the oppelts | one year later

It's hard to believe a year has gone by since Nicole + Mike tied the knot. The Oppelts were married at Stillwell Stables in Colts Neck, NJ on Saturday May 21, 2016. Their wedding was nothing short of a fairy tale. Upon arrival, guests were gathered under a big white tent and as the rain trickled down, Nicole made her grand entrance completely taking Mikes’ (and everyone else’s) breath away. This pinnacle moment really set the tone for the rest of their dreamy evening. If you stopped and took a look around, you could undoubtedly tell that Nicole had added a personal touch into every detail for their special day.

Read below for Nicole's favorite moments of the wedding, some bits of advice for brides and what they have been up to since their big day!

From The Bride: What was most important to Mike and I was that everyone we loved and cared about was there to celebrate with us so we wanted to keep it local. We aren’t very traditional and knew that we weren’t going to get married in a typical wedding venue. We attended a black tie fundraiser at Stillwell Stables three years prior to our wedding and we both knew immediately we wanted to be married there. Once we got permission from a dear family friend, we started planning. First on that list was hiring a wedding planner. I knew I couldn't do this all by myself ;) Paige of Gilded Lily Events was a lifesaver. We needed to bring every single thing in to bring our wedding to life and without her I don’t think that would have been possible

For the overall design choice, we envisioned a soft romantic outdoor wedding. We were planning to enjoy the natural beauty of the farm as our backdrop for the ceremony. However, Mother Nature wasn’t on our side and the day before our wedding we decided to tent the entire ceremony space. As our priest was mentioning my great grandmother, the rain started and I knew she was there with us in that moment. Our favorite part of the day was as we said our vows, you could hear the tiniest rain drops hit the sail cloth tent amongst our vows and the string quartet. It was absolutely the most romantic and memorable experience of the day.

Our wedding colors were blush, copper, navy blue and white Carrara marble. For cocktail hour, we wanted to create a lounge yet party like vibe. The sailcloth tent had a large black round bar in the center of it where our signature drinks were served; his & hers mules. Our escort cards doubled as favors and everyone loved their copper Moscow mule cups. The ceiling of the tent was something out of a dream. There was bistro lights intertwined with fabric swags and geometric lighting above the bar. Each part of our wedding day had its own theme/vibe and I wouldn’t have changed one thing!

Our vision for the wedding was black tie meets rustic. The barn itself was a stunning active riding arena that we transformed with floor to ceiling draping and hanging florals. Mike’s one suggestion was to have our photo booth in one of the horse stalls inside the barn. We used old white doors, greenery and a laser cut calligraphy sign with our new name and hashtag, “The Oppelts”. We didn’t want any props in the photo booth except extra-large photos of our two fur babies, Pearl and Reese.

Advice for future brides on your wedding day:

1. Enjoy every single moment of the day whether good or bad. There will be imperfections and hiccups that will not go accordingly; just laugh about it and live in the moment. As we cut our cake, the knife broke and sliced Mike’s hand open, all we could do is laugh and make the best of it!

2. Try to take at least five minutes and go somewhere private with your new husband. Whether it be the bridal suite or just stepping away outside. Take this moment to enjoy each other alone without all the excitement. You will thank me later! Your wedding day is about the new life you are creating with your soulmate and everything else doesn’t matter.

3. Get your food to go. Ask your caterer to pack up food for you! We did not get one bite of our cocktail hour food and people are still raving about it! Have them wrap up the cocktail hour food, the main course, the cake ... everything because you're probably going to have no time to eat. And trust me: You'll be starving when you get back to the hotel at the end of the night. We ordered pizza to the hotel and it was nowhere as good as the food we served! I am still wishing that I got those coconut chicken tenders to go!

What we've been up to:

Traveling + working hard! We are very fortunate to be able to travel as frequently as we do. Since being married last year, we have traveled to Italy (Rome, Capri, Ravello, Positano & Florence), California (Napa Valley, Sonoma & Beverly Hills), Las Vegas and North Carolina (OBX). In 2017 our travel to do list consists of Nashville (twice), Myrtle Beach, Newport, RI and SPAIN! We cannot wait to travel across the pond for two of our closest friends' wedding, yay Natalia & John! Traveling to new places is one of our favorite things to do as a couple. We love learning about the history of each city and exploring all it has to offer.

Being married has brought out the best in both of us and we couldn't be happier. With our 1 year anniversary coming up this Sunday, we have some exciting plans! Couples massages at Ocean Place Spa followed by an in-home private chef for dinner are on the agenda. We have been so busy with work that we cannot wait to relax with each other and reflect on the amazing first year of marriage.