L A R A + D A V E
There’s nothing quite like the smell of fresh roses. Their scent is particularly special to Lara and Dave as it reminds them of two very important events: their engagement and wedding. On both occasions they found themselves in rose gardens. With a setting like that, their big day was guaranteed to be full of romance!
F R O M T H E B R I D E
We first met…
Dave and I met back in 2010 on a college graduation trip to Florida. We had a mutual friend that invited us to attend. It was not until a year later that we reconnected for that same friend’s birthday. Both occasions were spontaneous decisions and we really feel that fate brought us back together.
We knew it was love…
When Dave met my family for the first time, I remember feeling extremely nervous. Being the oldest daughter, it was stressful seeking my father’s approval. After a long meal and what seemed like an eternity of questions, we were on the car ride back to my apartment. Soon after, my phone went off and I looked down to see a text from my father. The text read, “Whatever you do, Lara, hold on to this one. Don’t screw it up. He’s a keeper.” My heart sank. My father is a man of very few words and someone who takes time to warm up to. I never expected such a reaction, especially so soon. I remember looking back at Dave and realized I had found my soul mate.
The proposal…
One of my favorite qualities about Dave is his love for adventure. Two years ago, Dave planned a trip to the Statue of Liberty. It was somewhere I had never been and had always desired to go. Afterward, his plan was to take me back to Bryant Park and propose where he had asked me to be his girlfriend. As it would have it, I had a way of throwing off his plan. I couldn’t go any further without having lunch, so we grabbed some beach chairs from my car and split a sandwich in Liberty State Park. Thinking we were heading home, Dave informed me that we were going on another adventure into NY. We headed to the Botanical Gardens in the Bronx. To both of our surprise, there was a wine/food festival going on – another wrench thrown into his meticulously planned day. We spent the day tasting wine, enjoying music, and walking through the beautiful gardens. As the sun started to set, my fatigue started to get the best of me. Despite requesting to head home, Dave demanded that we find the rose garden in a pamphlet he had grabbed on his way in. We walked and walked until finally we spotted the garden in the distance. I ran ahead, excited to take some pictures. When I turned around, Dave was on one knee with a ring in his hand. I was speechless. I couldn’t wait to call my parents, family, and friends. We got back into the car and drove back home to NJ. That night, Dave had arranged for my closest family and friends to surprise me at one of our favourite restaurants, La Pastaria. It was one of the most unforgettable days.
Our wedding photographer…
Choosing a photographer was one of the quickest decisions we made for the wedding. We were blessed to have had the opportunity to work with Leaha and Jeff from Popography. Some of our closest friends had worked with them for their wedding a year prior. Once I saw their engagement photos, I was hooked. Leaha and Jeff are incredible at their job. They truly captured every emotion, memory, and beautiful moment from our engagement to our wedding day. Impossible is not an option for them. They will stop at nothing to get the perfect shot – even if it means jumping into a fountain in your clothes on your wedding day (true story!) Leaha is not afraid to take risks and her husband complements her artistic vision perfectly. They are true professionals and humbled by their talents. We would highly recommend them to any bride/groom – they are photographic geniuses.
T H E W E D D I N G
Our dream wedding…
Dave and I both wanted a classic, romantic, and serene wedding. We chose a colour scheme of pinks, greys, and creams to complement the rose garden where we had our ceremony. The bridesmaids wore long rose coloured dresses while the groomsmen looked dapper in Vera Wang grey tuxedos. We fell in love with our venue because of its old world charm. My parents had their reception there over 40 years ago. A lot of the original decor was still in tact. We wanted to incorporate that history and vintage decor of the venue into our wedding day. We were not obsessed with over-decorating or stressing about all the small details. Choosing the venue was a huge part in shaping our incredible day.
Ceremony location…
Our ceremony took place in the rose garden behind our venue, The Shadowbrook. The weather was absolutely perfect! We were blessed with a beautiful 70 degree, sunny day in June.
Reception venue…
Our reception took place at The Shadowbrook, following an out of this world cocktail hour in the outside gardens.
Pre-wedding celebrations…
The night before our wedding, we had our rehearsal dinner at the same place Dave had taken me the night we got engaged. We were so excited to have our family and friends together, but were finally beginning to feel the last minute stresses. On our walk over to the restaurant, Dave and I looked at each other and joked about running away to Niagra Falls, just like Jim and Pam from “The Office”. We were beyond ready to be married. In the end, all of the planning, details, time, and effort can be exhausting – you get to a point where you just want to get married already!
The bridal party…
Dave had six groomsmen, including his two brothers and best friends from home/college. I had five bridesmaids, including my sister, and four best friends from my childhood.
The bridesmaids wore…
My bridesmaids wore rose coloured floor length dresses by Social.
The groomsmen wore…
The groomsmen wore grey Vera Wang tuxes and pink ties to match the bridesmaids.
The groom wore…
Dave wore the same colour tux as his groomsmen but with a white tie. He also had anchor cuff links made by our friend from J. Ciro Designs.
The wedding dress…
I had always envisioned wearing lace on my wedding day. The day I tried on dresses, I had no intention of buying anything. My sister and I went to David’s Bridal with my mom to begin the process. I wanted to narrow down the style that I wanted before going into other boutiques. To my surprise, I loved every style I put on. When I tried on my third dress, I did not want to take it off. I forgot where I was, what I had came there for, and started to cry. I never made it to another store. I chose a satin dress by Oleg Cassini that was detailed with vintage floral appliques. My veil was cathedral style that was reminiscent of my mother’s veil when she got married. I wore rose coloured heels by Badgley Mischka that matched the bridesmaid dresses.
