Ali & Christopher | The Surf Club on the Sound | New Rochelle, NY

"A Breath of Fresh Air"

Christopher and I met five years ago. My first day at my first hair salon I saw him sitting in his office right next to my parked car. He works in commercial real estate and his office was right across the street from my salon.We saw each other through the windows, locked eyes, and I hurried away with my heart pounding. I was shy, but he persevered. He would fill my car meter to save me from being ticketed and come into the salon to let me know. I would park my car in front of his store so I could walk by and pretend not to see him. About six months in I bought him a coffee and let him know. I was ready to start dating. He invited me out for coffee, I eventually let my walls down, and we never looked back.

He showed me what love was, but watching him love my daughter so fiercely made me fall head over heels. He took her on as his own and about three years later, on Christmas Eve, he proposed. I got ready and came into the living room to see him and my daughter all dressed up by the tree. He pulled out a “daddy locket” and asked her permission to be with her mommy and promised to always be there for both of us. I turned to clasp her necklace, and when I turned back around he was on one knee. I was overcome with emotion at the joy of marrying my best friend.

After a few months of celebrations, we started looking for venues. We looked at every castle, barn, farm, vineyard, country club, and garden! Then my mom mentioned The Surf Club on the Sound. I had my Sweet 16 there, which was the last party of mine that my grandparents were able to attend, so it was a meaningful place to me. We walked in and everything clicked. After months of searching, and just one moment at The Surf Club, we decided to have our wedding there. Rick DiLeo, the banquet manager, was a breath of fresh air. Everything felt right and we knew our wedding was in wonderful hands. Throughout the planning, any special requests were met with enthusiasm.

The grounds offer everything one could hope for. The long driveway prepares you to be wowed by elegance. The large fountains, beautiful bridal suite, grand foyer, sweeping views of the water, and the beach offer wonderful photo backdrops or ceremony locations. You feel you’re marrying in style from the moment you get there. We began our day at The Surf Club with cocktail hour. We arrived an hour ahead of time and there was food in the bridal suite to make sure we could try everything before mingling with our guests. We selected coconut shrimp, bacon-wrapped scallops, mini sliders, filet pinwheels, and more as our passed hors d’oeuvres.

We chose an all-American station, a carving station, an Italian station, and a live mozzarella station, where the mozzarella was made right in front of our guests. There was a raw bar featuring an “A & C” ice sculpture, and everything looked as extravagant as it tasted!

Our florist and the team at The Surf Club decorated the ballroom beautifully, with an overflow of peonies, hydrangeas, and roses. Our centerpieces alternated between a single candelabra with small flower bunches hanging just below the candles and large, elevated bouquets. Violet uplighting accentuated our neutral palette and played off the crystal chandeliers brilliantly.

Dinner was a five-star experience. After a champagne toast, we began with an appetizer duet of salad and a mozzarella tower, followed by a second course of rigatoni al filetto. Entrée options were chateaubriand, French breast of chicken, branzino Mediterranean, and eggplant parmesan. Our cake was vanilla with cannoli chip filling, we had a full Viennese display and a to-go station in the lobby with hot pretzels, chocolate chip cookies, gelato, and more. Everyone worked off their food with a night full of dancing thanks to our wonderful DJ!

Rick and the entire staff helped create our perfect wedding. We felt everyone was invested in our wedding and cared so much to make us happy. We will never forget our big night!

Surf Club on the Sound, New Rochelle, NY
914.633.8221, thesurfclubonthesound.com