On April 30th, 2016 at 9:30 in the morning, we were married in St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church in Hightstown, NJ. It was an unbelievably beautiful day - mild and sunny, which was borderline miraculous considering the weeks of cold and rainy weather that surrounded it. We took pictures in a whimsical garden that had a bright yellow doorway, birdhouses everywhere, and an antique sewing machine hanging from a gnarled tree branch. Meanwhile, our guests headed to the breathtakingly beautiful Cranbury Inn, where they ate, drank, and danced the day away. Our Harry Potter-inspired decor included Bertie Bott's Beans on every table, a Marauders' Map guestbook where you could stamp your footprints, and a hand-sculpted golden phoenix atop our wedding cake.
We want to thank everyone for all of the love and support we were shown not only that day, but all the time leading up to it. All of our loved ones, whether you made the wedding or not, make our world a brighter place. In addition to the Maid-of-Honor, Gillian, and the Best Man, George, there are definitely special thanks in store for the following people, who helped fill our wedding day with precious memories we will carry with us forever:
We want to thank everyone for all of the love and support we were shown not only that day, but all the time leading up to it. All of our loved ones, whether you made the wedding or not, make our world a brighter place. In addition to the Maid-of-Honor, Gillian, and the Best Man, George, there are definitely special thanks in store for the following people, who helped fill our wedding day with precious memories we will carry with us forever:
- Deacon Tom Garvey, who sat with us for many hours in the months leading up to our wedding, getting to know us and doing his all to help us prepare not only for the big day, but for the marriage that we will devote ourselves to for the rest of our lives.
- Andy, Mary, Gill, Mary Simone, and Cheyenne Astarita for a million reasons. Not only were they exceedingly gracious about their house being used as Wedding Planning Basecamp, which included many rides to and from Bayonne and dozens of boxes in the living room and basement, but they also threw the loveliest and most personalized bridal shower the world has ever seen. There's so much more, but considering we could fill a whole other website with things to thank the Astarita family for, we'll just have to hope they know how grateful we are for all of the love and support they've given us.
- Tess and Julia, our wedding photographers who listened patiently to everything we hoped the day would include, and then did an incredible job taking pictures of every moment: from church, to garden, to reception, they were professional, unintrusive when it called for it, and best of all, lovely and fun.
- Ellen and Dean Koehler, who enthusiastically offered us use of their magical garden and farm to take pictures in after the ceremony. We have some of the most beautiful wedding pictures in the world, and it's all thanks to them.
- Keri Davino, who made our wedding cake topper, which turned out unbelievably awesome. It would have looked right at home at Bill and Fleur's wedding, and if it had flown off of the cake when it came time to cut it, we would have been only a little surprised.
- Tom, the owner of the Cranbury Inn. The man really knows what he's doing, and from the seating charts to the food that everyone raved about, everything went off without a hitch thanks to him.
- And last but not least, our bridesmaids and groomsmen, who put up with just... so much. From ill-fitting suits to ruined flowers, you guys handled everything with grace and not too many we'll-laugh-about-this-later's, because you knew that SERIOUSLY at a certain point that really doesn't help anymore. We can't thank you enough for all the help, the traveling, the bachelor/bachelorette parties, and the money spent. We hope you had as wonderful a time that marvelous weekend as we did, because we only had it because of you.