Karli & Cody’s Minerals Resort NJ Autumn Wedding
Dropping like the mixtape of the decade… On today’s NJ Wedding Photography Blog, I am thrilled to share with you the beautiful autumn wedding of Karli and Cody at Minerals Resort in Vernon, NJ. As a professional wedding photographer, it was an absolute joy to capture every moment of their most awesome of days.
The picturesque mountain top view of Vernon, NJ’s own Minerals Resort provided the perfect backdrop for their stunning ceremony and reception, with the vibrant autumn foliage adding a touch of natural beauty to every shot. From Karli’s elegant gown to Cody’s Prison Mike socks (hey, if you’re a fan of The Office, you’ll get it haha), every detail of their wedding was thoughtfully planned and executed with precision.
After you enjoy the show, down below YOU ABSOLUTELY MUST read the deliciously beautiful intricacies of how the universe delivered Cody to Karli; or was it the other way around? Join us as we take you through the highlights of Karli and Cody's wedding day, and enjoy the story behind each unforgettable visual memory.
Whether you're a bride-to-be looking for inspiration for your own wedding, or simply a photography enthusiast, I'm damn sure that this blog post will leave you feeling inspired and in awe of the magic of love. Are you ready? Let's dive in and relive this amazing wedding day together!
How did you meet?
We actually went to high school together. I was a freshman when Cody was a senior. We actually never spoke. Cody was in the “popular” crowd and I was a total nerd and kept to myself/was involved in school clubs. However, he was on the baseball team and basketball team and I did the stats for the team so we were on the bench together and busses together a lot… (Cody graduated 2011).
I think sometime in 2016 Cody and I matched on Tinder.. But nothing ever came of it, we never messaged each other
Fast forward to 2017, I had Cody’s phone number in my phone because he was friends with my older sister in high school and I had all of her contacts in my phone from when she gave me a hand me down phone one time. … ANYWHO. I added Cody on snapchat on my 21st birthday… and I sent him a picture of my boobs… randomly… he messaged me back and asked if the photo was meant for him and i replied “yes it is” and he said to me “CLEAN YOUR DAMN ROOM”. We talked non stop for months… Cody had the shingles when we first met and had a long recovery so we didnt actually hangout for another 8 months but I would drop off food and medicine on his porch often.
How has your relationship grown over the years?
When I first started talking to Cody, he told me that the next girl he dated he was going to marry… he didn’t want to date around for fun anymore. It took a really long time for me to break down Cody’s walls (8 months), actually. The week before we started dating I ended things with Cody because he hadn’t asked me to hangout in 8 months. Cody was going to the Poconos with a group of friends for a weekend and in a last ditch effort to get me to keep talking to him, he invited me. I spent 48 hours in the Poconos with people I just met for the first time. Cody called it the “sink or swim” weekend. I passed with flying colors – getting every single person out in a game of paintball and impressing him. I am not athletic, so I even impressed myself!
After that weekend, I changed mine and Cody’s relationship status on Facebook to “in a relationship”... he never asked me to be his girlfriend, I just decided on my own.
After I forced Cody to take this leap, our relationship was incredible, in august 2018 Cody went on a family cruise with my family and in november 2018 we went to Disney with his
I was still in school when we started to date, so I was driving home every weekend to see him. My last year of college I decided I didnt want to be too far from Cody, so I moved myself into his apartment and commuted 90 minutes a day to and from Rutgers so I could live with him.
In February 2020, we both moved in with my parents to save money for a house. In december 2020 we got engaged on Christmas.
In December 2021 we purchased our own home
In October 2022, we got married on our 5 year anniversary.
How did you get engaged?
On Christmas at my house, Cody gave me a scratch off that said “will you marry me?”
We had already been set on getting married… I booked our venue in November 2020 because I knew I would be competing with a lot of covid brides for a specific date, and I was set on getting married on our 5 year anniversary… I wore a fake engagement ring when we went and booked our venue and we made up a story about how we had gotten engaged.
What are some fun things you do together as a couple and with friends?
We do a lot of scratch-offs, go to casinos, we play a ton of board games specifically Yahtzee and Rummikub.
We go to sports shows together and buy memorabilia, one time when we were in Disney with friends we bid on a Kobe Bryant memorial piece, the next day I was drunk and outbid Cody which cost us an extra $250.
