Seconds after we said “I Do!” My favorite picture from the day!

I was never the type of girl who dreamed of my wedding day when I was younger. I was a hardcore tomboy and always played sports and even shopped in the boys department at Old Navy sometimes (true story). I really didn’t embrace my more girly side until I was older. Even then, my future wedding was never on my radar. Not until 2011 when I graduated college.

No, I didn’t meet the man of my dreams (just some run-of-the-mill frat boys). I downloaded Pinterest for the first time.

Life-changing. Suddenly I was flooded with images of cute outfits, fun recipes, and yes—WEDDINGS.

I had zero prospects of a boyfriend at this point in my life, but damnit I had a killer wedding Pinterest board. Back then (I mean this is like 8 years ago cut me some slack) I had terrible taste and my bridesmaids were going to be in short bright pink dresses with turquoise heels (like, why??), and my future husband I didn’t know yet was going to have a baller grooms cake that looked like a large bottle of Guinness. (Again, why?)

Luckily my taste veered much more classic and understated as the years went on and the pins evolved. I also luckily finally did meet the man of my dreams, and although my wedding felt like my dream Pinterest board coming to life, we could’ve gotten married in a cardboard box and it still would’ve been the best day ever…As long as the DJ still showed up. (They were AMAZING)

We chose The Ryland Inn in Whitehouse Station, New Jersey as our venue. They have a completely renovated barn they call “The Coach House” and it was the PERFECT fit for the vibe I was trying to create! If you’re from New Jersey and venue shopping, I can’t say enough good things about how amazing the venue and everyone who I worked with there is! Highly recommend!

Check them out here. Image courtesy of The Ryland Inn’s website.

Getting Ready

I had SO much fun getting ready the morning of with all eleven (yes, you read that right) bridesmaids, my mom, my aunt, and my mother-in-law. Lots of dancing, champagne, chit-chat, and trying to calm me down/distract me from my nerves! It was a really special morning that I will never forget!

My girls are the best, so I had to get them a great gift. I decided to put all their gifts in these cute little beach bags I found on Walmart’s website! (Again, 11 girls, so buying a gift adds up QUICK) I was thankful to find something cute AND affordable. I put little things like a necklace, some face masks, my favorite twist headbands from Amazon in the bag, and then I got them customized hangers and their matching pajamas from my new favorite Etsy shop: Piyama!

The straw bags are sold out at Walmart (probably thanks to me)! But if you search “straw bags” on their site they have SO many inexpensive and cute ones!

The pajamas turned out SO cute and they are ridiculously soft and comfy. I decided to keep all the girls in the same pattern, but I let them choose what type of pajamas they wanted (short sleeve set, romper, tank set, robe, etc.). I even got my own bridal pajamas from there too! Greer Alston (the owner) was so great to work with and with such a large group she even gave me a discount.

Closer look at my bridal PJs and my bridesmaids’ PJs!

Most of the morning was dedicated to hair and makeup. I cannot stress enough how much I LOVED my hair and makeup girls. They are both running their own business (so they are not a package deal), and they are both incredibly talented and made me and my girls feel BEAUTIFUL that day.

My makeup girl Ashley is the sweetest thing and SO talented. She seriously just knows how to make you look like an elevated version of yourself, and she tweaks her looks in subtle ways to complement the person whose makeup she is doing. I’ve been in a lot of weddings where every girl comes off that chair looking like carbon copies of each other—not the case with Ashley. She is truly amazing. You can check her out on The Knot here, and this is a link to her instagram page here. (I will also link alllll vendors at the end of my blog post).

Expertly fitting my flower crown to my head! (Made by my florist!! DayDream Floral)

My hair girl Kristen (Hair Styled by K) curls hair like nobody I have ever seen before. She does it in such a way that the curls feel elegant and beachy at the same time. Everyone’s hair looked so ethereal and effortless instead of the typical tight curled, overtly intricate styles you often see. I LOVED my hair and even though the flower crown was a little big, she figured out how to put it on my head in the most flattering way! I linked her instagram here and her page on The Knot here. She does amazing work, you gotta check her out!

The Dress

I LOVED my dress. I found it at JaeHee Bridal Atelier in Englewood, New Jersey. We had to alter it so that the sleeves fit a bit looser so I could raise my arms, and we cut the illusion piece down so that it was just a small detail on the neckline, but otherwise it is very true to the original design. The designer is Calla Blanche, Style LA8232 Romina. If you’re new here—my body type is basically: surfboard. No curves. This dress was tight, but it still made me look like I actually had curves! The most flattering thing I’ve ever worn! Sharing a few pics below from getting ready/first look to give you a better look at it!

