I usually post on the NNJ board, but a lot of my vendors were in Monmouth and Ocean County so I figured it might help someone here!
Ceremony: St William the Abbot Catholic Church, Howell NJ
St. William’s is my family’s parish so it is the only church we would marry in. Deacon Kevin was our celebrant and he was wonderful to work with. Their fees weren’t as high as some other’s people had mentioned on here, however the organist fee was more than the fee for the sanctuary & Deacon combined! Crazy! I know they are willing to marry non-parishioners, so if you are looking for a Catholic church I’d recommend trying there.
Reception: Crystal Point Yacht Club
We got married in the Atlantic Ballroom and Bonnie was our Maître de; the CP can handle 3 weddings at a time, but somehow our June wedding was the only one that night (lucky!). Everything was perfect; dinner was outstanding (especially the fish, which can go either way), all of the little details I had included in the day were executed perfectly, and the drinks were strong. There were some bumps in the road while planning (they told us we might not be able to have Dog Fish Head beer because of the price, but then we were able to), but day of things were perfect. If something did go wrong, I have no idea about it. I highly recommend the CP.
Photographer: Sean Patrick Photography
We booked Sean because H got along with him so well, the price was right, and his albums are amazeballs. Our proofs were up about 5 days after the wedding and we’re now waiting on the high res DVD. We used a second shooter (I can’t remember her name!) and I was a little confused because they both came to where I was getting ready and none went to the boys. Not a big deal, but it took up more time at the church taking formals with H’s parents. We took our BP shots at Point Pleasant Boardwalk, closer to the aquarium side than the rides side. It was AMAZING! I’m not a shy person, so all the extra attention didn’t bother me. For the 90+ degree heat on a Friday at the boardwalk, things went surprisingly smoothly. We shot there for about an hour and all the proofs look fantastic! I’ll post pro pics once I have the DVD!
DJ: Sound Connection Entertainment; DJ Jason Jani
Jason Jani is probably my favorite vendor and totally worth every single penny. He’s so organized, professional, and practically perfect. Every song we wanted was played, and songs we didn’t he simply told guests he didn’t have. Guests were dancing all night; people even told me how they’d never been to a wedding where there was so much dancing before dinner! Husband and I have pretty eclectic taste and everything flowed smoothly; including my personal favorite late 90s set midway through the night where we went from BSB to Biggy without issue. We had an awkward bouquet/garter where a couple of ex’s caught them, and I thought that the party was dead after (plus my in-laws requested a random spotlight dance? Huh?) but Jason brought it back with no problem. We also added in intelligent lighting and about a week before threw in the photobooth. The lighting made our wedding look magical (first dance pics look amazing) and everyone was obsessed with the photobooth. Highly recommend Jason and the SCE family; you will not be disappointed at all!
Florist: Something Nice Floral Design
We weren’t looking to spend a ton on flowers and Something Nice fit the bill. Carol was wonderful to work with; always fast at replying to my emails and helped with my vision. Day of I was a bit confused because my BMs bouquets had pink gerbera dasies instead of mini purple gerbera dasies, but the flowers still looked lovely and at that point there was nothing I could do anyway. The bouquets held up pretty well, considering it was a heat wave and we took pictures on the boardwalk. Carol also did the flowers for our cake and they were exactly what I envisioned!
Bridal Gown: Cinderella Bridal
I did a lot of shopping in Monmouth and Ocean counties but found my dress at Cinderella Bridals in Matwan. Pat was my consultant and she was wonderful; pulled a ton of styles and found the best one for me. Cinderella had my dress for the best price in the area, so it was a no brainer to buy there. We also did alterations there; which I guess were reasonably priced? It was a bit of a pain in the butt for alterations appointments because I live out of state and needed Saturdays. It worked out in the end, but was frustrating for a while.
BM Dresses: Nicole’s Boutique
We found the perfect dresses at Nicole’s Boutique in Brick for my girls (she has brands that are harder to find; we went with a Liz Fields gown). Service there was excellent, the owner Nicole is wonderful and all the girls in the shop are so sweet. The only downside to the store is they don’t do alterations on site so all the girls had to go elsewhere for them, but it really wasn’t a big deal. Nicole did allow all the girls to drop the dresses back off a few days before the wedding for a final steaming to make them perfect. We also got our flower girl dress from them (didn’t have in store, but she can order them) and it was perfect! And so so adorable! Can’t say enough great things about Nicole’s.
Tuxedo: VIP Tuxedos
I never actually went with H to pick out the tuxes, my brother had gotten his prom attire from VIP in Brick and so we already knew they were trustworthy. We didn’t want to go with a national chain since you hear so many horror stories. They handled our out-of-town GM well, they just had to call in their measurements with a credit card for a deposit. I know they run specials for free tuxes based on how many rent, so H’s tux and a second (went to the BM) were free. The tuxes were all clean and fit the guys well, so no complaints from me.