Wedding flowers…
Originally, flowers were last on my list of priorities. I was very laid back in planning and really did not know the difference between flowers. My mother is the guru when it comes to that department, so she was more of the voice when making those decisions. After talking with my florist, I was blown away. Everything was made to order and she worked with us to bring our vision to life. The bridesmaids had beautiful bouquets adorned with pink and cream coloured flowers. My bouquet complimented the girls with accents of pink. In addition, my florist incorporated an old handkerchief from my grandmother and my mother’s blue garter from her wedding. I gave my opinions, but decided to put trust into my florist – she had more experience in this area than I ever did. She did not disappoint in any way.
Reception décor…
We decided on small floral centrepieces with candle accents on the tables. For seating arrangements, I hand made labels for wine bottles with each table’s list of names. Our florist placed flowers in the bottles and worked with our venue on a beautiful display. Most of the other decorations were handmade by me – I used vintage looking signs to showcase our signature drinks, hashtag, and cigar station. We also used wine corks for guests to sign in place of a guest book.
Our florist was from Red Bank – Craig Kiely and Darryn Murphy Designs. Our cake was provided by Palermo’s Bakery.
On the menu…
We had a sit-down meal which included a burrata salad appetiser, lemon sorbet, and a choice of chateaubriand, swordfish, chicken, or vegetable medley. We also had a Viennese hour, at the request of my father, which was unforgettable.
Bomboniere…
Dave and I spent some time collecting recipes from members of our family. Coming from an Italian background, food is an integral part of their culture. Cooking has also become one of our favourite activities to do together. We wanted to share our favourite recipes with the people that we love so we created “Colella Cookbooks” for everyone to enjoy. Each cookbook was accompanied by a mini wine bottle.
Memorable moments…
We had a lot of memorable moments throughout the day. For me, I will never forget walking towards Dave in my wedding dress and seeing him cry for the first time in four and a half years. For both of us, dancing with our parents was also extremely memorable. I purchased an authentic cowboy hat from Texas and danced with my father to Tim McGraw’s, “My Little Girl”. He held me so tight and cried the whole dance. Dave’s dance was also emotional. His mother was diagnosed with MS when he was a young boy. Over the years, she has had to use a motorised wheelchair. As the youngest son, Dave had always dreamed of being able to dance with his mother on his wedding day. To everyone’s surprise, he graciously moved her around the dance floor to Billy Joel’s, “She’s Got a Way”. It was one of the most beautiful memories we have from the night.
Wedding soundtrack…
We took dancing lessons for about two months before our wedding day. Our first dance was to Adele’s, “Make You Feel My Love.” We really left the soundtrack to the professional opinion of our DJ – our only request was that people were dancing and having a good time all night. They did an amazing job appeasing to all the people in the room – from old school classics, to country songs, to today’s hits. Our dance floor was packed the entire night.
M A R R I E D L I F E
The honeymoon…
We spent 6 days in Maui and 5 days in Kauai, Hawaii. We planned a few excursions including snorkelling to Molokini, watching the sunrise on top of Haleakala Volcano (and biking down to the bottom), taking a sunset cruise in Kauai, and hiking the Napali Coast. We rented cars on both islands and found that our favourite memories were the spontaneous adventures. It was so difficult to leave and a place we are dying to travel back to in the future.
Future plans…
Dave and I don’t have limits to our future. We have a lot of dreams and desires, but also enjoy the surprises that life offers too. In the short term, we want to buy a home and raise a family of our own. For future, we hope to travel the world and continue to build on the memories we have already created. We want to make the most of our lives, our marriage, and our future together.
In 40 years we hope to…
Have a family, a home, and successful careers. Most importantly, we hope to look back on the those 40 years and feel blessed with adventure and memories.
W E D D I N G W I S D O M
The engagement…
Take your time! There is no rush to get married – the most important thing to remember is that you have found the person you want to spend the rest of your life with. Being engaged was the happiest time of our lives. Take your time making decisions, ENJOY the planning, and don’t let the little things get to you.
The planning process…
Everyone is going to give you their advice and it can be overwhelming wanting to please everyone. Thank people for their advice, but ultimately, decide what is best for you and your spouse. It is YOUR wedding day and YOU have the final say in what you want. You cannot make everyone happy, but do your best to listen and compromise. Work WITH your spouse, not against. Do not try to take on everything by yourself — surround yourself with people who love and support you and don’t be afraid to ask for help. Also, planning is as stressful as you make it out to be. Go into everything with a positive mind and don’t sweat the small stuff.
On the day…
Don’t expect everything to go exactly as you planned it. It is not the end of the world if the day doesn’t stick to schedule. Do not let any stress affect you – leave all responsibilities to your groomsmen and bridesmaids. Focus on marrying the person of your dreams. All of your planning, time, and waiting has finally led you to the most incredible day of your life. Don’t forget to soak in the little moments – look around the room and appreciate the fact that every person there is supporting you and your spouse. You may never have the opportunity to be with all of these people at one time again. I would also recommend taking a few minutes of the night to spend with your spouse. Dave and I spent the first 15 minutes of our cocktail hour in our bridal suite – just the two of us. We knew the rest of the night would go by so fast, and wanted to make sure we spent a few moments together. It is true what they say – the day goes by faster than you could ever imagine.
Hair: Nicole James Salon / Makeup: Debra Cuoccio / Photography: Popography / Video: Studio 94 / Venue: The Shadowbrook (Shrewsbury, NJ) / Officiant: Reverend Michael Whalen / Cake: Palermo’s Bakery / DJ Entertainment: Platinum Entertainment / Floral: Craig Kiely and Darryn Murphy Designs / Transportation: Chelsea limo / Cufflinks: J. Ciro Designs / Wedding Gown: Oleg Cassini / Bridesmaid Dresses: Social / Groom and Groomsmen Tuxes: Vera Wang