictured. There was rain, yes (a lot, at times) but Lindsay and Blake weren’t going to let that dampen their happiness for even one minute. They braved the raindrops for photos, held each other under an umbrella and were delighted when the rain stopped just enough for their guests to enjoy the spectacular view from the Rumson Country Club during their cocktail hour. And when Lindsay and Blake danced their first dance as husband and wife with their friends and family surrounding them on the dance floor – they could see was the joy of all the people important to them surrounding them in every direction. And their guests got to see, first hand, the love that Lindsay and Blake first found on the tennis courts so many years before.
From the Bride… I met Blake just about five years ago. I was home from grad school looking for a job and decided to take up tennis again to pass the time. My parents live in beautiful Spring Lake, NJ about a block away from the beach and walking distance the Spring Lake Bath and Tennis Club, where I spent every summer of my childhood. I walked over one afternoon to sign up for a tennis lesson and, unbeknownst to me, meet my future husband. Or at least hear his voice. As I was arranging my tennis lesson, I asked the front desk manager whom I should take from. I heard a voice behind me say “Well you’ll either get the father or the son” and I immediately got butterflies in my stomach. I never knew you could fall in love at first sound. I was in a long-term relationship with someone else at the time, so I decided to go with the father. I officially met Blake a few days later when I showed up for a clinic session at the club. After two summers of flirting with each other we finally got together over Thanksgiving weekend in 2012.
Flash forward to May 21, 2016. After an engagement period of nearly two years, our wedding day was finally here. The forecast had said it would downpour the entire day so that morning I was pleasantly surprised to see that the rain had held off so far. It would rain periodically throughout the day, but that didn’t dampen our spirits. Getting married is so surreal. All my troubles seemed to melt away once I put on my Rosa Clara dress. I could do no wrong – it was as if the dress was made for me. I’m so lucky to have found it thanks to the awesome consultants at Lovely Bride in New York City.
The planning process truly was stressful, though, to say the least. It was very difficult for me to give up any creative control and so I ended up doing most of the grunt work. I had a crystal clear idea of what I wanted in my head, but finding examples online proved challenging. Pinterest and Etsy quickly became my best friends. Things seemed to be on track and this past November I hired an event planner to handle day-of logistics and help me decide on some of my outstanding vendors. At the time I still had yet to hire vendors for transportation, cake, hair, and makeup. Come February, though, it was plain to see that our relationship was not working out. She had stopped returning my phone calls and emails. Whatever was going on behind the scenes was clearly preventing her from doing her job and I unfortunately terminated our contract. Luckily Blake, along with our family and friends, really stepped up during this time and I was able to hire a fabulous day-of coordinator in Kaysie McKay of Backyard Bride Consulting. My florist Kate Duffy and my photographers Robert and Kathleen Trenske stepped up in a big way as well, giving me some great advice. Needless to say, when everything came together on our wedding day, it was a satisfaction I have rarely felt before.
My bridesmaids were absolutely stunning in their mix and match tulle dresses from Amsale, and my gorgeous sister (and maid of honor) just shined in her Adrianna Papell gown. I was a bit apprehensive about the color palette I chose but in the end the risk paid off. Shout out to the Madison, NJ branch of Bella Bridesmaids for placing the orders for us and accommodating my out-of-town girls. And of course I couldn’t be happier with my hair and makeup gals Denee and Miranda. They are so talented and I know every single one of my girls (myself included) felt beautiful that day.
The guys didn’t look too shabby either in their charcoal suits from The Black Tux. Blake rented his three-piece gray suit from The Black Tux as well. This was another risk that paid off. I had heard about The Black Tux from a co-worker of mine. She raved about how great her husband and his groomsmen looked on their wedding day. I was skeptical, but intrigued. The truth is Blake and his grooomsmen are not suit people. And I didn’t want to force them to buy a new suit they would never wear. The Black Tux was the perfect compromise. Everyone looked perfect!
