Real Long Island Wedding: Denise and Joe

We were engaged for 22 months, although in the beginning we just enjoyed being engaged and didn't start planning until about 4-5 months after we got engaged. When it came to finally planning we made it a priority to make our best attempt to touch everyone who has ever been a part of our lives, and to make the day truly unforgettable. We wanted to strongly represent our personalities and to be able to look back at our day and say 'we did it our way.' From my husband's Burberry tie; to my something blue shoes , Yankees garter belt, and 6 tier radiating colorful Mad Hatter cake. Another huge inspiration for our wedding was the joining of two distinctly different cultures yet being able to represent both and ultimately join them as one.

While we decided not to have a “theme” per say, there WAS a definite distinct feeling in the air, something that just filled up inside you and carried you throughout the night, almost as if you were feeding off of our enjoyment and amazement of one another.

I can still relive vividly my favorite moment: the time I spent behind the church doors, waiting to see my soon to be husband. I remember feeling anxious, excited, exstatic and just having this overall surreal feeling that is hard to put into words. Then the church doors opened and it was my turn to walk down the aisle. I couldn't wait to see him standing up on the aisle waiting for me, and couldn't wait to see his face the moment he saw me. As I was walking down the aisle, I couldn't focus on anything but Joe, my eyes were glued to him and this serene calm just came over me. Although the church was filled with people, at that very moment I felt like we were the only two in there. I was so excited and couldn't wait to join hands and walk up the aisle to get married. During the whole ceremony I was smiling from ear to ear, this was the moment I had been waiting for and nothing could've ever prepared me for what I was about to experience. We spent so much time planning, so much time and energy, money and stress but in the end it is all worth it for that one moment. So much planning goes into this big day, and every little detail we stress about but that day none of that will even matter and while you're walking down the aisle you remember the true meaning of this day and what it is really about.

But, all that was AMAZING didn’t stop there. In fact it continued well into and past the reception and had lots to do with the food and entertainment that helped define our big day. There was definitely more than enough food for all. Seafood was a big theme, and we had lots of it. We also wanted to pick certain things that are big for our families such as Tripe, broccoli rabe, and stuffed cabbage. We had a martini bar with about 30 flavors at our cocktail hour, I also specially requested a coconut martini. For dinner our guests had 9 entree's to choose from; there was something for everybody. We also had a Viennese hour with popcorn machine, cotton candy, candy apples, waffle bar, zepolles's and just about every type of dessert imaginable.

Starlight Express, our entertainment for the evening, went above and beyond and kept the dance floor packed all night. We played music from just about every genre to satisfy everyone’s taste. We also played music from both cultures and did a few traditional dances. My husband and I started off the night by dancing as soon as the music started and forming a circle and made sure to get everyone up from their chairs and onto the dance floor.

We both can honestly say it was the best day of our lives. The love we felt for each other, and also being surrounded by so many people who truly mean so much to us, and seeing how happy they were for us, meant the world to us. We loved all our details and things we planned for this day, but none of those material things can compare to the way you feel that day.