Photo courtesy of Jenna Walcott Photography.
Caitlin & Justin
April 28, 2012
Saint Peter Church, Merchantville, NJ
Valenzano Winery
Justin and I both grew up in Pennsauken – we went to the same high school and had mutual friends and acquaintances but as we are six years apart, our paths never passed at the right time – until Memorial Day Weekend 2008.
My best friend, Lindsay, has a house in Sea Isle City and her cousins, with whom Justin grew up with, also have house on the same street. That fateful weekend, just three weeks after Lindsay and I graduated from college, we packed our bags and headed down the shore. Justin had similar plans for the weekend and that Saturday night, while we were all at Lindsay’s cousin’s house we ended up talking for hours. By Sunday, our friends were already giving us a hard time and later that night, they convinced Justin to use Lindsay’s fake diamond cocktail ring and propose for the first time.
Fast forward almost two and a half years later to Labor Day Weekend 2010 – Justin and I were preparing to head down to his parent’s house in North Wildwood. We had tried many other weekends to see a sunset at Sunset Beach so when Justin suggested we detour and try to see the sunset I thought nothing of it. However, Hurricane Earl had passed through a few days earlier and when we got to Sunset Beach it was windy and the sun was disappearing behind the clouds, just like it had every other time we tried to see it. When Justin said we had to come back the following night, I thought nothing of it – it was the Labor Day Weekend, we probably wouldn’t be down again for a while so it made sense.
The following day we took the drive back down to Cape May. Justin was prepared and had a towel and his iPod dock – which he mentioned he packed to use on the beach. Saturday night was much clearer and Sunset Beach was packed with people waiting for the sunset. As we walked along the beach trying to find a “good spot” to sit, I started getting annoyed with how far we were walking but Justin kept telling me to walk further along. For a few seconds I thought he was planning to propose – why else was he being so weird about where to sit?? – but dismissed it. Eventually we sat down and Justin put his iPod on.
After the sun set, Justin put on “How Forever Feels” by Kenny Chesney – an appropriate choice because it’s about buying an engagement ring and proposing – but I said it was the perfect choice because the first line is about the sun setting. Then, Justin put on “Me and You” by Kenny Chesney , the song he knew I wanted to be our wedding song, and asked “is this the song you want to dance with me to?” I answered just as he knew I would and told me he had to ask me first. It was at that very moment he held up the ring and said “well will you dance with me to this song?”
Within weeks after getting engaged we began planning our wedding. Summit Catering had been recommended to us by multiple people and when we saw they were one of the vendors for Valenzano Winery’s new ballroom, I immediately called and scheduled an appointment to see it. The Winemaker’s Ballroom was the first and only venue we visited.
From our first visit and meeting, Dory and the staff at Summit Catering answered all of our questions – before we even had the chance to ask them. In the rare moments when I have had other questions or needed recommendations on additional vendors, Dory has been extremely responsive and nothing but helpful.
We can’t wait for our wedding day and absolutely trust that it will be perfect in Dory’s hands!
