“From the start, The Graycliff was our choice. I’d
attended a wedding there before and knew the food
and the service were absolutely amazing.
“We met the banquet manager and the general
manager and they were phenomenal through the
entire process. I’m a longshoreman at the docks,
so my round-the-clock hours made planning
difficult. They were extremely patient, when I
was rushing through what we wanted for our day!”
Ceremony & Reception: The Graycliff, 201.939.9233, www.thegraycliff.com
Bridal Gown Salon: Jaehee Bridal, Englewood NJ
Bridesmaids: Xscape
Tux Shop: Arlene’s Bridal Salon, Bloomfield NJ
Photographer & Cinematographer: Capache Design
Makeup: Cara Lovello
Hair: Rodrigues’ Unisex, Isabel Guerreiro
Cake: Palermo’s Bakery
DJ: Ultimate Entertainment
Photo Booth: TapSNAP 1008, Cynthia Correa
One night, Joey and I were both attending a wedding. I told the bride I was on the prowl and she wanted to set me up with her cousin. Instead, I saw Joey. We spent the entire night together. We talked for a short while after that, but neither of us were looking for anything serious. About seven months later we found ourselves at a party together and I said hello to him. Six years later, we’re married!
We keep everything very casual, and it was a whole year before we began meeting each other’s friends and family. We love our untraditional nature, and the proposal followed suit. I love the racetrack, and one weekend Joey was adamant that we go. I was enthralled in a race and had just made a bet, when he suddenly got down on one knee! He said I was his best friend and he was in love with me. I began running around screaming happily that I’d just gotten engaged! A photographer heard us and offered to let us reenact the proposal on the track itself. We went down there and I got to give the trophy to the winning jockey — who happened to be on the horse I’d bet on!
From the start, The Graycliff was our choice. I’d attended a wedding there before and knew the food and the service were absolutely amazing. We met Michelle Malone, the banquet manager, and Cathy Marro, the general manager, and they were phenomenal through the entire process. I couldn’t have done it without them. I’m a longshoreman at the docks, so my round-the-clock hours made planning nearly impossible. They were so accommodating with my schedule, extremely patient, and on their toes when I was rushing through what we wanted for our day!
Joey and I wanted an outside-the-box ceremony. In lieu of flowers, our bridal party danced down the aisle with a shot of their choice. When they reached the end of the aisle, the bridesmaid and groomsman would cheer and take their shot. Our mothers danced down the aisle together. Instead of flower girls, we had “ring security,” and our adorable nephews had suitcases handcuffed to their wrists with our rings in them.
For my entrance, my father sang “Take Good Care of My Baby” and when I reached the aisle we began singing together. We wrote our own vows; mine ended with, “I’ve finally found happiness and can honestly say I know what happiness is now. Thank you for loving me the way you do.” His ended with, “I love you today, tomorrow, and forever. I’ve been wrong a million times, but the one thing I got right is you.”
At cocktail hour, every station was amazing. Our favorite was the burger bar. We had mini cheesesteak sliders, cheeseburger sliders, hot dogs, and pulled pork. It was talked about for months! We also had passed hors d’oeuvres, including chicken wings, shrimp cocktail, chicken teriyaki, spinach and cheese pies, and more!
Our centerpieces were, of course, untraditional. We had giant fishbowls filled with Legos with signs that said, “Had no time. Work too much. Build your own centerpiece!” One of my aunts wrote the lyrics to our wedding song and put it in a beautiful frame with our proposal date, photos of us, and the winning horse number. My bridesmaids created a cardboard copy of our wedding invitations, which were “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” themed, which went well with the fun props for our photo-booth. Our DJ made the entire night a blast. We had a soul train that everyone got in on and Joey sang our song, “You Make it Easy” by Jason Aldean, to me as we danced our first dance.
For dinner, guests were offered chateaubriand, chicken Graycliff stuffed with three cheeses and baby spinach, or broiled salmon in a dill buerre blanc sauce. For dessert, we chose a four-tier cake filled with cannoli cream and extra chocolate chips. Guests received a slice of cake with a chocolate-covered strawberry and later in the evening we had burgers and ham, egg, and cheese sandwiches passed around!
From the bottom of our hearts we thank our family and friends for sharing in our celebration. Thank you to our bridal party; you all hold a special place in our hearts. Thank you to our photographer for amazing pictures, to our photo-booth company for having such fun options available. We thank Cathy, Michelle, and the wonderful staff at The Graycliff. You’re an amazing venue and we are truly grateful!
The Graycliff, 201.939.9233, Moonachie, NJ, www.thegraycliff.com
