Well, this weekend was beyond Epic, even by my standards! Saturday I had a wonderful time at Crystal Springs Food & Beer Festival, Sunday I officiated my 2nd ever wedding, and Monday I golfed at the DPD Catholic Charities annual event. This Epic Weekend In Pictures we're going to go a little heavier with pictures than text. There's just so much! Well worth it.
Friday night I had a great time catching up with some besties, Jasen and Brendan and Carrie. It wasn't the most eventful of nights, but it was just what the doctor ordered for me. I knew I had an action packed weekend ahead of me. Saturday morning I was able to get some errands done, pick up dry cleaning and more. They were great at straightening out my black tie just in time for the Sunday wedding. I really love doing my gray pinstripe suit with a white shirt and black tie. You kind of check off multiple boxes at once, with it being fancy enough for a black tie formal event. Plus, it matches pretty much everything and everyone!
Saturday the weather was absolutely perfect for Crystal Springs Food & Beer Festival. It was such a great time getting to run into so many friends both old and new at the event. Everyone was in good spirits, with the weather being the way it was how could you not? It was an absolute picture perfect day. Crystal Springs did a great job putting this massive event together. The beers were flowing freely, and I had a decent IPA called "Juice Jolt." I'll have to be on the lookout for that in the future.
Saturday night we had a pretty low key day at The Minerals Moonshine Tiki Bar. The weather was absolutely perfect, and when you're poolside you can't go wrong!
Sunday time for the big day! Last Fall, I officiated a wedding for my first time ever in Philadelphia. My friends Mary Jean and Tom Donnelly ran into me saying "Hey Steve, you can do weddings now?" I replied with "well I can in Philly because you don't have to be ordained at all." They then informed me that their daughter Sarah had a wedding coming up. I agreed that if they wanted me to perform it, that I would handle getting legally ordained here in New Jersey. I went online to Universal Life Church, and they were very good at making everything as easy as possible. Boom! They gave good advice on who to call and what to look out for, as laws with marriages change so much from state to state.
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I'll never forget on President's Day in February, just driving from my place on Campus in Vernon to The Irish Cottage Inn in Franklin, all of the sudden I received a very happy, life changing text. Mary Jean asked me if I could officiate her daughter Sarah Donnelly's wedding. WOW.
Getting to officiate a wedding for your friends is truly an amazing honor with tons of responsibility. During my daily 8:45am hit with Steve Andrews, I gave Sarah and Tyler a shout out. All last week, I was able to work on our wedding script for Sarah and Tyler. I e-mail the bride her script so she can help me make edits so it's perfect for her. Some ask why I do this. If I crack a joke at the wedding during the ceremony and everyone laughs except for the bride, then it isn't what we're trying to accomplish. I want the bride to not be surprised by anything, and also know she likes what we come up with together. Sarah was great at telling me how they met years ago as coworkers at Stop & Shop. This one struck special for me, as my parents met when they worked at a grocery store together. I've been cousin Steve (I always yell FROM BOSTON,) and Uncle Steve to the Donnelly family for over 10 years now.
When I moved here to Jersey 10 years ago, I was betting that I would be moving on from Jersey within 2 years of my tenure here. Fast forward, now I'm officiating weddings for friends I met when they were kids! It's humbling to think I likely met Sarah when she was 11, now here I am officiating her wedding! Sarah, Tyler, and all of their families and friends were absolutely fantastic. Drama free wedding. The weather at The Conservatory at The Sussex County Fairgrounds was absolutely perfect! I had so much fun doing my biggest selfie ever. Can you believe we fit 110 people in my selfie? Wow! Talk about a spectacular day. I'm so humbled and grateful to be a part of everything.
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Monday we had a great time at The DPD Catholic charities golf event. Last year we had a record breaking 500 golfers, this year we might've broken that! I had a great time with work wife bestie Shawn, and friends Will and Doug Fredericks from Fredericks Fuel. Keeping you warm is what they do. Well, they are also both exceptional golfers and were able to basically carry me and Shawn. They had us laughing all day. They were great sports, since Shawn and I do these golf events for fun.
I think I need a vacation from my weekend! Thank you so much for taking the time to read my Epic Weekend In Pictures. Time to start planning next weekend!