August 20, 2020
Jill and Justin worked with me for more than 18 months to plan their Gables wedding on LBI. And today, I’m recapping the love to celebrate their feature on the Modern Weddings blog. In addition to giving us plenty of time to plan fun unique details and hone in on their wedding day design, this amount of time gave us the added advantage of really getting to know one another. I had the pleasure of working with them on their engagement shoot with their dog Rosie. You can check out all the engagement fun here. Jill had a clear vision for their Gables Wedding day’s design and flow. Together we designed a gorgeous wedding day filled with beautiful details, great dessert (who doesn’t love cake?!?) and fun entertainment. We chose a simple color palette of green and classic blue with design elements that tied in with their venue. Jill found inspiration in the sign hanging outside The Gables and its classic design with green vines.
Jill and Justin began their Gables wedding weekend at the LBI Historical Society Museum. The museum is a historical site located around the corner from The Gables. The couple was able to use the space the night before to host a shark-attack themed welcome party honoring the anniversary of New Jersey’s infamous shark attacks that inspired the movie Jaws. Guests were given small craft paper gift bags, DIY’d by the bride, with a simple navy and white ribbon plus a tag. Each bag included a “hangover recovery kit” and a canned coffee beverage (this couple loves their coffee) and a sparkling water. The bag also included a schedule for the weekend designed by the bride and inline with the design on their invitation. It also included a map drawn by Crisp Designs of the island including locations important to the couple, their venue, and a cute illustration of their arbor on the beach where they would get married the next day. On the day of the wedding, they invited guests to meet, once more, at the Historical Society, learn a little bit more about Long Beach Island, and enjoy hot apple cider and coffee before heading over to the beach for their ceremony. If it had rained, and thank goodness it didn’t, this space would have pulled double duty as their rain plan.
Before walking to the ceremony on the beach in front of the ocean, Jill spent the morning getting ready with her bridal party. They enjoying champagne and the cutest fluffy slippers! All the while Justin was across the street at The Magnolia House, another victorian home that can be rented by people wishing to visit LBI. The couple chose to do a first look, and the amazing team from K Hulett Photography was there to capture every gorgeous detail. On a side note: The morning was filled with the sound of fire engine sirens as the town of Beach Haven, in small-town style, celebrated the purchase of a new fire truck with a “wet down.” As their wedding planner, it was my job to find out what a wet-down was, lol! They paraded the entire town’s fleet of emergency vehicles and sprayed down the new fire truck. It’s then followed up with a party. Sirens on the morning of your wedding can be a little stressful, but once Jill and Justin knew what was up (and that it would be done before their ceremony), they just laughed and relaxed.
One of my favorite Gables wedding day moments occurred when Jill’s girls saw her for the first time. The look of happy excitement was captured perfectly! That was followed up by the sweetest first look with Justin, and later they were joined by their dogs, Rosie and Mazy. It became clear to anyone working with these two love birds, that there were a few VIP elements to their big day. At the top of the list: was including their dogs, Rosie and Mazy. Rosie lives with Jill and Justin, and Mazy used to live with Justin. Her owner is Justin’s former roommate and Best Man. These two fluffy friends played important rolls in their pawrent’s wedding day. After their first look, they headed up to the beach for wedding day portraits on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean that will make you heart swoon!
I don’t know about you, but I get all the Abby Road vibes when looking back at the photos of Jill, Justin, their dogs, and their entire bridal party walking together from The Gables to their beach front ceremony. The ceremony itself showcased gorgeous florals from Reynolds Floral Shop and the perfect rentals from Rustic Drift. Jill carried a gorgeous colonial bouquet with assorted texture throughout using a color pallet of white, dusty blue and green and grey accents. The blooms included roses, hydrangea, and lisianthus complimented perfectly with a mixture of greenery including bayleaf, dusty miller, and olive foliage.
