Janine & Edward's Wedding

The Barn at Laird · Colts Neck, NJ

An October Wedding at The Barn at Laird

Janine and Edward were married on the last Saturday in October, a full mass at noon and then out to the barn in Colts Neck for the rest of the day. Two hundred and fifty-six guests came by shuttle to a lawn strung with lights, cocktail tables wrapped in wine barrels, and a welcome sign Jacques set out with pumpkins, mums and lanterns at the base. Servers met them at the entrance with Moscow Mules and wine.

Inside, the barn was set with ivory linens and brown napkins, candlesticks on every table and a wooden arch behind the sweetheart table for the florist to dress. The couple brought the personal touches themselves: a memory wall by the entrance with candles we lit before guests arrived, a vintage couch and chairs in the far corner, a Polaroid camera and guest book on a wine barrel outside, and Guinness on tap at both bars for the groom. After the toasts the bagpipers came through, the fire pit was lit around half past eight, and the shuttles ran to the after party at ten.

EVENT

Wedding

VENUE

The Barn at Laird · Colts Neck, NJ

GUESTS

256

SERVICE

Buffet

SEASON

Autumn

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“…a raw bar on the lawn, Moscow Mules at the door, and steak carved to order in the barn…”

The Menu

Cocktail hour was built to keep people moving. Servers passed Moscow Mules and wine at the entrance while the hors d'oeuvres went around: seared ahi tuna on cucumber with wasabi mayo, filet mignon crostini with whipped horseradish, coconut shrimp, Louisiana crab cakes with Creole remoulade, Sicilian arancini, grilled shrimp skewers with mango glaze, chicken-and-cranberry quesadillas, and cocktail franks with stone-ground mustard. On the lawn, a raw bar ran the length of two eight-foot tables set between wine barrels — jumbo shrimp, little neck clams, oysters and snow crab claws — with a cold station of fresh fruit, grilled vegetables and Italian antipasto alongside.

Dinner was a buffet served table by table by the maître d'. Caesar salad to start, then penne alla vodka, grilled salmon with lemon-dill sauce, chicken Française, veal Marsala, rolled eggplant parmigiana, vegetable medley and oven-roasted potatoes, with marinated steak carved to order at a station between the two buffet lines. The bar ran a Guinness keg at each end of the barn, a champagne toast, and a premium open bar for five hours.

Dessert was a tiered vanilla cake with raspberry filling, dressed with the bride's own flowers, followed by coffee service at nine.