Real Long Island Wedding: Jenny and Vinnie

Originally, Vinnie and I wanted a destination wedding . We had originally decided on Disney World because we wanted to literally have the best time, and not have a 'traditional' wedding. Although some things occurred, we ended up squashing that idea and decided that instead we would have a small 'at home' wedding, one that would scream Vinnie and Jenny and everyone would remember. “That” idea sounded easier than it “was”, primarily because Vinnie has a very large and “tight” family, and we didn’t want to exclude any of them

You see, Vinnie's mother is one of six, and his dad is one of seven. They are beyond lucky to have such a close knit and happy family. We knew not all of them would be able to make an away wedding…and that wasn’t a comfortable option, especially since having everyone attend meant the world to us. Having only those who love you surround you, is one of the most amazing experiences I've ever had, and one of the most important aspects of such a special day.

Our wedding was special and unique on so many levels and it started when we decided to make the entire event a DIY wedding. We decided that it was very important for us to do this because we wanted the wedding to be personal, and intimate.

We had our hearts set on a 'beachy destination' feel, and so we didn't have tuxes, but instead khaki suits, huge gerbera daisies, and no veil- instead it was replaced with a gerbera hairpiece with a starfish in the middle.

We hired a singer, Ernie Contri, to sing oldies during our reception, to give people a break from dancing, and also to interact and make the party feel a little more like a 'show'...

The “show” started with a series of fun photos we took at Coney Island. Vinnie and I decided that since we wouldn’t be able to take pictures hanging out on a monorail, we would do something completely different! So, we chose, once we found out a lot of Coney Island would be gone in the future, that we would take some pictures at this historic place, that would also allow us to have the most amount of fun that we could! So, yes, my dress was a bit trashed, however, I wouldn't take a second of that day back. In fact, a lot of people thought we were a photo-shoot! It was so much fun, and people cleared the way by Nathan’s when we were eating our hot dogs, and when we jumped into a photo-booth. The candy shop cleared out of the way when we wanted to take pictures in front of their store with a huge lollypop....We really just wanted to have fun. We wanted the memories of our wedding day to be reflective of the fact that we were the same people that that fell in love with each other five years before! Happy, hyper and goofy! Just looking at what others took of our photos, I can only imagine what Twelfth night has captured! Viki and her assistant Rachel were so excited when we chose to go to Coney Island, and literally shot us eating some hot dogs in our wedding attire! The hot colors surely popped in the pictures too! And our final decision, to grab a huge lollypop and pose in front of a candy shop to go with all the colors we had incorporated in our wedding!

Speaking of colors, my students made my day when they showed up dressed in pink. Throughout the year, the kids and I would always joke around because I always carried a pink bag. They knew I loved pink, and when I saw some of them show up with pink flowers in their hair, or a pink shirt to match the wedding, it truly brought tears to my eyes! They knew how much I loved their 'pink' and for them to be a part of my wedding made me realize just how lucky I am

My “big day” really was just a “big party”, and that’s why I decided on a second dress, which made it much easier for me to dance the night away. Although I loved my first dress, I knew going to the beach in the heat it would get dirty. However, what I didn’t realize was that the halter actually was effecting the slipped disk in my neck... so, last minute, I decided to invest in the dress I had my eye on for the original wedding... The Maggie Sottero Destinations one! And honestly, it was so much easier to “party” in and just relax in, and not worry as much about tripping! It was the best investment I made for my wedding and I have no regrets for spending the extra money on it! Plus...it was so fun!

In fact, one of the “funnest” aspects of our wedding was our Biographical Playbills that it took me almost a year to make. In the playbill were stories, articles, and ad's -from all the companies that had been a part of our lives (for example:-he proposed on a Snapple cap so, there was a huge Snapple ad, we met in Kohl’s so after the story on our 'meeting' there was a Kohl’s ad!) In addition, we are huge tea drinkers, and used to visit the beach with a thermos of tea; and so we made our theme 'Tea by the sea'. This became the cover illustration of our playbill, a drawing of Vinnie and me under an umbrella, on the beach with a Snapple in the sand (Every important event in our life...was followed by rain! So we made this a good thing in our lives!) It truly all came together in the end and we couldn't have been happier!

Vinnie says his most memorable part of the day for him was the pictures that we got to take in Coney Island. It was so much fun, and showed that we are still the same spontaneous, different, and unique couple that we were five years ago.

My most memorable part of the day was the half hour drive we had to Coney Island. Vinnie and I hadn't seen each other since early the day before and since we're best friends...I was so used to telling him everything; that I couldn't wait to see him! I just remember, sitting in the car at that time, and realizing that I married my best friend. It just, truly meant so much to me because that’s every girls dream...not the wedding...but marrying the right person!

Lastly I would advice girls and their guys to just enjoy the day and every moment leading up to it. Enjoy the day and never leave each other’s side. There will be problems leading up to the wedding day, however, never take it out on each other. Take a day a week to spend time doing non-wedding things. Grab a coffee, go for a walk...anything. Don't lose who the two of you are during the process, and don't focus on the crazy little elements...like weather...the day of. If my flowers came green, I would have tied a green bow to my shoe! Just take a step back and enjoy, it only happens once!