Elise & Joseph | The Vanderbilt at South Beach | Staten Island, NY

“Truly Impeccable”

Joseph and I grew up with a lot of mutual friends. We both went to high school in Brooklyn. He went to Poly Prep, I went to Bishop Kearney and we were friends throughout the years but we weren’t dating. A couple of years later we got in contact over social media and he messaged me on Instagram. He asked how I was and we talked and went on our first date soon after that.

Our first date was at the Italian restaurant and nightclub LAVO in NYC. It’s a restaurant nightclub in Manhattan, very loud and clubby. It was just a fun dinner date. Five years later we were engaged and now he is in financial services and I am a makeup artist. Joseph proposed at his surprise 30th birthday party at his parents’ house in Staten Island. He instead made it a surprise for me, when I thought it was going to be a surprise for him! That night, he proposed in front of all our families and friends. It was beautiful.

We chose The Vanderbilt at South Beach because we were looking for an extravagant beachfront venue that was willing to go above and beyond to make our day special. Our venue experience was truly impeccable. We had numerous tastings and detailed meetings that made our day go so smoothly and perfectly.

At The Vanderbilt, we worked with Brittany, Michelle, Margaret, and others. Everyone was amazing. We had a huge meeting about our cocktail hour and did multiple tastings. At our first meeting we just talked about what special extras we would want and they just did so much for us. They had a lot of contacts and vendors too. They were great. I knew of our florist, but once they said they were amazing, we knew we’d be in good hands.

Our ceremony was at Saint Athanasius Catholic Church, officiated by Monsignor David Cassato, who has been a very close friend of my family for many years. We had an extravagant cocktail hour which included an Italian station with homemade pastas and fresh mozzarella, an entire raw bar, a Peter Lugar steak station, lobster, and sushi stations.

Joseph’s family has a hibachi restaurant, so we also had a hibachi station, which was amazing, such a big hit. Everyone loved it. They served shrimp, chicken, steak, fried rice, and vegetables. We also had passed hors d’oeuvres like mini crab cakes, New England lobster rolls, coconut shrimp, baby lamb chops, and cheeseburger sliders.

We had five entree options: brined pork chop in a sweet and hot cherry pepper sauce with pomme puree and baby carrots, grilled filet mignon with pomme puree and parmesan broccoli, and pan-seared branzino in a lemon shallot butter sauce with pomme puree and asparagus. We also had pan-roasted chicken breast with asparagus, creamy polenta, and mushroom gravy plus grilled rainbow cauliflower in a Romesco sauce with kale and tahini.

Our décor was mainly gold with a big focus on flowers. Our DJ was from MVP productions, as was our MC, Make Vecchia, who was amazing. We did fun throughout-the-decades music so we catered to all generations. We did smoke bombs and smoked out the dance floor. It was great!

Our wedding cake was a traditional four-tier chocolate and vanilla cake with a white chocolate and raspberry filling and embroidered with fresh flowers. We had an extensive Viennese hour with a Coney Island boardwalk theme. There was a candy store station, a cannoli station, and a fruit display, along with chocolate-dipped strawberries, bananas, and pineapples plus funnel cake sticks, fried Oreos, and mini milkshakes.

We would love to thank our families, our vendors, my sister, Christina, who was my Maid of Honor, and the Best Man, Joe’s brother Marc, and a special thank you to the staff at Vanderbilt for making all our dreams come true.

The Vanderbilt at South Beach, Staten Island, NY, 718.447.0800, vanderbiltsouthbeach.com