After postponing their wedding day multiple times due to Covid-19, Lauren and Matthew finally got to say I do at The Ryland Inn. They held both their ceremony and reception in the grand ballroom. It rained a bit the day of their wedding but luckily Nina had the beautiful covered carport to create pretty wedding photos.
We never get sick of photographing weddings at The Ryland inn, in fact, I think it’s safe to say, it’s one of our favorites. The scenery and white-washed decor lend themselves perfectly to our generally light and airy style. The property is easy to navigate and offers a lot of great wedding photo locations.
The decor was simply stunning and we loved how the dusty blue bridesmaid dresses, white flowers, and greenery looked at The Ryland Inn !
From The Bride and Groom
What was your favorite moment from the wedding day?
FIRST FAVORITE
We kind of have two favorite moments. The first was hearing each other’s vows for the first time during the ceremony. Leading up to the big day, you wander over and over what your partner’s vows will be like. We were so eager that we even considered sharing them with each other beforehand, but we knew it would be so much more momentous to be hearing them for the first time at the ceremony. And then you finally hear them, with all of your loved ones around, but somehow all you see is the person standing before you, absolutely beaming.
SECOND FAVORITE
Our second favorite moment was walking out of the ceremony and spending five minutes alone in the bridal suite collecting ourselves before we entered cocktail hour. Those five minutes alone to soak in what you just did, and get absolutely psyched for the fun night ahead. Those five minutes to just BE together. To slow down from all of the chaos, and smile and kiss and shout “WE FREAKIN DID IT!!” Then join hand in hand more ready than ever to walk into the party as the official MR. and MRS.!!
How did you meet?
Matthew and I met in nursing school! I sat behind Matt in all of our classes and always got distracted watching him (; haha. We didn’t get to know each other until the end of our senior year, though, and didn’t start dating until after we graduated and started studying for boards together! The first night we kissed was in Atlantic City, where we stayed up until 7 am talking about life on the floor of the hotel bathroom. The next morning Matt told his best friend that he was going to make me fall in love with him and marry him. We spent the summer inseparable, studying for boards and enjoying our last summer before it was time to enter the real world. We have been inseparable since. Turns out, Matt foresaw our future perfectly!
What made you choose to host your wedding at The Ryland Inn?
It was an easy decision for us! I looked at a few venues online in the hopes of narrowing some ideas down. And then we went to visit the Ryland. It was the first and only venue we toured in person. After touring it and spending time with some of the Ryland staff, we both just knew it felt right. That very day we signed our contract with them! From day one, my motto going into wedding planning was “Why make it harder than it has to be?” Because everyone knows how stressful the planning process can be, so why make it any harder on ourselves? If you feel it in your bones that you love something, don’t waste the time looking any further!
You both work as nurses and you had to reschedule your wedding multiple times due to Covid during a very stressful time for you. If you could give one piece of advice to another couple planning their wedding what would it be?
Just go for it, but also go for it when it feels right to you! After everything that we have been through, everyone deserves to have their celebration of love, no matter where or when that is. Don’t settle for anything other than what you are happy with. Pick a few things as a couple that are really important to you for your wedding day, and make sure those boxes are checked before going forward. If it’s super important that you have your 400 person wedding, then wait and allow venues to continue to open further.
Find those little pieces that you don’t want to live without on your wedding day, and make sure those things happen. All of the little details will fall into place, and you will have the best (and absolutely FASTEST) day of your life! Also, make the time to enjoy the whole process with your partner, after all, this is all happening because of your love for each other!
Don’t make it harder than it has to be!
Venue | The Ryland Inn
Photo + Video | Off BEET Productions
Bridal Dress Shop | The Bridal Atelier Montclair
Florist | Flowers by Joan
Makeup | Amazing Face NJ
DJ | Nick Cavaleri
Wedding Gown |Sareh Nouri
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Off BEET Productions is a boutique wedding event group located in the NJ/NY area and serving destination weddings worldwide. We specialize in natural, candid, and organic lifestyle photography. Fun and Playful music Videos and unique wedding DJ and Entertainment.
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