A Proposal AND a Puppy Lead To This Perfectly Perfect Wedding Day!

Samantha Melei
September 17, 2019
Categories: Real Weddings, The Blog

When it came time to pop the question, this groom-to-be decided to go all out and plan an after-party with friends and family, AND surprise his new fiance with a puppy! Talk about fiance goals! Once she obviously said yes, the planning began and The Madison Hotel is where it started, with a gorgeous, light-filled glass conservatory for all of the vows and wows. Cassi Claire photographed and captured every moment, even the guest appearance of the couple’s pup! With classic ivory florals mixed with just the right amount of greenery to compliment the venue, Apple Blossom Flower Shop made gorgeous arrangements from the bride’s bouquet to the floral arbor. Take a peek below, and watch the couple’s magical video by our friends, NST Pictures!

From the Bride…

How they met:

Mike and I met at the University of Maryland College Park on spring break. A few girlfriends in my sorority knew Mike who was in a close fraternity and introduced us. Mike graduated a year before me and moved back home to Scotch Plains, NJ, where he got a job and started establishing himself. After I graduated the following year, I moved up to NJ with Mike (I’m originally from Maryland) and we moved in together. We’ve lived in a few different cities since, but are now located in Green Brook, NJ, living a suburb life with our adorable 5-month old mastiff-rottweiler puppy, Leo (who was a surprise part of the proposal!).

The proposal:

From Mike’s perspective, it was very important for his proposal to be a big surprise for Christine and be something that they will never forget. It was their most important day with each other to date, and he wanted it to be something special. Mike and Christine lived in Hoboken, NJ for two years and it was a place that was significant to them. Mike had arranged a double date brunch at Halifax, a great restaurant along the Hudson River. After brunch was finished, he tricked Christine into going upstairs to a lounge area for some more drinks before heading home. What Christine didn’t realize was that it was a private space and that Mike had secretly rented it out and had it decorated for the proposal. After he asked the question (and she said yes!), the photographer told us to go to the Hudson River across the street, so we could take some photos with the Manhattan skyline as a backdrop. As a secondary surprise, our new 10-week-old adopted puppy Leo was looking dapper with a bow tie and patiently waiting to meet his new mom. Christine, already completely overwhelmed and surprised, just about broke down at this point! Leo is a (mostly) rottweiler/mastiff mix that is now the focal point of our lives and will always represent the day we started to grow our family. Our family and friends were also there for the surprise as we continued the celebration in a private space rented out at a local bar in Hoboken. If you ask Mike, he’ll say the months leading up to the proposal were extremely STRESSFUL. There were a lot of moving parts and many times where he thought that he bit off more than he could chew. You can understand why when you consider getting the ring, coordinating the brunch, booking and coordinating the private lounge, hiring the photographer, adopting the puppy, planning with family and friends, and arranging the after-party. However, it was worth every second of stress and effort and, in the end, we were so satisfied with how it worked out. It was a perfect day and one we will both fondly remember for the rest of our lives.

Before hearing more from the Bride, let’s watch their captivating video by NST Pictures! [iframe http://player.vimeo.com/video/345782930 600 338]

Wedding story:

While most of Mike’s family and their friends live in New Jersey, the majority of Christine’s family had to travel long distances to attend the wedding. Therefore, it was important for us to consider those guests and choose a location that was convenient for out-of-state travelers. Morristown was a great spot for us because it was near major airports. Also, the Convent Station train was right next to our venue, which has a direct line to NYC, convenient for our city friends. Given the short distance and easy transport to/from the city, a few of our out-of-town guests decided to take long a long weekend and use the extra time to visit NYC. It was an added bonus that the venue is also home to a beautiful hotel, making this location that much more convenient for us and our guests. With the venue being a beautiful, flower and light-filled glass conservatory, we wanted to keep additional decor and colors neutral, as to not overdo the already stunning space. For bouquets and centerpieces, we chose white flowers with lots of greenery, and kept secondary colors, like the bridesmaid dresses neutral. All of the signage and stationery was a classic black script on a white background, keeping everything consistent with the classic elegance we were going for

Attire choices:

We thought it was important to have an elegant and refined look to match the style of the venue. Mike went with a black shawl collar tuxedo by J.Crew for a timeless, traditional look. Mike’s shawl collar and black stud buttons on the shirt created subtle differences from his groomsmen who wore black notch lapel tuxedos from The Black Tux with a covered placket. All the tuxedos were paired with a skinny black silk bow tie for a slightly more modern take.

The bride chose a strapless, mermaid silhouette dress by Stella York with a sweetheart neckline and a dropped waist. The dress had silver and ivory beading and lace, in a detailed linear pattern, and a full, tulle skirt with a long cathedral train. The bridesmaids wore a variety of long chiffon styles in a neutral, taupe color from Kleinfeld Bridal Party.

Splurge/Skip

We heard from so many people that the day flies by (which it did!). Therefore, we wanted to make sure we documented the day perfectly, so we always had photos and videos to look back on. Our photographers, Keri and Yumi from Cassi Claire photography, did an amazing job capturing the photos, and Axel and Megan from NST Pictures shot the footage for a video that couldn’t be more perfect. We would consider the video to be a splurge, as it can be seen as a “nice-to-have” rather than a “need-to-have”, but having a videographer was one of the best decisions we made. Photos are beautiful and look great on display in our house, but there is also something so special about a moving video with music and voiceovers, that help you to truly relive the day and feel all the emotion associated with it each time you watch it.

Favorite parts of the day:

The getting married part of course! :) Since we chose not to do a first look, the moment we saw one another for the first time as Christine walked down the aisle towards Mike was one we’ll never forget. It was a long day of anticipation up until that point, so both of us were finally able to breathe and be present in the moment once we found one another at the altar. Another favorite moment was when our dog, Leo, showed up to take photos with us! Our neighbor drove Leo to the venue dressed in his tuxedo bandana, and he was so surprised to see us there! He was very excited to see us, our family, and our wedding party who were out on the lawn for photos, and happily received lots of belly rubs and attention between photos. When it was time for him to take photos, Leo posed so handsomely for the camera and we got some great shots! It wouldn’t have been the same without him there.

Advice for couples:

Create a wedding planning calendar and follow it! There is so much that has to be done to prepare for the big day but creating a sectioned-out calendar really helped us stay on top of everything and feel at ease through the whole process. Some larger items like choosing bridesmaid dresses or booking the DJ were assigned to an overall month. As we got down to the final three months leading up to the big day, we put every single to-do item, from creating the seating chart to ordering food for while we got ready on the morning of, on a calendar assigned to specific days, and spaced it all out in a manageable way. We slowly chipped away at the list without having to feel panicked or overwhelmed!