Their Story
Alyssa and Troy met in March of 2018 while Alyssa was a student at Rutgers University. “Troy was out with a few of his friends who also attended Rutgers, and we happened to be at the same bar,” Alyssa explains. “However, the first time Troy and I saw each other we didn’t speak to one another. I ended up leaving that bar with my friend and continuing on with our night. It wasn’t until I was at the last bar of my night that I ran into Troy again! This time we both finally gathered enough courage to talk to each other. We exchanged phone numbers and went our separate ways—not talking again for two months. In May 2018, Troy—finally—reached out and we went on our first date, and we’ve been together ever since!”
Will You Marry Me?
After dating for a little more than four years, Troy proposed in October 2022. Troy had planned three separate scenarios and ended up choosing to propose in Oregon when the couple was on a trip visiting Alyssa’s sister. “Prior to our trip, I had been nonstop talking about going back to this lake in Oregon that was so beautiful it didn’t look real,” Alyssa says. “I had been out to Oregon a few times at this point and Trillium Lake was one of my favorite places to visit, so I knew Troy had to see it. Troy decided this was the perfect spot to propose—and it was. When we got to Trillium Lake that day I was so excited for Troy to see it and was completely oblivious to his plan. My sister and Troy were sneakily scouting out the best proposal spot while we were walking around, and the whole time I thought Troy was just really excited to take pictures with me. After about an hour of walking around Troy found the perfect spot and proposed with the lake/mountain in perfect view behind us.”
Details of the Day
The florals for their October wedding at Mountain Creek Resort were green and white because the couple wanted them to stand out from the fall colors surrounding their day. “From the foliage at the ceremony to the bridesmaids and groomsmen’s outfits, we wanted to ensure our florals complemented everything,” Alyssa adds. The girls’ bouquets were white and ivory roses, white spray roses and greenery, while the men sported pocket boutonnières with white ranunculus, white spray roses and greenery.
To keep with the cozy atmosphere Alyssa and Troy were trying to achieve, they swapped the traditional ivory tablecloths for black and added sand-colored napkins. Each table was covered in pillar candles with white florals and greenery surrounding them. “The small details were my favorite part,” Alyssa says. “The white acrylic table numbers with mountains on them were hand-drawn pictures by my sister of the most important places to us: where we first met, our first date, our first vacation, first home, proposal location and wedding venue. We adorned all the open shelves with pictures of us throughout our relationship and had a special table dedicated to Troy’s brother Michael.”
Why Did You Choose Mountain Creek?
“We were looking for a venue that had an amazing ceremony location, lots of food options, on-site hotel and a cozy, intimate atmosphere,” Alyssa explains. “This venue hit all of our major wants and delivered above what we imagined. The ceremony location cannot be beat.”
Guests rode a gondola to the ceremony location, enjoying the fall foliage on the way up. The ceremony was on top of a mountain overlooking Vernon. “The Lodge where the cocktail hour and reception took place was so spacious, allowing all of our 120 guests to fit comfortably while still feeling cozy and intimate,” Alyssa says. “There were so many food options for us to choose from for both cocktail hour and dinner. The banquet staff was also able to accommodate multiple food allergies and dietary restrictions.”
Favorite Detail
“This was a difficult choice for us because all of our vendors truly exceeded our expectations. But the music was one of the more important details of our day, so we would have to say our can’t-live-without vendor is Jason Jani from SCE Event Group,” Alyssa says. “The only songs we chose were the ceremony and special dances. We wanted Jason to have free reign to do what he does best, and it was easily one of the best decisions we made. Jason’s mixes along with the intelligent lighting, tube lighting and CO2 jets elevated our guests’ experience and made the dance floor a place everyone wanted to be.”
Favorite Moment
There are so many favorite moments to choose from, but if Alyssa and Troy had to choose one it would be when they took a moment during the reception to step off the dance floor and take in the whole night together. “Watching our family and friends enjoying themselves and celebrating with us was so surreal,” Alyssa says. “It was such an unreal feeling to finally be here after two years of planning. Family and friends traveling from all over the U.S., even some coming from another country. Taking that moment to look around and appreciate all of the people who showed up for us—family, friends, vendors, etc.—really put into perspective how lucky we both are to have them and each other.”
Advice for Others
“Lean on family, friends, each other,” Alyssa advises. “Wedding planning can be stressful, and having people in your corner, even if it’s each other, is so important. This includes the day of the wedding. There is so much going on and if we didn’t ask for help every once in a while we wouldn’t have been able to enjoy our day as much as we did. There will be things that go wrong on the day of your wedding. Your guests won’t know if a picture is in the wrong spot or if the table numbers are slightly off from where you wanted them, but they will remember the happiness and love they felt watching you and your new husband!”
Honeymoon
Alyssa and Troy went to Sandals Grande St Lucian in St. Lucia for their honeymoon. “We wanted to choose a place neither of us had been, and we knew after all of the wedding planning we wanted to be on an island,” Alyssa says. “We decided to skip the excursions to hang by the pool and enjoy each other’s company. It was the perfect seven days to unwind and relax.”
The Team
Venue | Mountain Creek Resort, Vernon, NJ
Photographer | Alessandra Lee Photography
Florals | Olivia Floral Design & Events, Wyckoff, NJ
Deejay | Jason Jani of SCE Event Group, Farmingdale, NJ
Bride’s Gown | Allure Couture Bridal, Seng Couture, North Plainfield
Bride’s Shoes | Badgley Mischka
Bridesmaid Dresses | Azazie, Billy J, Show Me Your MuMu
Hair | Stephanie Pontes of Prostyled Bride, Tinton Falls
Makeup | Eva Gerapetritis of Make Me Up Eva, Asbury Park
Groom’s Suit | Loro Piana from The Clothing Center, East Brunswick
Groomsmen Rentals | The Clothing Center, East Brunswick
Videographer | Happy Tears Productions, Bellmawr, NJ
Photo Booth | Metro Photobus
Cigar Bar | The Mobile Cigar Lounge, Hopatcong, NJ
Rings | Atlantis Jewelry, Woodbridge Mall, Woodbridge, NJ
Cake | Calandra’s Bakery, Fairfield, NJ
Honeymoon | Sandals Grande St Lucian
