Gorgeous Sunset Views at This Country Club Wedding

Claudia and Kenyan tied the knot on September 8, 2024 at Brooklake Country Club.

Their Story 

Claudia and Kenyan met in high school. They became best friends senior year because they both failed the math portion of the HSPA and were put in the same class to retake it.

Throughout the year, Kenyan’s feelings had grown to be more than a best friend, but I Claudia had a boyfriend at the time. “We would act like a couple although we were not, and I knew that my feelings were always tucked away in there,” says Claudia.

“When we graduated, Kenyan had written in my yearbook, ‘I love you in the way you think I joke about.'”

They drifted a bit in the summer but came back together later on. They both ended up going to the same community college and their friendship continued on from there.

“From sitting with each other in the hallways before class, to walking me to my car after class, we were always inseparable,” says Claudia. “The third month of college, my boyfriend had broken up with me and Kenyan was always there to support me and was waiting for his chance to break out of the friendzone.”

The Proposal

They booked a weekend in LBI, Claudia’s favorite place to be in the summer. Kenyan started to talk to one of Claudia’s best friends, Jess, who lives on the island during the summer. He asked her where the best sunset view would be and planned for the exact time that the sun would be setting.

“When we arrived at Hotel LBI, we hung by the pool a bit and got ready for dinner at Parker’s Garage. When we were done with dinner, we watched the sunset on the pier and after a bit of time, he got on one knee and popped the question. Neither of us can remember what he said exactly, only how much I kept repeating ‘oh my god’ with my jaw to the floor. It was perfect.”

Details of the Day

“My absolute favorite color is green,” says Claudia. “I instantly knew that I wanted the theme to be surrounded by green. I love earthy tones. My bridesmaids and signage were a eucalyptus green and the groomsmen were in a navy blue, while my future husband was in a dusty blue.”

“My florals were dusty pink roses and white flowers surrounded by green petals. My centerpieces had blue florals, dusty pink roses, white flowers, and strings of green florals hanging down.”

The favors were mini bottles of Saratoga Tuscan flavored olive oil.

[RELATED: The Ultimate Guide to Wedding Venues in New Jersey]

Choosing the Venue

“Before we had even gotten engaged, I would look up venues just to get an idea of what I liked,” says the bride.

“I came across Brooklake Country Club while scrolling through The Knot. I Instantly fell in love with the sunset view photos on their website.”

“When we finally got engaged, we decided to take a tour of it. I was hesitant at first because we both love the Shore, and I had always wanted to have a Shore wedding.”

“But when we toured the venue, and we saw the incredible view from the cocktail hour and ballroom, we instantly fell in love. We then came back and booked it the next weekend and I cancelled all other tours I had made.”

Favorite Moment

“My favorite moment was walking down the aisle,” says Claudia. “The anticipation of my fiancé seeing my look put together was so exciting to me.”

“There had been a buildup of this as my fiancé stated that he had a ‘vision’ of what my dress looked like,” she says.

“When I got to meet him at the end of the aisle, I had asked him ‘well, was this your vision?’ He exclaimed ‘I knew I was right—just off about the sleeves. See, I know you!'”

Detail They Couldn’t Live Without

“One detail I could not live without was my Louboutin’s,” says Claudia. “As a little girl, growing up and watching a lot of Hollywood entertainment, I had always had an admiration for the shoes. I thought one day I would own the shoes and wear them just like the celebrities do.”

“As I had gotten older, I always dreamed about walking down the aisle in them. My fiancé knew this was always a dream of mine and he had gifted them to me.”

Advice For Other Couples 

“Do everything together,” says Claudia. “Brides tend to try to plan and do everything on their own often leaving their partner with minimal responsibility which can lead to burnout, stress and anxiety.”

“To avoid this, do all of the planning together. Whether that may be intricate details or helping to DIY things to save some costs, include your partner in every bit. After all, it is a day to celebrate you both.”

Honeymoon

The newlyweds vacationed in St Maarten for a week.

“We relaxed on the beach and at the pool. We took a tour around the downtown area of Phillipsburg. We went on a day boat trip to Anguilla and saw the beautiful crystal blue waters and went snorkeling,” says the bride.

“It was a much-needed wind down for us,” she adds.

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