What a great New Jersey wedding Ceremony!

You have done it all; you’ve found musicians, your New Jersey wedding minister(smooth, eh?), your florist, photographer, dove release. They are all in place, and ideally they will all show up on your wedding day, but who is going to herd all these creative cats? Jane!

With many years in corporate and social event planning on her resume, she is the perfect person to step in when you feel like the details and deadlines are going to make you insane. It’s called, “Delegate”. She will swoop in a month ahead of time, make sure all your contracts are in place, and interface with all your professionals. On the day of your wedding, she will arrive before anyone else (even me!!!), make sure your flowers are right and the boutonnières are on straight; check the music, the champagne, and run a killer rehearsal.

She is maniacally detail oriented; just the sort of person you want to have worrying about things you don’t have time to worry about. You will be able to walk down the aisle knowing everything is in place, and that is a really precious gift to yourself.

Your wedding rings are not only an outward symbol that you have made a life long commitment to the person you love the most, they can be a gracious reminder of your heritage. These beautiful rings are from a website called, appropriately enough, “Rings from Ireland“.

Many of their selections feature traditional elements like Celtic crosses, trinity knots and Claddaghs, but there are more subtle designs too, and they are all beautiful.

This beautiful ‘my soul mate’ ring is available in silver with 18kt gold text that translates to “Mo Anam Cara”, or “My Soul Friend”; the inscription is carved in Ogham script, the first known Irish writing.

The website goes on to explain,
“The characters comprise a series of lines and notches that are scored across a long stem-line often on standing stones.
In the majority of cases the inscription is read from the bottom up, and usually names the person being commemorated along with their ancestors and the carver of the inscription. Over 350 Ogham stones are known, with the majority found in southern Ireland from Kerry to Waterford and in South Leinster. They also occur in small numbers in western Scotland, the Isle of Man, and in Cornwall at Lewannick, where Irish settlers from Munster landed and founded communities.

While the stones in Ireland are written purely in Ogham, those in Britain often have the Ogham inscription repeated in Latin carved in Roman characters on the same stone.

In legend Ogham was said to have been created by Ogma, the son of An Dagda. Ogma was both a warrior and the god of eloquence and literature, and fought the second battle of Magh Tuireadh where he slew the Formi, Indech, son of the goddess Domnu.

It is truly fascinating, and a chance to infuse your New Jersey Wedding ceremony (smooth, eh?) and your wedding rings with meaning that is holistic and historic to your family.

Many of my wedding ceremonies, New Jersey or elsewhere, include variations on the Celtic handfasting, and these distinctive rings would add to that powerful ritual.

If you’re a crafty sort, thinking of making your own centerpieces or other decor for your wedding, you’ll LOVE the Dollar Tree site online. They have candles, votives, mirrors, all kinds of vases and baskets, silk petals and all kinds of useful things! They all come in case packs, delivered right to your door, which will save you time, gas and money; it’s a win win situation.

I especially liked these sweet little candles, and the silk rose petals, which come in a number of colors. Just browsing the site will give you ideas!

What a beautiful day we had at the lovely Lake Valhalla Club, in Montville, NJ. Kelly, who is an amazing floral designer, festooned the club with hundreds of white tulips, pot of ivy and candles everywhere. I’ve known Kelly and Greg for years, and she never ceases to amaze me with her creativity and sense of style.

We were lucky enough to have a gorgeous day so the photos and ceremony could be outside and of course she and Greg both looked fantastic.

The beautiful lake was the perfect backdrop for the family photos and formal portraits, and their photographer, Renee captured the ceremony and reception with her unique eye. A wonderful time was had by all.

What a wild Sunday it was! I hope that none of you having a New Jersey Wedding Ceremony (smooth, eh?) were in tents! We were definately not in Kansas anymore! On my drive up to the Apple Ridge Country Club, the heavens opened and I got caught in a huge, dramatic thunderstorm, but by the time I arrived, the sun was out and Ron and Janet’s beautiful bridal party was posing on the greens for some pre-wedding photographs. Ron had predicted that the rain would end at 2:30, and he was pretty close!

It was beautiful at that point, with that rain-washed atmosphere and French blue sky that only follows a drastic rainstorm, but Terry Tiger, the Banquet Director and her staff, made the executive decision to hold the ceremony inside. It took place in the beautiful glassed patio room, overlooking the verdant golf course and grounds. There is a valuable lesson to be learned from this; rain isn’t the only factor in contemplating whether to weather the great outdoors….heat, humidity, bugs, intense sun can all make even the shortest ceremony unbearable. Terry made sure that we had the best of both worlds! The guests got to enjoy a gorgeous view but in comfort.

After a sumptuous cocktail hour, (complete with a giant ice sculpture of a pink beribboned pig) the guests made their way back into the glass ceremony space and….and …..

all meteorological heck broke loose! While the couple finished their first dance: hail the size of martini olives, rain, wind, more rain, thunder, lightening! It was wild, but it was also very romantic in a way. And as the last of their friends and family finished their toasts to Janet and Ron’s joyous life together, the sun came out. It was magic. Photos of this wonderful couple will follow.

Flowers are on our minds; bouquets, archways, centerpieces,and petals for the flower girls. But how amazing is this backdrop!
The New York Times Magazine ran an amazing article this Sunday, about floral designer Daniel Ost who does some of the most incredible and creative work we could imagine.
For a private party at the Château Vaux-Le-Vicomte, France, Ost decorated a pond with fresh rose petals. He has done installations for runway shows, museum openings and yes, he does bouquets and centerpieces too.
His work, while on a grand and probably unaffordable scale, reminds us that some of the charm of flowers is in the unexpected and unconventional ways they can be used to enhance the important occasions in our lives.Check out the article and be inspired in a BIG way!

I know that a lot of you are jewelers and crafters and creative types and what better reason to indulge yourself in new beauties than to make some of the accessories for your bridal party and yourself. Fire Mountain Gems, has always been one of my favorite sources for beads, findings, and jewelry supplies of all sorts. They have lots and lots of ideas on their website, with a special section for wedding ideas, but give yourself a real treat and order their catalog. Their selection is exhaustive, their prices are fair, and they have many, many photos of finished pieces that will inspire you to create your own gorgeous things.

I had the pleasure of working at the LCCC (Lithuanian Catholic Cultural Center)in Kearny this weekend. It’s a relaxed neighborhood spot (and I hear they have wonderful bands on the weekend!) Their staff was gracious and friendly, and the pricing for the catered dinner was really reasonable. Carol, their banquet manager took care of every detail with grace and enthusiasm, and wonderful time was had by all. (Their contact number is 201-889-7500.)

Thank you California Supreme Court! With a 4-3 vote, the justices rule in favor of a basic civil right; the right for same gender couples to marry, striking down the state’s former ban. The law was deemed to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation, and thus was found to be illegal. In addition, California has made it possible for out of state couples to be legally married there.

Bravo~~~!!!!!!!! And thanks to the New York Times for this joyous photograph.

Every once in a while, I come across something too amazing, too inspirational to keep to myself, wedding wise or not. This is one of those things. JK Rawlings, the wildly successful author of the Harry Potter series, gave the commencement speech at Harvard this year.
She spoke with humility and humor, talking of the value of failure and the joy of imagination. It is truly one of the most motivational performances that I have ever witnesses. I sincerely hope that you gift yourself with 20 minutes or so of time and watch the video that is available on the Harvard Magazine website. You’ll be delighted that you did.