Jill and Justin chose The Gables wedding in part because it is a unique historic venue, built in the late 1800s in Beach Haven’s historic Victorian district, just a block from the ocean. They also chose it because the food and service is second to none! It is a true Victorian home, meticulously restored in all it’s glory. The Gables is made up of multiple rooms with a garden patio in the backyard. Jill, Justin, Sondra (owner of The Gables) and I worked on creating an event that would make a cocktail-style reception comfortable for their guests while at the same time providing a fun party! This required incorporating plenty of seating and additional entertainment options for guests. It also required that we thoughtfully plan and use every inch of available space. We were even generously allowed to use the parking lot belonging to the ice cream parlor next door. This allowed us to place our photo booth, a vintage VW bus converted into a photo booth, on the property next door, freeing up both parking and space within the floor plan. In addition, there were multiple forms of entertainment. Steven Kramer, played The Gable’s piano for guests sitting on the porch. While Chris from Unforgettable DJs created a party in the yard. In addition, we had a caricature artist, Rick Welch, drawing guest portraits throughout the evening.
Jill and Justin had a really unique approach to dessert. They made sure everything tasted amazing, but they also wanted to ensure everyone could enjoy it. They had a vegan cake, a dairy free cake, a stunning candy bar from Lisa’s Candy Buffet, and even a cookie platter for guests to take home a doggie bag for their favorite pooch. But my favorite dessert, was the custom cookies they had made. One to look like Jill and the other to look like Justin! They topped their cake with a fun little topper, that Jill discovered in Mexico while celebrating her bachelorette party.
A few minutes before the night ended, Jill and Justin snuck away from the party to light some sparklers and take a few more photos. One of my favorite things about planning for a couple, is reminding them that there is not a lot of time on their wedding day that they will spend alone. This surprises most couples. But Jill and Justin allowed me to plan a number of moments for them to spend together as just a couple (even if their wedding planner and photographer were there too). How funny was it, for all of us when fireworks ended the night. Not only did Beach Haven get a new firetruck, but it was also Chowder Fest. Wedding day perfection!
Wedding Planner | Bogath Weddings & Events
Photographer | K Hulett Photography
Videographer | Tanner Larson Media
Ceremony Venue | LBI Historical Association & The Ocean at Engleside Avenue, Beach Haven
Reception Venue | The Gables, Beach Haven, LBI
Ceremony Music | Ceremonious Strings
Pianist | Steven Kramer
DJ | Unforgettable DJs
Photo Booth | VW Booth Bus
Florals | Reynolds Floral Market
Hair | Lavish Salon and Jennifer Pinney
Makeup | Amber Edge and Cunningham Makeup Artistry
Bar Service | Sassy Celebrations
Caricature Artist | Caricatures by Rick Welch
Rentals | Rustic Drift
Wedding Dress Designer | Oscar de la Renta
Bride’s Shoes | Valentino and St Laurent
Bridesmaids Dresses | Birdy Grey
Groomsmen Attire | Brooks Brothers & Ferragamo (shoes)
Wedding Cakes | Milk Bar Store and Sweet Avenue Bake Shop
Dessert Bar | Lisa’s Candy Buffet
Custom Cookies | Parkers Crazy Cookies
Save the Dates & Invitations | Minted
Custom Map Illustration | Crisp Designs on Paper
Mirror & Envelope Calligraphy | The Shaded Maple
Dog Wrangling | Luckys Bed and Biscuit
Doggie Favors | Maison de Pawz
Thank you to the photographers who allow us to use their images on our site:
Ashley Mac Photographs, Heather Palecek Photography, Idalia Photography, Jessica Erb Photography, Susan Elizabeth Photography, Delaney Dobson Photography, Ann Coen Photography, Lovesick Inc., K Hulett Photography & Melanie Cassie Photography
BWE | 825 Devon Street | Forked River, New Jersey 08731
(973) 477-1392 | jeanne@bogathevents.com
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