Gabrielle & Brian met as freshmen in college through mutual friends, found out they had same class together, and as Gabrielle explains “The rest was history”. In their last semester of college Brian popped the question, and as you may have guessed she said yes! They had a late June wedding at the Crystal Ballroom at the Radisson Hotel, New Jersey that was a mix of modern & rustic accented in a soft wedding palette of mint, peach & pink. Have a glance into their sweet pastel wedding and take in all the pretty details by viewing the images captured by Jaye Kogut Photography below. (Psst.. the bride has left comments at the end too 😉
From the bride, Gabrielle:
How did you meet?
We met our freshman year of college at Rowan University. Brian was friends with a girl who lived on my floor. One night, she asked me if I wanted to hang out and watch a baseball game with some of her friends and we ended up going to Brian’s dorm. We then realized we had a class together and the rest was history.
Who proposed marriage and how did that proposal happen?
Brian proposed. I was in my last semester of college which was student teaching but he already graduated. I knew I wanted to apply for jobs by him so the week before I finished school, I had a bunch of interviews. The day of the proposal was one of the most stressful days of my life. I literally jumped from one interview to the next and in the process, I locked my keys in my car (which Brian had to come home from work to break them out). He ended up wanting to take me out to dinner to celebrate all of the interviews and when we got home from dinner, he proposed in front of his whole family. Brian and I had written letters to each other throughout all of college. Little cute notes like I like your eyes or you look nice today. Brian saved every one of the notes I had written him and he pulled out the box in front of his parents and sister. I was so embarrassed but it was so cute to see. When he got to the bottom of the box, he pulled out the last note and was like do you remember writing this one. It said , “Gabrielle, will you marry me.” I literally just stopped and said I didn’t write this and when I looked up he was down on one knee. I cried!
Describe your bridal attire/overall look:
I wore a Swiss dot tulle dress from David’s Bridal with a matching elbow length veil. My hair was done by Friends from my old salon Hair Together in Sayreville and my makeup was as well. My shoes were rose gold from the Betsey Johnson Blue collection and I loved them. Overall, I wanted to be myself which is comfortable and rustic. I also had a beautiful silver headband from David’s Bridal which was my favorite piece.
What inspired the wedding day outfits?
Brian and I are very casual people. We wanted our whole bridal party to be comfortable so we had the girls wear short dresses and the guys wear no jackets. We loved the idea of not overdressing since it was June and we both love to dress up but it’s just not the real us.
How did you decide on your venue?
My friend is a wedding planner and when talking to her, I told her everything we were looking for in a venue. We knew we wanted everything at the same place so that we wouldn’t have to worry about guests shuttling themselves places or paying for actual shuttles. When we saw the Radisson we absolutely loved everything about it. From the outdoor fountain to the reception hall everything screamed contemporary wedding.
Where did you get the inspiration for your color palette and design?
I am obsessed with the color mint. Like my entire living room is grey with mint. I love the color combo. I knew I wanted to tie in a 2nd color to the look and through looking at different pairings, I came upon lilac or peach. Growing up, I was always a soft pink color lover so I felt peach would be a good touch.
Describe your decor:
Our decor was a mix between modern and rustic. We used a lot of mason jars to accent chairs at the wedding, for our unity sand, and for our table decor. We also used dorm burlap runners to bring in more of that rustic look to the tables. Our centerpieces were tall glass vases filled with 3 calla lily stems. The Radisson did a great job setting up the feel we wanted. From the tables to the lighting everything was exactly how we wanted it.
DIY Projects:
I made the unity sand jars myself, the program fans and the s’more favors. I wanted to do a lot of the touches myself so people could see that our hearts were really involved in all the aspects of the wedding.
Three things you’re glad you did:
1. I am glad that I booked Jaye as our photographer. She was amazing and we couldn’t have gotten anyone better.
2. I am glad we had everything in one place. It took a lot of stress of renting transportation and worrying about how to get from one place to the next.
3. I am glad we chose to have the wedding inside. Originally I was dead set on having the ceremony outside and until about 10 minutes before the ceremony, the rain held out. The second we made the decision to have the wedding inside just in case, the sky opened up and it down poured for hours. And I am actually glad it rained because we got the most beautiful pictures thanks to Jaye.
What are some of your favorite memories of the day?
I just remember right before I walked down the aisle feeling the happiest I ever felt. I could not stop smiling. It was euphoric to see all of our hard work come to life. I also loved that the last song the DJ played was Piano Man and all of our guests got together and made a big circle and sang it in unison. Everyone was laughing crying and just singing their heart out. It was unlike anything I’ve ever seen at a wedding.
Oh and Kissing in the pouring rain was fun!
Do You have any advice for other brides?
Don’t stress the weather. I was upset at first when I saw rain but it ended up being more amazing because of it. Also, no matter how much you plan, something will always be not thought of or forgotten to get messed up so just roll with it and don’t get yourself upset over it. Enjoy the day because it flies and make sure to have some alone time with your new Hubby everyone wants your attention the whole time so make sure to give each other some before the reception but after the ceremony.
Photographer: Jaye Kogut Photography|Bridesmaid Dresses: Bill Levkoff|Cake Designer: Chocolate Carousel|Event Venue: Crystal Ballroom at the Radisson Hotel|Dress Store: David’s Bridal|Hair Stylist: Hair Together|Tuxedo and Mens Attire: Jos. A Banks|DJ: Revolutions Entertainment|Floral Designer: Sue Boonstra|Invitation Designer: Vistaprint
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