A ‘Shorely in Love’-Themed Wedding With a ‘Retro-Beach’ Aesthetic

Samantha and Vincent tied the knot at Wave Resort on September 14, 2024.

Their Story

“My husband and I met at work—where we fell in love,” says Samantha. “Ahead of starting this new job, my mom continuously told me I was going to ‘meet my husband’ there. Of course, she was right. To my surprise, I walked up to my new desk to be greeted by the employee sitting next to me…my future husband.”

The Proposal

On November 2021, Vin tricked Sam into thinking they were heading to brunch at Rooney’s in Long Branch with his grandma. But he wanted to walk on their favorite beach first.

Freezing and windy, they walked along the shore looking for sea glass (Sam’s favorite pastime). “As he called out to me that he found a piece, I turned around to see him on one knee holding a custom ring, explaining how this was going to the best piece of sea glass in my collection and that he wanted to be together forever,” says Sam.

“Completely shocked (and crying almost-frozen tears), I said yes and was immediately bombarded with both of our families who surprised us on the beach…where it was revealed our mutual friend flew in from California and was hanging back bundled up capturing pictures, drone shots and helping document the moment,” she says.

Details of the Day

When a graphic designer and creative writer come together to plan a wedding, you can only imagine the attention to detail and unique touches set to surprise guests throughout the day.

“We leaned into our mutual love for vintage, retro vibes and paired that with our beach obsession to create a ‘retro-beach’ aesthetic that included personally designed invites and paper materials, custom posters, matchbooks, candle labels, motel keychain escort cards, Pinterest-worthy florals with wildflower inspirations, seashell accents, and a coastal color palette featuring dark emeralds and blush pinks,” says the bride.

“Each piece of the puzzle was thoughtfully placed and executed by hand (a DIYers dream) to create a whimsical, love-filled celebration that underscored our wedding tagline: Shorely In Love,” she says.

“Tapping into more things we love, an old college roommate crafted our coastal, ocean-inspired candle favors which we paired with our custom labels, matchboxes, and hand-stamped wax seals.”

“Our DJ nailed the dance floor vibes, our florist went above-and-beyond to craft the most beautiful pieces (including a bridal headband, pocket square arrangements, and ‘snap bracelet’ corsages) that accented our centerpiece bud vases, our audio guest book printed on vinyl is a keepsake we’ll cherish forever, and our photographers and videographers did an exceptional job capturing our day and story.”

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

Choosing the Venue

A photographer friend of Sam’s was photographing a wedding at Wave Resort a few years ago and when she saw the sneak peeks, she immediately knew that Wave Resort was her venue.

“As beach lovers, we were set on tying the knot on the water—and the Wave’s sixth floor balcony was just what we wanted,” says Sam.

In addition, the reception space’s floor-to-ceiling windows that provided a 360 view of Pier Village and its simple design made it easy to customize to their desired aesthetic. “Our venue search was literally one-and-done,” says Sam.

Favorite Moment

The couple agrees that their reception entrance to “Sk8r Boi” by Avril Lavigne in which Vin rode his skateboard into the reception space was their favorite moment.

He met Sam at the center of the dance floor before their first dance.

Detail They Couldn’t Live Without

“We wouldn’t be able to live without the personal touches—it’s just who we are,” says Sam. “Our creative minds and attention to detail was absolutely necessary to showcase on our wedding day from our website, invitations, seating chart escort cards, signage, and the like.”

Advice For Other Couples

“Everyone says it, but do it for YOU,” says Sam. “Forget those who won’t show up for you. Forget the opinions and old-fashioned ways. Your wedding day is a celebration of you and your partner and should be everything you dreamed. Make it unique. Make it yours.”

Honeymoon

“As if planning a wedding isn’t crazy enough, we just bought a fixer upper two months before our wedding day—so, our honeymoon plans are looking like a first anniversary trip as we work to build our dream home,” says the bride.

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