The ceremony and reception took place in the Currents Ballroom at the Adventure Aquarium in Camden, NJ. The ceremony decorations were minimal and your eye wandered to the beautiful ceiling that looked like ocean waves
The bride and groom, Connie and Joey, obtained a self-uniting marriage license which allows a couple to get married without having a third party officiant. Instead of a member of the clergy, our friend Phil stood in front of family and guests and spoke kind words about the couple. He even appropriately added a quote from Superman.
Connie's dress was show-stopping. The bodice was ruched organza with a shell-like detailing along the sweetheart neckline. Her A-line skirt was a sea of flowing ruffles. She customized the dress by adding a jeweled strap to one shoulder, making it both romantic and modern. Her long black hair was pulled back just at the crown, while the rest fell in soft curls. I was so proud of her for not pulling it back in a ponytail, like she often does.
The bridesmaids wore matching Grecian-style dresses in Wisteria. Our one shoulder strap had a floral detailing similar to the ruffles on Connie's train. We held simple bouquets of silk hydrangea.
The gentlemen looked sharp in their crisp black suits with ties and vests to match the ladies' dresses. The groom wore all black.
In lieu of flowers, the men had boutonnieres of crystals that showcased a Superman emblem. Can you guess Joe is a fan of super heroes?
The answer to that is Yes. Yes he is.
Joe is also a huge fan of movies; a former Blockbuster employee, his collection of unopened DVDs is the envy of all who see it. As a nod to his love of movies, the escort cards were designed to look like ticket stubs. Tables were named after a movie that came out in each year of their life.
The corresponding table not only had the movie's name, but also a picture of Connie and Joe from that particular year!
The centerpieces were simple hurricane vases with flowers and a floating candle.
Not a whole lot of fuss because you didn't want to distract from the pièce de résistance.. the shark tank.
That's right, as guests walked into the reception area, they were shocked to see the entire back wall was the aquarium's shark tank (Mr.Wonderful not included). It was kind of bad ass. The guests also had exclusive access to other exhibits of the aquarium, including the shark tunnel.
After the couple danced their first dance to Michael Morrison's version of "Sway", we sat down to a buffet dinner.
Can we discuss the cake? It was provided by local baker, AndieKakes and it was gor. ge. OUS. I have never seen such a beautiful cake. It was four tiers with beautiful edible sugar flowers. I wish I could tell you the flavor, but I was too busy drinking cosmos and running around the shark tunnel to notice they served it. Whomp whomp.
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The whole event was beautiful, down to every pin-worthy detail. Connie and Joey, thank you for allowing me to be a part of your day. I love you both so much and I wish you a life time of love, tolerance and happiness.
xoxo,
Amerbutt
Such a creative wedding! That cake! That museum! My favorite part though was the superhero wedding pic. Finally a break from the police line-up wedding pics!
ReplyDeleteWhat an awesome wedding! I have never been to the adventure aquarium but live like 20 minutes from it! I love how they did not have a traditional officiant. Our cousin was thinking of looking up information on how to become ordained so he can "marry us"- we think it would be awesome and so much more personal. Thanks so much for sharing this great post. I really enjoyed reading about your special day! Oh and I LOVE the Superhero theme, especially the one picture with all their "alter ego's!"
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