My mom pretending to zip it up LOL. Had to actually do that without cameras around because it’s not a pretty scene, but we got it done!

View from the back! Also my veil was my “something borrowed”. It was my sister’s on her wedding day— made by my aunt!

Bridesmaid Dresses

Probably my FAVORITE part of planning this whole wedding was getting to pick out my bridesmaid dresses. I had been stalking and following Brideside for a few years (like before I was even engaged) and KNEW I had to use them when I was planning my wedding. They have locations in NYC, Chicago, Charlotte, and Boston! But even for my girls who couldn’t physically go into one of their locations, it was SO easy to figure out sizing and order the right thing. They will even send you a box of three dresses to try on in the comfort of your own home if you want for an extra $30!

Like I said before, I had a lot of bridesmaids. I didn’t want them all in the same color because I felt like it would’ve looked overpowering with that many girls. I also wanted everyone to be comfortable and so I was really rolling the dice by having everyone in different colors AND different styles. But OMG, Adriana at their location in New York City is amazing and helped me style the whole look and it totally came together PERFECTLY. Their selection is amazing, and everyone looked and felt beautiful that day.

Flowers

SO as I mentioned before, I wanted a heavy focus on greenery, and since all my girls were in different colors and even two in a floral pattern—I really wasn’t trying to add a lot more colors/flowers to the mix. Mitali at Day Dream Floral is seriously SO cool and toootally understood my whole vision and nailed it better than I could have ever even envisioned! You can see the bouquets above (and below), but the details throughout the ceremony and reception space were also SO amazing.

She also made my flower crown, which, while it definitely fit my whole vibe, was originally inspired by my Aunt Patty (who actually officiated our wedding!). My Uncle John (her husband) passed away a few years ago and she brought out their wedding albums after the funeral. As I was flipping through I fell in love with her flower crown, which she made herself and wore on her wedding day. I was totally inspired. It felt like an ode to their marriage, and I know it’s a stretch and a bit silly but it felt like I had a little piece of him with me all day.

Ceremony

So the ceremony went the complete opposite way I thought it would! I always envisioned it being outdoors. Unfortunately it was over 100 degrees that day and we didn’t want our guests to suffer, so we pushed the ceremony inside. Luckily the indoor ceremony space is beautiful and air-conditioned! And now I wouldn’t change a thing; it was beautiful!

I was also sure that I was going to have a major meltdown/panic attack because the idea of everyone staring at me made me SO ANXIOUS. But once it was happening (and after a few glasses of champagne) all that kind of faded away and it ended up being one of the best moments of my life! Steve and I both cried really hard after we walked out of the ceremony and nobody was looking anymore because it was the most amazing moment!

As I mentioned before, my Aunt officiated (she was INCREDIBLE) and my cousin actually BUILT our arch!! My wedding arch was 100% inspired by Pinterest. Let me tell you, it is really hard to find a wooden hexagon arch to rent in New Jersey. Lucky for me, my cousin is insanely talented and when I asked him if there was any way he could build it, he replied, “Yeah, no problem”. He totally nailed it, and we even nicknamed it Archie!

Customized the programs (they’re fans!) on Zazzle

The Reception

The reception was SO MUCH FUN. We pretty much missed cocktail hour between bustling the dress and the photographer pulling us away for more pictures so we were READY to have a good time and celebrate!

If you are in the NJ/NY area and you are looking for a wedding DJ—Eclipse Events is THE BEST. It was seriously the best party of my life, and our guests did not LEAVE the dance floor. It was the hottest day of the year and people were sweating but the dance floor was so fun nobody could leave it! Exactly what we wanted because although we are terrible dancers, we still love dancing! It was the most fun night of my life!

AND my florist also totally nailed it when they flipped the ceremony space into the reception space! Loved every detail!

Our cake was from Palermo’s and SO delicious! (decorated by our florist)

That sign for the guestbook was a Marshall’s find by my mom! (she’s who I get my love of bargain shopping from)

This is literally what the dance floor looked like all night !!! SO much fun

Last pic of the night- cutting the cake!

I hope this post is helpful to anyone planning their wedding for inspiration, and if you’re a NJ/NYC/CT/PA area local— some great vendor recommendations included as well!

I re-listed allll the vendors I used below! I highly recommend each and every one!