Elegance, emotion, and lots of pink (even Pokemon) for this Palace at Somerset Park Wedding with Justin & Jenna…
Why Rhinehart Photography?
Jenna shares, “We chose Rhinehart photography because talking to Lisa made us feel very comfortable. We were both unsure how we would feel in front of the camera, and it was important to us that we could be comfortable and our authentic selves. At both our engagement and wedding day shoot, we both felt completely natural and there was no self-conscious feeling. We were really pleased with our experience.”
She continues, “We were hoping that our wedding photos would capture the magic of our day: our love for each other, our love for our guests, and the happiness we felt over finally tying the knot. Our pictures totally did this!”
Palace Somerset Park Wedding Preparations
Palace Somerset Park Wedding PreparationsJenna smiles, “I did all of my own hair, makeup, and nails— I’m super passionate about these things and am far too picky to trust anyone else to do it! I really enjoy looking back on the photos to remind me of all of the trials I did at home for the perfect hair/makeup/nail combination with my blush-colored dress!”
First Look!
Jenna shares, “We fell in love at 15 years old, and we are high school sweethearts (originally from California). Justin & I had a long-distance relationship all through college and finally moved in together on the east coast when I started graduate school. We have been through a lot together and are each other’s support & best friend! Our wedding originally had to be postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so we finally got married after almost 11 years together.”
She adds, “The most intense part of our wedding was the first look. That was such a private moment between the two of us (and Lisa, haha!) when it really hit us that we are FINALLY getting married! COVID-19 really put a damper on our wedding planning, and we were worried that it took some of the magic away…”
Jenna smiles, “…However, all of that worry melted away once we first saw each other. I was really excited for Justin to see my wedding dress, and my heart was pounding as I walked up to him. Justin was excited, giddy, and nervous once he knew I was walking up to him. Once we saw each other, neither could contain our tears of happiness and joy. Having this intimate first look together was one of the most special parts of our wedding day for both of us and was the most intense part of the day.”
Gorgeous Grounds for this Palace Somerset Park Wedding
Jenna shares, “Our theme for the wedding was cherry blossoms, so most of our decorations had cherry blossoms in them. A sneaky secret: almost all of our flowers were fake! I have really bad allergies and didn’t want to deal with them on the wedding day, so we used mostly silk flowers! To match the “pink theme”, I had a pink pomegranate martini with edible glitter for my signature drink!”
I Choose You!
Jenna smiles, “We LOVE pokemon. It is something we do together almost every day, whether it be pokemon cards or video games. Having the “Master ball” (the only Pokeball that will never fail at catching a pokemon) as our ring box was something we really enjoyed. We also had “I choose you” (a classic pokemon phrase) as our cake topper. Additionally, we had the pokemon theme song and several other anime instrumental songs that played for the ceremony. We wanted our music to reflect our interests.”
Palace Somerset Park Wedding Ceremony
Haha, I was all about using the balcony to my full advantage and used my best ninja moves, climbing up and down to capture all the unique angles…
Luckily Jenna and Justin chose to have two photographers— so I stayed back and got creative, showing the veil and groom as they walked down the aisle, while my second photographer, Jim, captured the more traditional angles…
Palace at Somerset Park Wedding Reception Traditions
Jenna shares, “As the day went on, we both felt it went by in a blur. The ceremony was short and sweet. Once the ceremony was over, we were ready to eat and party! We enjoyed the cocktail hour with our guests and up in the bridal suite. We really enjoyed the groom and bridal suites, they allowed us a place to get ready and come back to throughout the day. Everyone tells you that your wedding day goes fast, and having the bridal suite to take a brief moment with each other helped the day still feel intimate.”
She continues, “After cocktail hour, we entered the ballroom where dinner and dancing took place. We had a huge entrance that turned into a mini dance party, and that’s when we felt all the love and excitement from our friends and family. We will never forget running in a circle to high-five everyone.”
Jenna says, “Afterwards, we had speeches and dances, which continued to remind us how special our friends and family are to us. Our speeches from our bridal party were fantastic and absolutely reflective of our relationship with each person. We sat down to eat, and the dinner was AMAZING. All of our food was beyond expectation! We continued to dance with all of our friends, and it felt like the most awesome party we have ever been to.”
Palace at Somerset Park Wedding Reception
Jenna says, “Honestly, we were super impressed with the Viennese dessert stations at our venue! It is all we could have dreamed of, and was on our bucket list for our wedding day. There was a list of things that were “non-negotiable” for our wedding day: tacos, sushi, and ice cream (all of our favorite food!). The Palace at Somerset had all of the things on our list. Most of our guests told us the dessert display felt like a fever dream at the end of the night because we had more and more food–exactly what we wanted. :)”
She smiles, “The way they moved us from the ceremony to the cocktail hour, to the dinner/dancing, and then to the dessert bar was so magical. We got to see each room before everyone else, so we really got to see our vision come alive.”
At the End of the Evening
Jenna smiles, “At the end of the evening, we were both exhausted by the whirlwind of a day, but so, so happy. Our wedding was the day of our dreams: it had all the food, dancing, and love we could have asked for. It felt like the perfect celebration of love and life that we needed after such a long wait and after so much isolation during COVID-19. It went by FAST, but the memories are engrained forever.”
Vendors:
- Venue: The Palace at Somerset Park
- Florist: A Touch of Elegance
- DJ/Officiant: LJ DJs
- Bridal Gown: Kleinfeld Bridal
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