Crystal Point Yacht Club Winter Wedding at the Jersey Shore

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Jane + James

Heather and I piled into Heidi (the name we gave to our car) for our second to last wedding of 2021 with equal parts exhaustion and excitement. We have spent so much time on the road that we are scared to know the exact amount, but we ballpark a figure by how many podcasts and audiobooks we’ve rifled through. Surprisingly, we still have an amazing time in the car together. The old litmus test of taking a road trip with a significant other rings truer with every mile we traverse. A year ago to the day we were traveling to the first part of Jane and James’ wedding in Bayonne, New Jersey, and Heather would wind up giving birth to Capa just 12 days later. I still can’t believe how many weddings we did in 2020 and it made our 2021 wedding feel easier by comparison.

Jane and James’ first celebration was a beautiful trip down memory lane, as they got married in the church across the street from the school they attended as children. They held their reception at the Liberty House Restaurant in Jersey City, and it was attended by their closest friends and family as there were still relatively strict gathering restrictions. This year, on their anniversary, they got to host the wedding that they always wanted and it was nice to see some familiar faces! The camaraderie of James and his groomsmen reminded me of my relationships to my childhood friends and the kinship between Jane and her bridesmaids was genuine and sentimental.

The first time I ever visited the Jersey Shore was for Jane and James’ engagement photos so it was only fitting that the second time would be for their wedding at the Crystal Point Yacht Club. The newly renovated cocktail room boasted one of the prettiest white granite top bars I’ve ever seen. They also had a huge variety of beers and even had three taps where guests pour their beers themselves! (If Heather and I ever renew our vows I may book it here on that principle alone.) Off the back of the venue is a marina where we took Jane and James for a few quick romantic photos on the dock before the early winter sunset.

Typically the shortest days of the year frustrate Heather and I. I like to call it a helio-dependence. But since having Capa amidst the crazy snowstorms of winter 2020 these short days have taken on a different type of light. They remind me of the kind of coziness of coming inside on snow days and putting your wet gloves and socks on the radiator. How we’d throw some milk in a pot and tear open a pack of swiss miss with the dehydrated marshmallows and put a christmas movie on TV. Every one of us is lucky to have memories that are that vivid and peaceful, and lucky for Jane and James, now they have two.