Elevated Garden-Inspired Wedding With A Classic Touch
The overall vision we wanted to create was an elevated garden for our guests. My planner Joy and I went through every single detail with two words: elegant and clean. Fluffy greenery, textured linens, exotic florals in glass vases, gold accents, and thousands of candles of different sizes. Our amazing florist, Stephanie and Jesse from Whisper and Brook Flower Co., executed perfectly!
Andy planned this 'fancy happy hour' for me by the water here in New Jersey, which at the time didn't seem out of the ordinary that he had asked me if I was free three weeks in advance! When we get there he tells me that there's a boat that will be passing by the Hudson at a veryyyy specific time of 6:00 pm that he wants us to see. We leave our happy hour after a few celebratory Friday drinks (he was acting a little too excited about the happy hour, so I was starting to get suspicious), and he insists on walking over to a specific area of the boardwalk. We get there, and he goes, "there it is!" and I look over ... nothing there. When I turned around, he was down on one knee, and I yelled, "I KNEW IT! AND YES!!!" It was so beautiful. What was super surprising was when we arrived back at our apartment, I opened the door, and my family, his family, and my best friends from near and far were there for a surprise engagement party!! I began to tear up as I saw all our loved ones, the apartment filled with flowers and white balloons, and my sweet fiance, who spent weeks planning the perfect surprise!
After 7 appointments all over New York and New Jersey, I finally went to Sareh Nouri in Short Hills. I went with the 'Royal Highness' gown which was a strapless ball gown, with a long train and a French lace cathedral veil! We added this extra large beautiful bow to the back of the dress to add a WOW factor! The dress also had this chic slit down the leg, so I knew the shoes would have to be special; I went with white Jimmy Choos!
Cocktail Hour: Scallop Crudo, Shrimp Hush Puppies, Grilled Chicken Flatbread, Smoked Gouda Arancini, Tempura Fried Broccoli, Crispy Potato Rosti Cakes, Chilled Shrimp with Avocado Mousse, Cornmeal Fritter. Chef Stations: Gourmet slides and baby lamb chops, grilled clams and mussels, pepper crusted tuna loin, pork loin, chicken and waffles, south street seaport station with lobster rolls, and a risotto station with mushroom truffle or shellfish. For dinner: Tuscan Kale salad, Halibut, Snake River Wagyu, or the Vegetarian Lasagna. To finish off the night, we had strolling desserts, a s'mores station, and chocolate popcorn made by the Ryland Inn.
A three tier all white classic wedding cake by La Bon Bake with sugar orchids cascading from the bottom and wrapping all around the cake to the top layer. It was exactly what we pictured!
