A Dark and Moody Fall Wedding

Their Story

Nicole and Michael tied the knot on October 23, 2022 at David’s Country Inn in Hackettstown. They originally met on Saint Patrick’s Day while out at a bar.

The timing was right: Nicole had just gotten out of a serious relationship and signs had been pointing to her meeting someone special soon. (An acquaintance had recently mentioned a “gut feeling” that Nicole soon meet a man named Mike who’d be “the one” and Nicole had recently moved into an apartment considered to be “lucky,” since the two previous tenants had fallen in love and gotten engaged while living there.)

Within two days of meeting, Nicole and Mike went on a date at Liberty Science Center for one of the spot’s after-dark parties. “We had an awesome time and have been inseparable ever since,” says Nicole.

The Proposal

Two years to the day of meeting, the couple was having an anniversary lunch at Asbury Ale House when Mike popped the question. After toasting their engagement with champagne, they drove back to Nicole’s “lucky apartment,” where her sister and a few close friends threw the couple a surprise engagement party.

Choosing the Venue

Six days prior to the couple’s engagement, Nicole’s uncle Nick, whom she was named after, suddenly passed away. “All he would ever say to me is, ‘I can’t wait to be at your wedding,'” she recalls.

After Nicole and Mike’s original plans to wed in Las Vegas got derailed, the couple decided to look at venues in New Jersey. “When I had scheduled our site visit at David’s Country Inn, I realized it was on my uncle’s birthday and it was in the same town he lived in for over 30 years,” Nicole says.

Nicole and Mike loved the venue and felt signs from him while there. During their visit there, two cardinals suddenly flew by.

“My uncle had a love for birds, especially cardinals, and we knew he was with us at that moment.” Their florist (recommended by the venue) ended up knowing her uncle as well, because he would go there every Christmas to place flower orders to send to all the doctors and nurses who took care of him.

Details of the Day

The couple chose a “dark and moody theme since our wedding was being held in October and felt that fit the season and the vibe we were going for,” says Nicole. “We wanted the reception room to feel dark and moody like an old love story,” she adds.

Every table had a navy cheese-cloth table runner, burgundy chargers, navy napkins and table numbers that looked like a chapter from a book with a famous quote about love.

Centerpieces featured old books the couple collected from Passaic Public Library that they sanded the titles off to give them a worn look, along with gold taper candle holders or gold brass compotes, rented from B&V Events, filled with beautiful sandstorm roses, black dahlia flowers and blue thistle, with amber votives.

Hints of gold brass, navy and burgundy were used throughout the wedding.

Their seating chart was a canvas-printed open book that matched the table numbers.

The couple rented the Steampunk Fete Fone for their guest book.

“We also hid miniature dog figurines that were a replica of our dog Quinn around the venue along with a sign letting our guests know since our dog couldn’t be in attendance to have fun looking for her,” says Nicole.

Nicole’s maid of honor and bridesmaids all wore dark green, “which was representation of Saint Patrick’s Day from when we met and got engaged.”

During the reception, they had a saxophone performance by the Essential Jason Nelson with a robot dancing with him.

The couple surprised their guests with outside vendor Vinnie Mootz, who custom created a menu of stuffed mozzarella and burrata to serve during cocktail hour.

For dessert, the pair had a New Jersey boardwalk station plus a cannoli cart with custom fillings from Carrello Di Cannoli (aka the Cannoli Guy). Their to-go station featured an assortment of PB&J sandwiches on bread, muffins, waffles and pound cake.

Favorite Moment 

Nicole’s favorite moments included the couple’s first look and dancing down the aisle after being announced as husband and wife.

One of Nicole’s favorite TV shows, Schitt’s Creek, also got a shoutout at the nuptials.

“My brother who was in our wedding decided to dress up as David from the last episode where he gets married in a tuxedo jacket and kilt. Yes, my brother wore white sunglasses, a tuxedo jacket, kilt and walked down the isle holding flowers,” says Nicole.

Advice for Other Couples

“Just roll with the punches. If something goes wrong, there is always a solution and it will be part of a memory you will always talk about.

“Don’t forget the day is about you and your significant other, if someone is being a bit pushy you should remind them of that.”

Honeymoon

Nicole and Mike spent their honeymoon in Aruba.