I have had the pleasure of working with this couple for the last 8 months to try to bring their vision to life on a very limited budget. We had to get very creative. I will update soon with pro pics.
We had the ceremony and reception at Bogey’s Club and Cafe at Pitman Country Club. The ceremony was outside in front of the gazebo:
The bride and groom both wore white. The men wore gray tuxes with Coral vests/ties and the women wore coral gowns.
The bride has a severe allergy to all flowers, so we had to get creative there as well. The incredible Rose Bud Floral Art did these stunning silk flower arrangements for the men and women to wear/carry:
Bouttonniers for the men, pomanders for the women and a beautiful blend of coral, seafoam and white flowers for the bride’s bouquet wrapped in coral ribbon and lined with gemstones.
6 PM ceremony started right on time. The bridal party walked down the aisle to “I gotta be” by Jagged Edge. Then the bride walked down to Shanice’s “Saving Forever for You“. I’ve gotta tell you, this was an emotional bunch. It was so sweet. 2 of the bride’s daughters, the bride’s sister, and the bride all teared up as they were about to head down the aisle. It was so touching. I got a little misty eyed as well.
After the beautiful ceremony, the guests headed inside for the cocktail hour while the bridal party took portraits by the lake on property. Inside, we enjoyed passed hor derves of cocktail franks, spanikopita, chicken skewers and mini egg rolls. YUM!
Reception begins. Shortly after, they did the grand entrances/announcements. We went right into the first dance to “Make it last forever” by Keith Sweat, immediately followed by “We are Family” by Sister Sledge. This Brady Bunch family has 7 kids between the two of them, so it was really special that they had this fun uptempo number to dance together as a family for the first time.
Then we served salad to the guests and brought up the Matron of Honor for her speech. More tears. This was such a special moment. As was the speech by the Best Man. Both families were overfilled with joy at the union of Matt & Danielle.
After the speeches, we had a blessing by a close family friend, Bishop Boyd and then the buffet was open. This food was outstanding! There was penne vodka (delicious), steamed veggies (honestly, a tad salty for me….but then, not salty enough for my assistant. lol.), the most amazing mashed potatoes I’ve ever had in my life, tender tilapia in a lobster cream sauce, chicken francaise and roast beef with horseradish. Soooooo good!
Because of the bride’s flower allergy, we had fruit in our centerpiece instead. A tabletop mirror on the bottom, then a tall cylinder vase with 3 peaches sitting in water, with a few votive candles on either side. Not only was it pretty and smelled fantastic, people ate the peaches too!
For dessert, other than the peaches, we had cupcakes. I used my favorite baker for this. Pat Pearlman bakes for charity and therefore, she has very very reasonable prices. She made 51 Red Velvet cupcakes with fudge filling and cream cheese icing, 51 walnut carrot cake cupcakes with cream cheese frosting, 2 dozen mini vanilla and 2 dozen mini chocolate cupcakes with buttercream frosting. Half the cupcakes had coral frosting and half seafoam. All were drizzled with edible pearls. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
Oh! The top of the cake? Shoprite. That’s right, folks. It was gorgeous, moist, affordable, and all together yummy.
Dove shaped cookies as favors too:
We did the standard bouquet and garter tosses. Then there was the garter placement. You’re not gonna believe this, but sparks flew during the placement and Tim (caught the garter) and Princess (caught the bouquet) are going on a date soon! That is so ridiculously cute and I wish them the best.
Family and friends partied until the reception ended at 11 PM and then everyone piled into their cars and headed back home, including us.
We had a blast and want to say congrats again to the new Mr. & Mrs. Hill and their family!!!
Xoxo,
Jess and the PEP team
Pearl Event Planning 