On a quiet January Saturday Maria and Joseph exchanged vows with family friends and their daughter Valentina by their side. 

Why The Palace?

When we asked Maria why she and Joseph choose The Palace at Somerset Park this was her response.

“Because I do hair and makeup for weddings, I knew what I was looking for and all it took was seeing the right place. I was searching online for a while and Joey said what about this place, The Palace at Somerset Park? I then looked into it, did the online tour, and I instantly knew it was everything we wanted before even going to see it in person. We set up a tour and once we were there, we met Josè, who was awesome! He was so nice and genuine and really helped us go over everything from then on. The Palace at Somerset Park is not only gorgeous from the second you drive up to every single room you walk through, but every person that works there is so nice and helpful.”

Their Love Story

Maria and Joseph met in High School through Joseph’s sister, Gina. Soon after meeting Joseph, they went on their first dinner and beach date in Long Branch. They have been inseparable ever since, that was over 8 years ago. Together they have a 5-year-old daughter Valentina.

When Joseph decided to propose to Maria, he took Valentina with him to pick out the ring. Valentina did spill the beans and told Maria a few days later. On a date night in Atlantic City on the way to dinner they stopped on the beach and Joseph proposed. Maria kept the secret that she knew about the ring until later that night.

Their Wedding Day

Their whole wedding day was captured by the husband and wife team at Hand & Arrow Photography. 

To invite all their friends and family Maria’s sister Angela, who is a graphic designer, did the  invitations with rose cut outs and beautiful realistic red rose details.

aria & Joseph decided to get ready at The Palace on their wedding day. Maria does hair and makeup for weddings, so her decision on her glam team was important. Maria chose Makeup By Rita Marie and Brianna Hertens.

Even more important than hair and makeup is the dress. Maria choose this long sleeve lace dress at Castle Couture.

Maria got to spend a relaxing time with her bridal squad before revealing herself to her dad.

Joseph also got to spend some time with his squad in our Salon 3. This room even has a big screen TV, so the guys never have to miss the big game.

Once Maria and Joseph were looking their best it was time for their first look, when a magical thing happened, it started to snow! Their first look portrait session was accented by the magic of fresh snow.

Outside is not the only place at The Palace for portraits. Maria and Joseph also took photos upstairs on the lush red velvet couches.

Maria & Joseph’s ceremony was held in the West Ballroom officiated by Mitch the Minister. Valentina walked Maria down the aisle and was there to see her Mom & Dad exchange vows.

After the ceremony it was time for everyone’s favorite part of the night, cocktail hour! We asked Maria what her favorite part of cocktail hour was she said “everything in the cocktail hour. You literally can’t go wrong with any station,”.

Their reception was everything  wanted with centerpieces from Petal Pushers Magnolia and entertainment from Mazz Entertainment. 

“Everyone was amazed with the portion size of their meals!” said Maria 

The finishing touch to almost every Palace wedding is a beautiful wedding cake made in house by our pastry department. They chose a 4-tiered white cake accented with a little glitz and roses between the tiers.

Guests at a Palace wedding do not just get wedding cake, they also get a Viennese Hour. This a full hour of every dessert you can imagine, including bananas foster and an ice cream sundae bar.

“The Palace was literally everything I could have ever imagined my dream wedding to be. It truly was the best day of our lives and everyone at the Palace made that happen.” 

Vendors

• Venue: The Palace at Somerset Park; palacesomersetpark.com
• Photography: Hand & Arrow Photography; https://handandarrow.com/
• DJ: Mazz Entertainment; https://www.djmazznj.com/
• Florist: Petal Pushers Magnolia; https://www.magnolianj.com/
• Officiant: Mitch the Minister; https://mitchtheminister.com/
• Dress: Castle Couture; https://www.castlecouturenj.com/
• Tux: Chazmatazz Formalwear; https://chazmatazztr.com/
• Hair & Makeup: instagram- @makeupbyritamarie & @bitbythe_beautybug