“We wanted a beautiful outdoor ceremony and to work with a venue whose staff we were comfortable with, because this was a two-year engagement. At a lot of the venues we visited, the banquet managers were not very friendly and we did not feel welcome. Michael Marino at Birchwood Manor was super friendly and let us do a food tasting.
“The outdoor ceremony area at the pergola was beautiful when we toured and we also fell in love with the ballroom and Birchwood’s greenhouse-like cocktail hour space. Michael was also very accommodating throughout the planning, arranging an outdoor sparkler exit. We also wanted a smaller guest minimum because we were afraid of poor turnout due to Covid, which Michael immediately accommodated. No other vendors would budge.”
Their Vendors
Ceremony & Reception: Birchwood Manor, 973.887.1414, birchwoodmanor.com
Dress: David’s Bridal Paramus, NJ
Bridesmaids: Azazie
Photography and Video: Live Picture Studios, livepicturestudios.com
Hair and Makeup: Tie The Knot Wedding House
Florist: Secret Garden
DJ: North Jersey Entertainment
Day-of Coordinator: Brooks Brides
Dancing In The Cloud (First Dance): Taylor Events
We met in middle school summer tennis. Our first “official date” was in January of 2020. We went out for dinner and came back home to watch a movie. We had been doing dinner and movies for years as friends so our first date was a typical hangout for us. We got engaged in Hawaii in October 2023 while visiting friends. We hiked up Diamond Head early morning to catch a Hawaii sunrise and Ritchey found the perfect angle that showed the sunrise in the background and asked a couple to take a photo and video of us as he got down on one knee.
We wanted a beautiful outdoor ceremony and to work with a venue whose staff we were comfortable with, because this was a two-year engagement. At a lot of the venues we visited, the banquet managers were not very friendly and we did not feel welcome. Michael Marino at Birchwood Manor was super friendly and let us do a food tasting.
The outdoor ceremony area at the pergola was beautiful when we toured and we also fell in love with the ballroom and Birchwood’s greenhouse-like cocktail hour space. Michael was also very accommodating throughout the planning, arranging an outdoor sparkler exit. We also wanted a smaller guest minimum because we were afraid of poor turnout due to Covid, which Michael immediately accommodated. No other vendors would budge.
Our maître d’, Farrell, was amazing and our families had nothing but compliments for her. She checked in on us frequently throughout the day while still giving us private time to soak everything in. She grabbed drinks for us and food from the cocktail hour. She helped my grandpa, who had never put on a boutonniere, pin it onto his suit. She walked everyone through the ceremony timeline. We had two guests who initially RSVP’d “Not attending” show up and she immediately found them a table. For our signature drinks, I wanted a lychee-style piña colada and Ritchey wanted a Moscow mule. Farrell was allergic to coconuts but still created the best lychee colada. Guests raved about the cocktail hour.
Our ceremony was indoors due to rain but it was perfect because our officiant, Nate, was one of our good friends and did an amazing job officiating his first wedding.
Our favorite dishes from cocktail hour were the lobster tails and the carving station. We also had butler-passed hors d’oeuvres like clams casino, beef teriyaki brochettes, stromboli in a marinara sauce, coconut chicken in a sweet and sour sauce, bacon-wrapped sweet-chili chicken, and chicken quesadilla. We loved how Farrell set up the seating table with the lanterns I had brought.
Ewa from Secret Garden did an amazing job on our sweetheart table and our floral and candle centerpieces. Every centerpiece was taken home by friends and family. Pat from NJE did an amazing job as DJ and getting guests dancing. We had a ballroom blitz to the “High School Musical” song “We’re All In This Together” as a suggestion from my matron of honor, which was so much fun and allowed us to get group photos with every single guest that night. The photo booth attendant was so friendly and presented us with a beautiful guestbook album at the end of the night.
Our guests had several entrée choices, including garlic herb-crusted prime rib of beef au jus, chicken Françese, grilled salmon with shallot in a tarragon and white wine cream sauce plus a garlic mashed potato tower with caramelized onion, and a vegetarian entrée of eggplant parmesan. My brother said the prime ribs were the best thing he ate that night, even better than all the delicious cocktail hour foods. Birchwood did an amazing job on our cake. It was beautiful and so delicious. It was a Swiss dot with a beading design, a vanilla cake with strawberry-custard filling and buttercream frosting. The champagne Birchwood had for the toast tasted so good that one of our friends messaged us the next day asking where she could buy that champagne.
Thank you to Michael, Farrell, and the rest of the Birchwood Manor staff who made our wedding the best day ever by being so accommodating and welcoming. A shoutout to the two bartenders who made amazing mixed drinks for our guests all night. Thank you to our florist who decorated our cake and ballroom beautifully. Thank you to Haekyung and her team at Tie the Knot who made me, our bridesmaids, flower girl, and mothers look beautiful all day. Thank you to our photographer and videographer from LPS who captured such beautiful memories of our day. Thank you to our parents, bridesmaids, and groomsmen who supported us throughout our wedding planning.
Birchwood Manor, Whippany, NJ, 973.887.1414, birchwoodmanor.com
