Unexpected Vendor Mishap? How To Bounce Back Like A Champ!
Sometimes the world likes to keep you on your toes, especially when you are feeling your most stressed out, like when you are planning your wedding. Sonia and Sam's fabulous day at The Inn at Fernbrook Farms was a picture perfect event, but would you believe this wasn't their original location?! I'll let Sonia give you the full scoop but before I go, I'll just remind you our full gallery of images from Emily Wren Photography is packed with gorgeous shots from this day, hint hint nudge nudge, go check it out!
From the Bride
Talk about stressful, our original venue fell through!! We lost the venue 8 months before the wedding. The venue had issues and were incapable of holding weddings in 2017. We had booked all our vendors with no where to have the wedding. Luckily, we were able to get back our deposit for the venue and catering. Thank goodness we had enough time and were able to find another venue with the same vibe/vision, and same wedding date. Our wonderful florist, A Garden Party, suggested the Inn at Fernbrook Farms. Honestly, it was a blessing in disguise because our wedding was everything I imagined.
A Photographic Dream
From Emily Wren Photography: Sonia and Sam are such a fun couple. They’ve known each other since high school, they’re major foodies, and they’ve travelled the world together. I had a wonderful time capturing their September wedding at The Inn at Fernbrook. Speaking of which-- shout out to The Inn for being a photographer’s dream! I loved exploring their nursery and stumbling across a sea of white hydrangeas in full bloom! We could not have asked for a better setting for portraits of the bride and groom. It was truly transcendent.
Sonia’s bridesmaids looked amazing in their lucky red dresses, which Dawn and Mary from A Garden Party complemented with rich fall bouquets. The ladies also built a stunning birch chuppah for the ceremony. Throughout the day, Sonia & Sam found thoughtful ways to blend Chinese & Jewish traditions. From signing the ketubah to the tea ceremony, it was clear that this unique wedding was a reflection of two very special people!
Bridal Advice
My advice to other brides and their grooms. It's your day! Plan the wedding of your dreams! Don't listen to anyone's opinion besides you and your fiancé. Splurge a little if your financially able to do so. Book the venue you imagine getting married at. Book that amazing photographer because photos are forever! Book that band instead of the DJ. Do what makes you happy, not what will make other people happy. You deserve it! Yes it's "one day," but it's also "YOUR WEDDING DAY!"
However, remember the #1 reason you're doing all of this, is that you're marrying the man/woman of YOUR dreams! If there's some hiccups along the way (because there will be), it won't be the end of the world! It may feel like it, but everything is going to be okay! I promise!
Budgets and Guest Lists
Curious to find out how much a wedding day like Sonia and Sam's might cost you, Click to find out more!
Let's just say we had no idea how much weddings actually cost until we planned our own. We first said $30K because we thought that was a lot of money. In the NJ/NY/PA area, that won't take you far at all. Our wedding ended up costing 90K! We wanted the wedding of our dreams and didn't want to settle. We are fortunate that we were able to afford it. The total number of guests including us was 113 guests.
- Event Planning & Design: Maggie Sottero
- Wedding Photographers: Emily Wren Photography
- Bridesmaid Dresses: Jenny Yoo, Annabelle in cabernet
- Cakes & Catering: The Inn at Fernbrook Farms
- Flowers: A Garden Party, LLC
- Hair, Makeup & Beauty: Gabrielle Falco
- Hair, Makeup & Beauty: Shimmer+Spice
- Lighting & Entertainment: Silver Arrow Band
- Paper Goods & Calligraphy: Papertree Studios
- Wedding Dresses: Sottero & Midgley