(201) Bride Summer 2018 | Page 47

BERGEN BRIDES Melissa & Domenick MAY 20, 2017 Photography courtesy of The Bleu Studio thebleustudio.com M elissa’s girlfriends convinced her to join Match.com, and “I’m so glad they did,” she says. It’s there that she met Domenick. “As manager of my family’s restaurant, Franco’s Metro Restaurant & Bar in Fort Lee, I hardly had time for conventional dating,” Melissa says. Meanwhile, Domenick, in a nearly identical situa- tion on Long Island, running his family’s construction business, Lona & Sons, had also decided to join the site. “Given our schedules, each of us clearly felt this would be our best route toward finding love,” Melissa says. “And according to the dating site, we were 98 percent compatible.” The couple had their first date at Haven in Edgewater, and immediately recognized that “we both felt as though we had known each other our entire lives,” Melissa recalls. “That night, I knew I was going to marry him.” For his proposal, Domenick created a romantic setting — with balloons and flowers — on the rooftop of Il Bacco Restaurant in Queens. “It’s the symbolic halfway point between New Jersey and Long Island,” says Melissa. With “Marry me?” spelled out in silver balloons, Domenick proposed on bended knee. Together, the couple joined their families who, unbeknownst to Melissa, were waiting downstairs to celebrate the happy occasion. HOMETOWNS BRIDE Englewood Cliffs GROOM Commack, NY CURRENTLY RESIDE IN Old Tappan CEREMONY Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Tenafly OFFICIANT Father Daniel O’Neil RECEPTION Rockleigh Country Club, Rockleigh MUSIC The Voices, Brooklyn, NY FLORIST Yumila Weddings and Events Floral Design, Rochelle Park CAKE A Little Cake, Park Ridge PHOTOGRAPHER AND VIDEOGRAPHER The Bleu Studio, Wayne DRESS Stephen Yearick, Bijou Bridal & Special Occasion, Paramus BRIDESMAID DRESSES BHLDN, anthropologie.com FLOWER GIRL DRESSES David’s Bridal, Totowa GROOM’S TUXEDO Foresto Men’s Shop & Tuxedo, Mineola, NY INVITATIONS AND WEDDING DAY STATIONERY Dalmazio Imports, Brooklyn, NY FAVORS serving dish from the Lorren Home Trends Collection, Sophie’s Garden, Dalmazio Imports, Brooklyn, NY TRANSPORTATION Town Limousine Service, Lyndhurst HAIR Joe Murray and Farrah Molina, RSalon, Edgewater MAKEUP Joanna Dziobek, Pout Glamour Studio, Rutherford WEDDING RINGS D’Ore Jewlery, Commack, NY (201) BRIDE | SUMMER/FALL 2018 45