The Grove at Centerton Wedding | Pittsgrove, New Jersey

November 2, 2022

On October 22nd, I photographed Giovanna and Dylan’s Grove at Centerton wedding in Pittsgrove, NJ! Giovanna and Dylan, who are high school sweethearts had a romantic and classic wedding with a traditional catholic ceremony at Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Glassboro, NJ followed by a lively reception that had some of the most unique moments! Their speeches were hilarious and sweet (and ended with an Eagles chant), their band the FM Band kept the dance floor moving all night and the Whoaphat brass band played for a few fun songs while the bride and groom danced with umbrellas! The night ended with my adorable groom serenading his bride on the dance floor – what a way to end the evening!

Gia and Dylan met for the first time in 4th grade, they were actually in the same class but didn’t realize it until a few years ago when Gia’s Stepmom was going through pictures and spotted Dylan in her 4th Grade class picture! Gia and Dylan went to high school together and had always known of each other, but never really talked or spent time together because they were in different classes. On April 21, 2014, they both went to a mutual friend’s birthday party in Philadelphia, Dylan sat next to Gia at Max Brenner’s and the rest is history. Their first official date June 6, 2014 and they went to see The Fault in Our Stars in the movie theatre.

The proposal from Giovanna, “I had plans to get lunch with my mom and Aunt and we were talking about my mom possibly getting engaged and how I felt Dylan would never propose. Toward the end of lunch my mom kept rushing us to leave, which I thought was rude so after I dropped my mom and Aunt off I called Dylan to complain about her rushing out of lunch. Dylan then told me he broke the front door to our apartment and told me to walk around the back – since I was already annoyed I didn’t really ask too many questions, I just became more annoyed! I get home to our apartment, walked up to our mailbox to get our mail and I hear our wedding song playing very loud (“Better Together” by Luke Combs) and the only thing I’m thinking is “Wow, this is so loud our neighbors are probably so annoyed.” So then I turn the corner to go into the back door, dropped my keys and picked them up to see Dylan standing in front of me all dressed up, with decorations hanging all around, with our dog, Charlie, wearing a white bowtie collar and a sign around his neck that said “Mommy will you marry Daddy?” and I FROZE. I stood still for a solid 10 seconds before inching closer to him. He then got down on one knee and of course I said yes! After the initial shock wore off, Dylan pointed to the woods behind our apartment where my best friend was hiding in the trees taking pictures and recording the whole thing!”

Now that they are married, their plans include buying their first home in the near future where they can create lifelong memories with their dog, and future dogs and future children. They also want to travel and take vacations as often as they can.

Their advice for couple’s currently planning is to breathe. Everything will get done in time, lean on your partner and work together to complete all your tasks. At the end of the day, you’ll be married to your best friend and all of the little things won’t matter! Giovanna was most looking forward to walking down the aisle to Dylan and then celebrating with all of their favorite people! Dylan was most looking forward to seeing Giovanna in her wedding dress.

These two are currently on their honeymoon in Antigua, thank you for choosing me to photograph your Grove at Centerton wedding!