Janine and Mike chose Woodbridge Township’s stunning Ariana’s Grand for their reception venue, and the venue was perfect for their clean and ethereal wedding vision! To keep their wedding timeless, Flowers by Bernard filled their reception with swaths of greenery and mixed metals, accented by succulents and acrylic elements for a modern touch. Janine’s late grandmother was named Rosalie, and they honored her by sprinkling roses throughout the arrangements. We are swooning over every gorgeous images from Stephanie Sunderland, and the spectacular wedding day video from NST Pictures!
In their own words
What is your proposal story?
I LOVE coffee. I eat, sleep, breathe and dream coffee. It literally fuels me. It is my favorite thing in the world. Mike and I had our first date over a cup of coffee. It was super casual and low-key, we literally just sipped our coffees and chatted – that is the definition of a perfect outing/date for me. Fast forward a few years and thousands of shared cups of coffee later, and Mike and I were meeting in Bryant Park (my favorite spot during my 4 years of college at NYU – I loved sneaking up there to have coffee and read/study in the park) on a cold January day. Mike arrived at the park a bit earlier than I did, and I was aware that he had gotten there before me, so when I finally got there and he handed me a cup of coffee (from Starbucks – this will make sense in a few seconds) I didn’t think anything of it. My coffee was also “double-cupped,” which is not at all uncommon when a barista makes you a scalding cup of hot coffee to go. It wasn’t until a few minutes later that Mike was pointing out something in the fine print on the Starbucks cup. As I was squinting and trying to read it, he pulled the inner cup up from the outer cup, and on the Starbucks cup, in the same font/colors as the Starbucks logo, the cup read “Janine, Will You Marry Me?” and then he got down on one knee! It was completely surreal. And we were able to drink our coffees throughout the whole event ;)
What was your wedding vision?
Our vision was something “clean,” earthy, ethereal. Lots of greenery, not much color. Some mixed metals (gold and silver accents). As far as location, getting married in our parish church was extremely important to us, so we wanted to find a venue that was within a reasonable distance from our church.
What were your favorite parts of the day?
Our favorite parts of the day were getting ready with our families & closest friends. The groom loved reading the bride’s card on the morning of the wedding. We loved seeing everyone at our church ceremony, and the groom’s uncle really got everyone out of their seats with a live performance of “Sweet Caroline” at the reception. We were also told by almost all of our guests that the cocktail hour and Viennese hour were both out of this world!
Do you have any advice for couples planning their weddings now?
Enjoy it! Be on the same team. It can be extremely stressful, but remember the final outcome – you get to marry each other! Don’t let planning take over your life! It should be fun, not feel like a chore.
Also – get video! It’s a no brainer – you need one! Even if you and your husband/wife are the only two people to EVER watch the video, it is so worth it!