Brittany & Edward | Above | Staten Island, NY

“Romantic & Dreamy”

It all started a few summers ago on a beach. We were both vacationing in what we consider to be the happiest place on earth, Wildwood Crest, NJ. The treasured shore point has been a staple in each of our childhood and adult lives.

Ed walked up to a stranger (in typical Ed fashion) and offered me a drink. My dear friend who was with me was a bit concerned, as all good friends should be in these situations, but I assured her it would be okay if I chatted with him for a few minutes. He was charming and handsome. I was intrigued. We talked for about 10 minutes, exchanged numbers, and went our separate ways. The wrench in our “meet cute” was that we discovered he was from Philly and I am from NYC. So while our meeting was magical, it did not seem practical to pursue further.

He reached out a month after our meeting and we danced around in text messages and a couple of phone calls for about seven months. Eventually, Ed came to the Big Apple and took me on a date to Vinum, an Italian restaurant.

We fell deeply in love with a lot of laughter and joy, traveling between our two cities and sharing many dinners. I guess you can call us foodies, though Ed cringes when I say that. Fitting our “foodie" personalities, Ed proposed after a delicious dinner in Manhattan and seeing “Aladdin” on Broadway two days before Christmas.

We were eager to start planning our wedding and immediately thought of ABOVE Weddings at the Hilton. The venue is classy and timeless, has amazing food, and is very convenient when half of your wedding guests are from out of town, so they could stay at the hotel. We saw the venue, immediately fell in love, and looked no further.

Working with Jennifer Finch, director of catering, was amazing. Extremely skilled at her craft, she provides warm hospitality, understanding, professionalism, and efficiency. Jennifer helped enormously as we navigated the overwhelming process of planning a wedding.

I cannot tell you how many people have mentioned how magnificent the cocktail hour was. Not only was the cocktail hour rooftop space exquisite, the quality and quantity of food were outrageous, truly setting the tone for the night.

The ballroom looked romantic and dreamy. The tables were decorated with a mix of tall centerpieces and bubble bowls of mixed greenery and pops of white flowers, as well as candle sets with peach rose petals sprinkled at the bottom. The lighting and monogram lighting fixture with our names and the initial of our last name added the perfect personalized touch we were looking for.

Dinner was excellent. Our guests chose from three delicious entrées, New York strip steak with steakhouse sauce and frizzled onions, roasted duck breast with a wild cherry and herb reduction, and lemon horseradish-crusted salmon in a vodka butter sauce. The cake provided by Sweet Sweet Sue’s was out of this world. Additional desserts, like crème brûlée, cheese cake lollipops, banana cream pie, and apple pie purses were also at the tables and served by the waitstaff. The food was truly incredible from start to finish. Thanks to our amazing DJ, the party did not stop all night. It was a full night of dancing, which is exactly what we wanted.

The venue, along with all our incredible vendors, truly helped make our wedding vision a reality. The day would not be possible without the love and support of our loving parents, family, wedding party, and all our beloved guests. We are forever grateful for each other, our beautiful wedding day, and that we chose ABOVE.

ABOVE Weddings, Staten Island, NY
718.477.2400, EventAbove.com