“Historic Charm”
Matt and I met when we visited a mutual friend’s vacation home in upstate New York. We didn’t live near each other, so a relationship seemed unlikely, but some feeling encouraged us to reach out to each other. We went on our first date a few months later in New York City to see the Christmas tree, which foretold our future home there five years later. Shortly after moving into our second home together, Matt proposed.
Matt had an elaborate fake plan for the proposal; going to my friend’s rooftop in Brooklyn. All my friends were in on it and had casually referred to this weekend for weeks. Matt had never walked across the Brooklyn Bridge, and since it was a nice day we decided to walk across on our way to my friend’s apartment.
Midway across, he was down on one knee and the rest was kind of a blur. I looked up and saw the friend who introduced us snapping photos. Afterwards, I found out we weren’t really going to Brooklyn and we went to a bar with all our close family and friends. I was so surprised! It was such a special day.
We saw many venues before eventually deciding on The Olde Mill Inn. We fell in love with the outdoor courtyard and its beautiful stone pillars, the historic charm of the building, and the beautiful ballroom. We knew we wanted something intimate and this was it! We also had a lot of out-of-town guests and loved the on-site guest rooms offered. Once we met Marien Barker, the sales manager who ended up being our maître d’, we knew we were in good hands!
Working with The Olde Mill Inn was fantastic. They were always so responsive to our emails and any requests we had. Marien made sure we were taken care of throughout the entire process and even brought entrées to our wedding suite to make sure we enjoyed the meals we selected.
Our ceremony took place in the intimate outdoor courtyard. We asked my cousin to officiate the wedding, included readings by two loved ones, and honored our mothers with a special rose ceremony, all while keeping things short and sweet for the enjoyment of our guests. We didn’t need much ceremony decor because the space is beautiful on its own. The backdrop of the stone building and the colorful flowers planted throughout the courtyard gave a natural and stunning look.
Our guests tell us time and again that the food at our wedding blew them away. For cocktail hour, we chose fun menu items that represented us as a couple. Some of our favorites were the mac n’ cheese bar, the Mason-Dixon station with pulled pork paninis and shrimp po’ boys, mini chicken and waffles, and mini French onion soups.
Our ballroom was decorated with simple elegance. We had a variety of tall and short garden-style floral arrangements with lots of beautiful greenery, white hydrangeas, ivory and quicksand roses, dusty miller, and silver dollar eucalyptus. The short arrangements were accompanied by floating candles of different heights.
We began the reception with a baby spinach salad topped with goat cheese and fresh strawberries. For the main course, guests were given the option between honey miso-glazed salmon with market vegetable pad Thai; herb seared filet of beef with roasted potatoes and asparagus; stuffed chicken breast with prosciutto di Parma, spinach and mozzarella, natural jus, and herb roasted potato; or a slow braised portobello mushroom katchari stew.
To end the night, we offered an ice cream cookie sandwich bar with chocolate chip, oatmeal raisin, and sugar cookies topped with vanilla and chocolate ice cream. After eating, our band kept everyone dancing all night and after the reception we took the party to the Grain House to keep the celebration going.
We want to thank all our vendors, especially Marien and the staff at The Olde Mill Inn, for going above and beyond to make sure we had the best wedding day. Thank you to our amazing family, friends, and bridal party for celebrating with us. We are forever grateful for you all and cannot thank you enough!
The Olde Mill Inn, Basking Ridge, NJ, 908.696.2315, www.oldemillinn.com
“We saw many venues before eventually deciding on The Olde Mill Inn. We fell in love with the outdoor courtyard and its beautiful stone pillars, the historic charm of the building, and the beautiful ballroom. We knew we wanted something intimate and this was it! We also had a lot of out-of-town guests an loved the on-site guest rooms offered.
