Brigalias Wedding | Sicklerville, NJ | Marisa & Sam

July 20, 2021

On July 2nd, I photographed Marisa and Sam’s Brigalias wedding in Sicklerville, NJ. Marisa and Sam had a gorgeous classic wedding in the Grand Ballroom of Brigalias, I love photographing at this beautiful South Jersey wedding venue!

Marisa and Sam met the first week of classes at Rowan University in a Kinesiology class. Sam walked into the classroom with his two friends who sat together at an empty desk, Marisa happened to be sitting at an adjacent desk next to an open seat. Sam chose that seat, and with one goofy pickup line, the rest was history. Sam knew Marisa from sophomore year; in fact, they lived down the hall from one another. One day, Sam was going to do some laundry, and he ran into Marisa studying in the common area. Marisa looked up at Sam and noticed he was wearing a Drew Soccer sweatshirt. Marisa asked about the sweatshirt, and Sam told her his oldest brother went there. Marisa’s older sister also happened to attend Drew and they spoke about common friends.

Brigalias Wedding | Sicklerville, NJ | Marisa & Sam During the second or third Kinesiology class, Sam asked Marisa about her boyfriend, and she said they had broken up 6 months ago. Sam knew it was time to make his move. After class one day Sam stood up, started packing his stuff, and dropped the famous college line: “Hey, can I have your number…just in case I have questions about class?” Marisa giggled, and obliged. Riding high after scoring Marisa’s number, Sam’s team was playing in the intramural basketball playoffs that night. Marisa worked for the Rec Center and was the scorekeeper for a lot of the intramural basketball games. Sam’s team won and afterwards, Sam and his team mates headed to Wawa for hoagies. As they were walking into the store, Sam got a text message from Marisa saying: “I must say, I was very impressed with the dunking…” And the rest is history!

Eight years later on November 27, 2019 on Thanksgiving Eve, they were engaged. Marisa pulled into their driveway after a long shift and out walked Sam, he dropped to one knee and asked Marisa to be his wife. She said YES!

Marisa and Sam’s Brigalias wedding was perfect. They had a traditional ceremony at Mary Mother of Mercy Parish, Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Glassboro, NJ followed by a bubble exit. After a few traditional portraits in the church, we headed to Brigalias for more portraits of my happy bride and groom. There had been a threat of rain all day with a heavy morning down pour, but the rain cleared up just in time and we ended up having gorgeous weather! We captured a ton of variety with backdrops at Brigalia’s, and I loved using the greenery during Marisa and Sam’s bridal party and couple portraits. Both nurses, in lieu of favors they donated to their favorite charities as they believe the best gift you can give is the gift of helping others. They had a lively reception with a romantic first dance, sweet and emotional speeches, and a fun dance floor!