Because we had over 200 guests at our wedding it was very important to me that we incorporate little touches to make each guest feel welcome and appreciated. I curated items from Etsy and Amazon to make welcome bags for each of our hotel guests. I found cute little burlap gift bags on Etsy and ordered blank gift tags on which I hand lettered a welcome message. (Quick side note: I got quite good at “faux calligraphy” as I hand lettered each save-the-date and invitation. For the wedding I finally wised up and hired a professional, MaryKate McMahon, who made the most beautiful placecards and table numbers.) Going back to the welcome bags, I included gluten-free and vegan snacks so that everyone could enjoy along with an emergency kit (Advil, Tums, cotton swabs, makeup remover, eye drops, gum and more) just in case people overindulged. Finally, each welcome bag included brochures and booklets on things to do in the area. Blake and I love where we live and we were so excited to share this special place with our closest friends and family.
Kate, our florist, arranged for us to rent three rectangular farm tables at which sat our bridal party plus their guests. In order to make the people sitting at these tables feel extra special I ordered laser-cut wooden place settings. You will see them in the pictures. I was so pleased with the way they came out and they were such a nice keepsake for folks to take home. Additionally, we set out white pashmina scarves for people to take on a first-come first-serve basis. Since it was chilly outside these came in handy and so many people thanked me throughout the night for thinking ahead.
There were so many amazing moments that happened throughout the day its almost too many to mention! I’ll start with the ceremony. It was so meaningful for us to have our wedding ceremony at Tower Hill Church in Red Bank. This is the same church in which Blake’s parents got married and our organist even played at their wedding. Just after our first kiss as husband and wife, our pastor had us turn and face all of our family and friends. At that point I could see Blake’s mom stand up and as we began to walk back down the aisle everyone else followed suit. I know it meant the world to her that we decided to start our lives at Tower Hill and I wouldn’t have had it any other way.
All of the speeches were outstanding. My dad started it off by welcoming everyone and introducing those who had traveled from afar to be with us. He then launched into the most embarrassing origin story about how Blake and I first got together. He was certainly a tough act to follow but our dear friend Theresa was up to the task. Theresa was such an amazing person for my sister and I to be around as we were growing up. She was our live-in nanny and I basically worshiped her as a child. I was so touched by the blessing she gave and so glad that everyone got to meet her.
Blake’s brother and my sister really stepped up their games and delivered heartfelt and hilarious speeches. But one of the most memorable moments of the night for me came during the father/daughter dance. My sister joined the band (the fabulous Billy Stone Band from Hank Lane) and sang “Can’t Help Falling in Love”. She was a musical theater major in college but I hadn’t heard her perform in about four years. She absolutely knocked it out the park.
Other highlights included my cousin walking my mom down the aisle, a contingent of students from Blake’s elementary school coming to watch the ceremony (Blake is an elementary school physical education teacher), the band singing “Read all day” the Taylor Swift parody Blake and his colleagues wrote and recorded to promote Read Across America Day last year (you can watch the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjf7H8K9r4U), me smashing cake in Blake’s face, and Blake delivering a heartfelt speech to his groomsmen and sister immediately following cake cutting.
These moments were all beautifully captured by Robert and Kathleen Photographers. I absolutely love the amount of candids they took of all our friends and family and you can really re-live the night through the photographs they took.
Finally, I want to shout-out a couple of my amazing vendors, namely my florist Kate Duffy and my invitations designer Amy Zaleski of Invitations Ink. Kate did such a lovely job with the ceremony decorations. I especially loved the urns on either side of the raised platform filled with beautiful green and white flowering branches. She completely transformed the feel of the reception venue from preppy and nautical to romantic and whimsical. The centerpieces on the three farm tables in particular were spectacular. Our wedding save-the-date set the tone and expectations for our wedding and Amy created a wonderful watercolor of the entrance to the Rumson Country Club. We were able to re-use the image on the menu cards. It was perfect. As were our invitations. I was going for a classic, turn of the century look and she achieved it magnificently.
Blake and I will never forget our wedding day. Thanks for letting me share a bit of it with you!