A Classic Waterfront Wedding at The Reeds at Shelter Haven in Stone Harbor, New Jersey

Kelsey always wanted "a beach wedding, something very romantic and whimsical," so she and Timothy decided to tie the knot close to the water at The Reeds at Shelter Haven in Stone Harbor, New Jersey to celebrate both their love for each other and their love of the ocean. "The Reeds at Shelter Haven was where we had originally planned our rehearsal dinner, so when we decided to move forward with a micro wedding, it was the perfect spot since they have a private roof garden overlooking the bay. It was perfect for an intimate reception, and the views of the sunset were so romantic," says Kelsey of her New Jersey microwedding. Although the COVID-19 pandemic forced Kelsey and Tim to reimagine much of their wedding, they stuck with much of the same vision and aesthetic they had in mind all along. "I did opt to work with my florist on the same color palette/theme as originally planned for the big wedding, which was very earthy neutrals, with lots of greenery. My absolute favorite flower that set the tone was butterfly ranunculus in the softest pale shades of pink and yellow, they almost looked like silk!"

Although Kelsey and Timothy's wedding ended up being a beautiful day, it was not without a handful of pandemic-related hurdles. Notably, the couple's florist went out of her way to drive to another state just to source the perfect flowers for this New Jersey waterfront wedding. "With everything going on with COVID, she didn't trust importing flowers, and literally drove to a greenhouse in Maryland for us to handpick the flowers for my bouquet and centerpieces," says Kelsey. "They were breathtaking and literally matched my Pinterest board exactly, so I couldn't have been happier with the outcome. She used a mix of roses, carnations, butterfly ranunculus and various sprigs, like baby's breathe and tweedia, to achieve our super romantic earthy vibes, it was dreamy." The couple also ended up exchanging vows in a tiny chapel, which was not their original plan. However, the spot they selected is "an intimate Swiss Chapel, one block from the ocean, which they typically don't host weddings in because it's so tiny, but in this instance for 11 people it was perfect," recalls Kelsey of the Sacred Heart Chapel in Avalon, New Jersey. "I truly had no idea what it would look like but I was so impressed, it had these gorgeous wood beams and felt very German-fairytale vibes, but when I heard it was Swiss that was such a sweet surprise, as we had actually gotten engaged December 2018 on our trip to Switzerland over Christmas Break. It was very 'us.'" The couple capped off their microwedding with an intimate dinner for 11 overlooking the bay.  "Our reception was very intimate and sweet. We had one long table for 11 people at The Reeds Roof garden. It overlooked the bay in Stone Harbor, NJ. It ended up being such a gorgeous day, it cooled down a bit at night (it had been super hot) and we got a light breeze and a gorgeous bright pink sunset.  To celebrate, we just danced casually, drank champagne, ate cake and enjoyed the night with the family. It was the first time we all hugged each other—my sister and nephew I had not hugged since March 9th, so that in itself was the best thing ever. We all got COVID tested and distanced prior to the wedding so we could feel safe being together," recalls Kelsey of her intimate wedding in New Jersey amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.