Morning After Brunch – One of the Best Decisions of the Wedding!

Dave and I got married in my hometown, Monroe Township, NJ. However, we had most of our families and lots of friends traveling far or out of state to celebrate our wedding. We set up a room block at a hotel only 5 minutes from our wedding venue so we were fortunate to have most everyone in the same place on our wedding weekend. The hotel actually became a hub of sorts for people to hang out and meet each other, which we were thrilled about!

As we considered it more, we realized that the day before the wedding, there would be a lot of running around and preparation so we might not get to visit with people as they were arriving. And on the wedding day itself we would see all of our family and friends, but probably not for an extended period of time.

So we decided to continue the celebrations and host a Sunday brunch for everyone who was staying over. I can honestly say it was one of the best decisions we made! We had about 70 people join us which was nearly half of our wedding so it was a great party atmosphere. We had a banquet room in the hotel with a breakfast buffet. It was an amazing opportunity to spend even more quality time with family and friends who we so rarely get to see.

I also loved how the end of the wedding and reception didn't mean it was the end of the celebration. There was still so much excitement and energy and this was a great opportunity to continue riding that wave.

Here are a few pictures:

Me, my sister and cousins, we haven't all been together in years! 

Close friends from CT.

Perks of Taking a Mini Moon

Dave and I got married on April 16^th but we booked a cruise that sets sail on May 23^rd so we were left with a dilemma with what to do immediately after the wedding. I don’t think either of us were particularly interested with going back to work that Monday but we also didn’t want to go on an extended vacation with a huge trip only a month away.

Our family encouraged us to take a mini moon, it would just be a few days away to relax and decompress coming off of the high of a wedding. So we decided to spend two days down in Spring Lake, NJ and I’m so glad that we did! We went down on Sunday the 17^th and returned home on Tuesday the 19^th.

It was a perfect mix of relaxing and reading and also doing activities. We went to the beach, took walks around the lake and explored shops on the main street. Since it was off season, we practically had the town to ourselves!

I was also surprised with how exhausted I was both physically and emotionally after the wedding. I think once the adrenaline wore off, all the activity from the weekend really started to hit me. It was good just to have some time away to get my head back together.

With a few weeks in between our wedding and honeymoon, we’re able to focus on the preparations and logistics of our big trip. We can take our time with packing and shopping and also have something to look forward to again. I know for me, I was counting the days, hours and minutes to our wedding, so this allows for the momentum to continue. But I'm so glad we had our mini moon to create more memories from our wedding celebration and to spend more time together as a newly married couple.

We stayed at the Chateau Inn and Suites in Spring Lake, NJ

Our room, fireplace included!

Our wedding venue packed us extra cake to enjoy after the reception

Spring Lake

Our Wedding Rehearsal & Rehearsal Dinner - All the Details!

Our wedding rehearsal took place on the evening before our wedding day. It was so surreal to actually be at our wedding rehearsal. It went surprisingly fast actually. We were first arranged at the altar in the places where we would ultimately be once everyone walked down the aisle. I have to admit, if I was nervous at any point during our wedding weekend it was definitely then because it really hit me at that moment seeing us standing there that this is about to happen. 

We went through the outline of the ceremony and where everyone would be and made sure everyone felt comfortable before heading to our rehearsal dinner. It was a very special experience filled with laughter and a few happy tears and definitely gave me more excitement for the day ahead.

Me and Dave outside the church before the rehearsal.

Like many aspects of our wedding, we wanted our rehearsal dinner to be an intimate and elegant experience for our family and friends. We decided to host our rehearsal dinner at the same place where we held our reception, the Forsgate Country Club.

Forsgate offers a wide array of areas to host any kind of event and during the whole engagement process we held our bridal shower, rehearsal dinner and wedding reception at Forsgate (needless to say we love it there!).

Our rehearsal dinner included to exact same group as our engagement party, we had twelve people who included our immediate families and closest friends. Since it was a smaller group, we held it in the board room, it looked like a library and had one long table with very comfortable chairs.

The menu included a tomato and mozzarella salad, a dual plate of salmon and roast chicken and chocolate mousse for dessert.

 It was great to relax on the eve of our wedding, reminisce on some of our favorite family stories and also to celebrate our families and friends who have made the experience so wonderful for us.

Here are a few of our favorite pictures:

Area where the rehearsal dinner was held.

Dave's family

My family

Bridesmaids

Bridesmaids and our mothers

Groomsmen

Groomsmen and fathers

Whole Bridal Party