WARNING: If you are obsessed with Pinterest, this blog may cause heart palpitations, shortness of breath, and extreme excitability! Nicole and Leo were the 3rd generation and the 5th wedding held on the Malone family farm, (aka Glenn Mary Farm) which is 100 years old this month! The barn on the property dates back to the 1700’s!
When I asked Nicole about the farm, she told me, “I knew growing up as a little girl that I always wanted to get married on the farm. The barn is where I used to take care of our horses growing up. It was nice that we had so much space and was able to customize it to what we wanted. I knew it was going to be bigger then the other weddings we had. Not only has our family grown since our last wedding there but I was the first one to marry someone from Middletown. I really wanted our guests to experience a wedding like no other and with so much support from our friends and family we were able to create all the DIY fun to add to our special day. I loved that we were able to separate our cocktail hour to the backyard and the reception to the front (a first out of all the weddings). ”
Nicole scoured through Pinterest for tons of ideas, and they spent many long hours in what they called “the wedding sweat shop”, which was a garage in the back of her dad’s landscaping company, making her Pinterest theme, rustic, DIY, tented, backyard dream wedding a reality! They built their own bars for the wedding out of old pallets, a homemade photo booth wall, and turned old wooden ladders into drink displays with tons of mason jars. Leo even drove all the way to Long Island one very early morning to get the old wine barrels Nicole really, really wanted from an estate sale (what a good hubby!). The throw pillows for the hay bale sofa were donated from friends and family, and they collected tons of old vintage picture frames to display the guest’s names for the seating chart. Nicole’s dad and family friend built these giant, wooden, red barn doors as their outdoor entrance to the wedding.
When I pulled up to the family farm, my mouth dropped! There was the biggest outdoor tent I had ever seen! This was definitely going to be an epic wedding! Inside the house there were 9 bridesmaids, 3 Jr bridesmaids, 3 flower girls, and the Bride-to-be all getting their hair and makeup done while parents were putting the last minute details together! I immediately took the Magggie Sottero bridal gown out to the barn to photograph it..it was gorgeous! The morning consisted of literally running around to get all the amazing detail shots before the ceremony at St Mary’s Church, down the road.
The Bride and Groom chose to have a traditional Church ceremony and not to see each other beforehand. One by one the girls walk down the aisle..When the flower girls came down, Leo started to get choked up, knowing it was only moments before he saw Nicole! When the bride finally made her way down the aisle, Leo completely lost it and was crying tears of complete happiness, it was one of the sweetest groom reaction’s I have ever seen!
After the church, everyone headed back to the farm where the tiki bar cocktail hour was in the backyard. During this time, we took the entire bridal party around the estate for some amazing pictures! We found a great shaded area back by the barn which helped with the heat, since it was 94 degrees out! We had so much fun from the bridal party running and jumping over me, to the groomsmen showing off their super hero shirts underneath their tuxes! We ended the photo session with Nicole and Leo strolling through the open field and taking pictures on the hay couches and picket fence. I was truly obsessed with this property..I could’ve taken pictures of them all night long!
The reception started by the bridal party making their grand entrance though the big red barn doors, and the couple shared a first dance to Thinking Out Loud by Ed Sheeran. The best man toast included a white board graph that poked fun at the groom falling in love. The tented affair had tons of food stations set up, from burgers and chips to London Broil and mashed potatoes. There was a beer keg and lemonade stands setup in addition to the 2 wooden pallet bars. Looking around you would see half the party on the dance floor, and the other half walking around and mingling while stopping by the photo booth wall for some funny photo ops. Did I mention there were 280 people under this tent?!?!
Nicole and Leo changed up tradition a little, and threw the bouquet and garter each with a $100 dollar bill attached to them, so everyone (not just the single guests) were invited up to take part..and there was defiantly a little wrestling and hair pulling for the money!
With as fun and laid back as this couple was, it was no surprise that their night ended with the entire bridal party jumping in to the pool! (And no, it didn’t ruin her dress!) 😉
Nicole and Leo met through family friends, and after 2 years of dating, he proposed to her at the top of the Empire State building! She wanted me to make note in this blog that Leo was 40 minutes late to their first date! LOL
After the wedding, the couple had an amazing honeymoon in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands
#NicoLeoWedding

Photographed by: Susan and Josh

Venue – Glen Mary Farm (Malone Family Farm)
Photography – Something Blue Wedding Photography www.somethingbluenj.com
Videography -NRGFilm Co http://www.nrgfilmco.com
Entertainment -This Is It www.thisisitentertainment.com 
Florist -Keller Flower Studio http://www.kellerflowerstudio.com
Makeup -Perfect Bridals by Christina http://www.perfectbridalsbychristina.com
Hair -Perfect Bridals by Elaina – Elaina Manfre 848-992-6807
Transportation -NJ Limobus www.newjerseylimobus.com 
Church – St Mary’s http://www.stmarychurchnj.org
Caterer– Brennan’s Delicatessen http://www.brennansinc.com
Party & Tent Rentals– Paul David Partywares LLC www.pauldavidpartywares.com
Tent and Bathroom Trailer – Prestige Party Rentals www.prestigepartyrental.com
Alcohol – The Wine Bar www.ahwinebar.com
Bakery -Antoinette Boulangerie www.antoninetteboulangerie.com
Rings -The Jewelry Exchange http://www.woodbridgejewelry.com
Invitations -Wedding Paper Divas http://www.weddingpaperdivas.com
Bridal Gown -Maggie Sottero- Hannah Dress/ Kleinfelds
Veil -Hearts for You www.heartsforyoubridal.com
Bridesmaid Dresses -Belle Bridals
Flower Girl Dresses -Etsy- Handy Mandy Girl https://www.etsy.com/shop/HandyMandyGirl
Shoes -Michael Kors / Macy’s
Tuxedos -ChazMaTazz www.chazmatazzformalwearoftomsriver.com 
Details – Pallet Bars- built by groom & father of the bride, hay bale sofa- brides design, Photo booth wall- built by father of the bride & bride, ladder drink display- built by bride
Etsy Shops – Guest-book Bench- Old Glory Wood Crafts www.etsy.com/shop/oldglorywoodcrafts Cake Topper- Chikipita www.etsy.com/shop/chikipita wedding wands www.etsy.com/shop/craftyribbongalore
Landscaping – Guaranteed Landscaping, Inc www.guaranteedlandscaping.com