This Chart House wedding is filled with amazing details! Kim and Adrian’s wedding at The Chart House, a New Jersey restaurant off the Hudson River, offered panoramic views of the sparkling New York skyline. Their old New York theme wedding is something you’re sure to love along with all the many details of the wedding day. Their Chart House wedding and the personal DIY elements were captured by Sherry from Sherry Sutton Photography! Let’s see what Kim and Adrian have to share with us about their wedding day…
A Chart House Wedding
Kim says, “Throughout the wedding planning process, it was very important to us to stay within our budget without having to sacrifice what we really wanted. When looking for a venue, we wanted a place that was reasonably priced and beautiful. We visited the Chart House in Weehawken, NJ because we loved the view. My husband came to the United States when he was 6 years old through New York City, and I remember on our first date he described how blown away he was by the large buildings. After speaking with an event planner there, we were impressed by how flexible they were with pricing. That flexibility in combination with the gorgeous view was what sold us on the venue. To cut costs, we got married during the “off” season (January), and we had a daytime reception. The view was so gorgeous the day of our wedding that if I had to do it all over again, I would still pick the same place.”
Adrian, “Planning a wedding and making sure everything goes according to plan can be a crazy and overwhelming experience. The months and weeks leading up to our special day weren’t any different. When the day finally arrived I was both nervous, excited and everything in between. My best man and all my groomsmen escorted me to the alter in preparation for the big event.”
Kim, “I found it very challenging to find a veil that I liked, so I decided to make that for myself. In Michaels, I purchased a clearance feather piece and a clearance broach and then hot-glued them together. I was able to find tulle in a nearby Joanne’s fabric store, and I glued a small portion of the veil to the feather piece and pinned down the stray ends. I wanted a veil that was reminiscent of 1950’s New York, and in combination with the dress, I believe it made for a great wedding motif.”
Kim said, “I purchased large silk red roses from Walmart and strategically added them to all of the bouquets. Then, I wrapped the bouquets in green ribbon the finish them off. It was nice to use silk flowers, so that my bridesmaids and I could keep them as a memory without all the hassle of trying to dry them out.”
Adrian tells us, “Seconds seem like hours in anticipation for my lovely future wife to walk down the aisle. Finally she arrived, and just like in the movies everything around me slowed down. I was transfixed by her beauty and nothing in the room existed except for her. Shortly after the ceremony ended, a wave of happiness washed over me. We finished the ceremony ahead of schedule and welcomed and thanked everyone for joining us. The day went on without a hitch and everything turned out better than perfect.”
Kim said, “One of the most memorable moments from our wedding day was when my husband and I exchanged our vows. He went first. I was so touched by his words that I started to choke up. When it came time for me to read my vows, I lost myself to uncontrollable tears and I knew in that moment that I made the right choice. My husband is the only person in the world that could elicit such powerful emotions within me. As a reminder of that moment, I framed the hotel note page that he wrote his vows on and I read them whenever I am frustrated or angry with him. I look forward to us growing together, and working each day to make each other a little bit happier as we travel though life together.”
She continues to tell us, “Since we had a somewhat nontraditional wedding set-up (no arranged seating, photo booth, etc.) I created signs to alert the guests as to what to do. These were printed on white card stock (Amazon) and placed in Dollar Store frames. My husband modified a canvas frame and placed it in front of the window so that our guests could take “framed photos” in front of the New York City skyline. Everyone had a lot of fun being characters that day, and I will never forget how excited everyone was to get their picture taken.”
She continues with, “We wanted everyone to have a small keepsake to remember our wedding, so I created a wedding logo using Powerpoint, and we used Discount Mugs to upload our design onto a simple shot glass. The reason we selected shot glasses was because they were very inexpensive, and my husband and I collect shot glasses from every vacation that we take. To finish these favors off, we purchased silk bags from Michaels, and added milk and dark chocolate kisses.”
“We did a lot of research to find the perfect center pieces (which is not easy when your wedding theme is old New York) and we liked the idea of several small interesting pieces. I ordered small souvenir buildings (Chrysler, Empire and the Statue of Liberty) from NYC Webstore, and decided to place them under stemless wine glasses that we bought a few years ago from Home Goods. Next, we raided the Dollar Store glass aisle and found candlesticks, vases, and mirrored trays. We purchased rose candles from Home Goods, white silk roses from WalMart, and saved our winecorks for a few months to create a beautiful and interesting display. In order to tie in the chocolate ceremony from our wedding, we placed milk and dark chocolate kisses on each table.”
She adds, “Since the Chart House does not provide wedding cake, and because bakeries in that area were charging an exorbitant amount of money for a wedding cake, I decided that I would do this myself. My husband’s favorite type of cake is red velvet and to reduce stress, I baked a display cake and a sheet cake. I used Paula Dean’s Red velvet cake recipe. Instead of traditional frosting, I made vanilla buttercream and used Duff’s fondant and I added a layer of strawberries and chocolate ganache to surprise the guests. Everyone was impressed with the cake; however, if I had to do it all over, I would not have placed the cake table by the window as it started melting in the sunlight. To top the cake, we used bride and groom rubber duckies from Oriental Trading Company, and we used the remainder of the duckies on the tables with the centerpieces.”
Adrian, “There was bright, crisp refreshing feeling outside. Towards the end of the day my face hurt from all the smiling and the excitement from marrying my best friend. It was all worth it and it will always be.”
Bride’s Cake Info:
Red Velvet Cake Recipe
Vanilla Butter Cream Frosting
Chocolate Ganache Recipe
Interested in seeing more happily married New Jersey couples? Then check out, Sherry Sutton Photography. You’ll also want to visit Sherry’s business listing in the Emmaline Bride Bridal Book.
All images courtesy of Sherry Sutton Photography. All Rights Reserved.
