1. Real Weddings

A Rustic Purple Wedding at Stone House at Stirling Ridge in Warren, New Jersey

Though bride Rachel Nies (28 and Director of Branded Content and Marketing at Conde Nast) and Scott McEnerney (33 and an Assistant Project Manager) gr

Though bride Rachel Nies (28 and Director of Branded Content and Marketing at Conde Nast) and Scott McEnerney (33 and an Assistant Project Manager) grew up in the same town of Basking Ridge, New Jersey they didn’t meet until years later. Friends happened to introduce the couple at a dive bar. After dating for five years Scott proposed during a romantic vacation in Bermuda. For their wedding the couple returned to their native New Jersey. “We wanted to be somewhat close to our hometown of Basking Ridge and after looking at numerous other venues, immediately fell in love with Stone House and the elegant but fun vibe it provided. Guests were able to be outdoors on the patio throughout the evening, with cigars and s'mores around the fire pits towards the end,” says Rachel. The couple tied in their hometown pride with their welcome bags filled with items local to Basking Ridge and they were wed in their hometown church, St. James. Rachel and Scott wanted to play up a “classy, but not stuffy” vibe, so they went with rustic details and a muted color palette of lavender, soft greens, gray and white. The couple’s families pitched with many of the details, which made the day even more personal. “The mother of the bride made a number of custom items special to us, including: a guest book featuring photos of Rachel and Scott when they were kids, burlap pillows with our initials and the date, glitter heart cake toppers, framed silhouettes of our profiles, ancestor wedding photos and our initials on the backs of our chairs,” says Rachel.

All of the paper details for Rachel and Scott’s wedding were designed by the bride’s sister and maid-of-honor. She included a custom logo and a garland motif to the invitation suite. rn
Classic Wedding Bands
Rachel chose a chantilly lace Anne Barge trumpet v-neck style dress and paired it with a custom headband from House of Mac and Zoe.
The couple included items native to their hometown of Basking Ridge, New Jersey with welcome bags that included a map with sites and history of the town, apples from a local orchard, cookies baked by the mother of the bride and a copy of Inside Jersey magazine.
The bridesmaids wore formal, long bridesmaid dresses in a dusky lavender hue.
The bride carried a bouquet filled with dusty miller, flowered lavender and seeded eucalyptus. The neutral bouquet fit the soft and muted wedding color palette.
Bunches of baby’s breath flowers decorated the pews of the couple’s hometown church. “St. James is already beautiful so we simply added wreaths of dried lavender to the front doors and bouquets of baby’s breath in birch holders down the aisle,” says Rachel.
Three of the groom’s nephews carried a burlap “Here Comes the Bride” sign down the aisle along with the rings on a homemade ring bearer pillow.
Classic White Programs
Bride and Groom Ceremony Processional
Escort cards in pretty silver frames showed guests the way to their seats. The escort card table was also decorated with silhouette photos of the couple.
Classic Indoor Reception
The four-tier buttercream wedding cake had alternating flavors of red velvet, carrot cake and marble filling. In addition, guests were treated to a candy bar and passed desserts like milkshake shooters and s’mores.
The couple danced to classic first dance song Otis Redding’s “That’s How Strong My Love Is,” which was played by Jason Craig Band.