Limo: First Class Limo
The limo (and shuttle) were boring to me, so I just did research online and based my decision on price and reviews. Our limo was clean, arrived like an hour early (we didn’t get charged extra) and the driver was great! He helped with my dress and made sure no one got parking tickets while they illegally parked for pictures at the boardwalk. I didn’t use the hotel shuttle, but it looked nice and ran on time; none of the guests had any complaints about it.
Day Of Coordination: All About You Events; Cindy
There are not enough good things to say about Cindy. She was such a major help in organizing the whole day, and put me at ease with going to the boardwalk saying it would all work out. She made sure that everything throughout the day was perfect, organized, and running on time. Everyone kept commenting on how calm I was throughout the day and I knew it was because everything was taken care of, all I had to focus on was marrying my best friend. Although we only used Cindy as a DOC she was available to me via phone and email throughout my planning process, she has a list of vendors that she can recommend and was able to answer any question that I had (like, how much to tip? Is this an insane quote for flowers? Etc). Love love love Cindy, highly recommend to anyone looking for peace of mind on their wedding day!
Makeup: Unforgettable Faces by Nicole Chiaro
Nicole is so sweet and the makeup was amazing! We did airbrush for myself, my mom and my bridesmaids (the flower girl got a bit of blush free of charge). Everyone looked flawless and the makeup lasted all day, even at the boardwalk during a heat wave! Nicole’s prices were the most reasonable I found and her work is excellent.
Calligraphy: Dani Writes Calligraphy
Danielle was wonderful to work with, the envelopes came out amazing! Everyone was obsessed with how beautiful they were! She was very quick (especially for 9 months pregnant!) and so reasonably priced. If you think that calligraphy is too expensive, seriously check out Danielle, you can afford it!
Invitations: Cards and Pockets
I did a partial DIY for our invites; I designed them myself and had them printed at C&P. The printing came out very nice and was a reasonable price. I think I would have killed myself if I had to print and cut them all, in addition to the mounting and other things we did in the assembly process, so even if the printing cost double it would have been worth it for me!
ETSY Vendors:
ThePoshDiva- Custom tumblers
I ordered the custom tumblers as part of my bridesmaids gifts; they came about 2 weeks after ordering them and they were super cute. The girls loved them, and they can always rip off all the custom stuff and just use it as a tumbler.
EmbroideryByLinda- Custom Hankies
We got these for our moms. They came out nice, were pretty cheap and shipped very fast. Would recommend.
GlamHouse- Bridal Headband
I was really picky about my headband and then fell in love with about 10 of them on GlamHouse. I finally narrowed it down to my favorite and ordered it. It took about a month to come in, but it was so gorgeous. Everyone loved the headband, and frankly I want to wear it while I clean the house it is so pretty.
SpiffingJewelry- Groomsmen gifts
We got the boys custom tie bars, each one had a different saying that was unique to the guy (my brother’s said “This is a hoarcrux” because he’s a Harry Potter fan). They all came out so nice, and shipped quickly. I ended up also do the “father of the bride” and “I loved her first” cufflinks for my father from her, and they were way cheaper than the others on Etsy.
ArtfulBeginnings- FG Hankie
I saw this on pinterest and just needed to have it. The seller was fast, and made sure that the proof was exactly how I wanted it to be. The hankie was adorable, pretty cheap (both price and material) but the saying was adorable.
Laladesignstudio- Bridesmaid necklaces
I always wear the initial necklace from Tiffany’s, but could not afford the $200 each per bridesmaid, so this was a nice alternative. They shipped fast, I was only disappointed in the “s” because It was lower case script and looked kind of dumb. I ordered them pretty far out and they ended up tarnishing, so then I had to polish them real fast the night before the rehearsal.
Snowbella- FG Headband
The headband was freaking adorable. The flower on it was the perfect size (I hate the giant flowers) and came so quickly. Highly recommend.
InitialImpressions- Dress Label
I used a monogram dress label as my something blue. I ended up getting a cheaper one because I figured it didn’t matter much anyway, but it was still nice to have. The seller was fast and I loved the look of the label.
TheArtofSports- Garter
I got a NYY/NY Giants custom garter since we’re both huge fans. The garters were itchy as hell, so I only put the one on about 5 minutes before the toss.
bottomofthe9thonline- Groom’s Cufflinks
I got H cufflinks that were made from a game used Yankees/Redsox ball (a game the Yanks won). Again, we’re super fans so it was just a small detail that he appreciated.
And, the wedding porn (which face it, is more exciting anyway)
walking down the aisle with daddy
married!
party
sweetheart table
I'm not sure how I would have planned without pinterest
BM and FG dresses
