Brianna & Peter | Westin Governor Morris | Morristown, NJ

“Our Vision Came True”

Peter and I met in first grade when we were in the same religion class. We would see each other every Monday night and eventually our friendship grew. When we both attended the same high school in 2012, Peter and I became best friends. Our mutual friend Vinnie introduced the idea of dating, so on April 11th, 2014, Peter gave me a softball that said, “Will you be my girlfriend?”

We joined my family for a trip to Lavallette for chicken parm pizza at Lenny’s Italian Grill. Lavallette was a staple in our relationship, so naturally, Peter proposed on the dock on April 10th, 2022, just one day short of our eight year anniversary. Now I am a fourth grade teacher and he is a firefighter.

The hotel, The Westin Governor Morris, was exactly what we were looking for.It has a modern feel with beautiful, picturesque grounds and we loved that we could have all the events of our wedding weekend in one location, from the welcome drinks to the ceremony,, cocktail hour, reception, after-party, and farewell breakfast. The location also was perfect for our guests, as many of them live in New Jersey.

Everyone we met at The Westin had a smile on their face and helped make our weekend the best it could be. Christina Rodriguez, sales manager, made sure all our rooms were secured for guests and kept us updated with our rooming list. David Lombardi, the director of catering, truly made our wedding vision come true. He accommodated any request we had for our special day, even allowing our puppy in the ceremony and adding a unique signature drink. He helped us in any way possible throughout the planning process.

Our cocktail hour was on the Promenade inside the hotel. We selected the Knickerbocker Martini Bar and The Jersey Shore Station. Our delicious passed hors d’oeuvres included coconut shrimp, wild mushroom quesadilla, and scallops wrapped in bacon. We also had a carving station and Mediterranean display with hummus and baba ghanoush.

For our reception, The Westin allowed us to bring in much of our own décor for guests to enjoy. The Westin even coordinated a photo booth for us and allowed us to bring in a large, custom-made wooden backdrop to use. Our centerpieces included a floral ring of assorted greenery and white flowers with staggered cylinder vases and floating candles in the center. The blue uplighting helped bring together all our décor.

The ballroom accommodated our 200 guests comfortably. D’Amico Entertainment was recommended by The Westin and we are truly glad we selected them as our DJ/band hybrid team. They kept guests of all ages on the dance floor with live music, classic songs, and new songs too! The owner, Chris D’Amico was amazing to work with. He made sure our night ran smoothly and helped us throw the best party!

For dinner, we selected the cheese tortellini as our appetizer. Peter selected the seared beef tenderloin filet in a red wine demi sauce and I had the French-cut chicken breast stuffed with quinoa, sun-dried tomatoes, and spinach. Our wedding cake from Calandra’s was a three-tier cake that included a tier of chocolate cake with cannoli cream filling and a tier of vanilla cake with chocolate pudding filling. In addition to our cake, we added the Viennese dessert display where we selected a donut station and an ice cream sundae bar. To this day, guests are still talking about the incredible food The Westin offered.

Peter and I are truly grateful to everyone who helped make our wedding dreams come true. We couldn’t have asked for a better day, all thanks to our parents, families, bridal party, wonderful photographers and videographers from Meyer Photo + Video, D’Amico Entertainment, and David and his team at The Westin!

The Westin Governor Morris, Morristown, NJ, 973.539.7300, marriott.com/ewrwm