We love Dave & Buster’s.
With friends, we play in a co-ed softball league, go to the Poconos, and spend weekends at my family’s shore house. Recently our friends have been enjoying costume parties (like a Halloween party, a 90s-themed birthday for Cody, and a 1920s-themed party for one of our best friends)
Our friend group of 12 of us, and are all coupled up with each other. The last of the couples will be married in February 2024.
We LOVE cruises, we’re going on our 3rd together this year.
We love to cook for each other. Cody makes beef jerky in all different flavors and I’m the taste tester. Recently I’ve been hooked on soups.
What’s new since being married? What’s solidified/bonded/grown in your relationship since?
We joke that married life is the same, we’ve been acting married since I moved into Cody’s apartment in 2018. We’ve always shared finances and belongings and it’s just been a very each transition.
Since being married we’ve been able to shift our focus from wedding planning to home renovations. We’ve also been learning how to be homeowners and how to fix things when they break (the heat twice! Burst pipes!! You name it, we’re learning!)
We adopted a second dog right after our wedding (Lincoln “Link”). Cody had a dog dexter for two years before we met. The two of them are basically our sons and we’re obsessed!
Cody got a raise at his job and has been busting his ass working overtime. We’ve been saving money for home renovations and some vacations (we plan to go to Europe in 2024).
Even though not much has changed, there’s a sense of comfort in knowing that we are married and committed to each other, and it makes going through hard times or having disagreements a lot easier to get through. There’s a sense of calm in knowing that whatever solution we come to, we come to it together
Details of your day (theme, colors, favors)
Our wedding song was Bonfire Heart by James Blunt, we wanted our colors and our day to mimic the outdoors on a colorful autumn day-meets-bonfire.
Our flowers were the colors of fire, red orange yellow.
Our bridesmaids dresses were olive green to give a natural look.
For favors, we had banana pudding in mason jars made by one of our great friends (jbuzz.bakes). We had her banana pudding many times during weekends in the Poconos where our love story really began so this was very fitting.
Why did you choose your venue?
We chose our venue because it was in the mountains and we knew the fall wedding foliage would be beautiful. We also wanted an outdoor wedding and the Sweetgrass Pavilion allowed us to do this (even in 50-degree weather).
We also were set on having a venue with a hotel, this way our guests could stay with us for the night before and the night of so the party could continue and so nobody would have to drive.
What was your menu, and what was your cake flavor?
We actually didn’t have a cake! We had a gummy bear bar to pay homage to the gummy bears I used to drop off at Cody’s when we first started talking and he was sick, and the banana pudding bar to pay homage to the Poconos trips!
Our menu had chicken cordon blue and mushroom raviolis and new york strip (of course, Cody and I love steak. He makes great steaks but we also always go to rodizio and see who can “outeat” the other person) Our appetizer was fontina pasta with pear bundles, it had a toasted prosciutto garnish…if you know me, you know I love prosciutto… and our salad has a warm bacon vinaigrette… we are bacon LOVERS!
Description of your gown? Why was this “the one”?
My wedding gown was mermaid. I initially wanted an a-line or ball gown that was whimsical and fairy-like, yet once I tried this dress on something felt different. I wound up putting on other dresses and they were all beautiful, but then I put this dress pack on and I took a second look at it and I said “No, this is my dress”. I love that it was able to show off my tattoos. I also loved the train, the detailing…It was just such a beautiful dress!
Maggie Sottero Fiona is the dress – LOVE IT!!!
What was your favorite moment of your wedding day?
I think our butterfly release (or failed butterfly release) was my favorite part of our day. It truly captured how we are as a couple and how we handle hard situations. We wanted to release the butterflies in memory of Cody’s cousin Jessi, my Aunt Lee, and our grandfathers. It was far too cold and the butterflies did not cooperate…the whole thing was hilarious and people near the speakers said they heard Cody and me talking to each other under our breaths and it was just very characteristic of us. Laugh it off!!!
Note: the butterflies survived and I released them the next day when it was much warmer…YAY!
One detail you couldn’t live without?
One detail I couldn’t live without (which I almost had to live without) was the book I wrote my vows in, called 300 brooms. There is a candy shop in the Poconos that we visited after the “sink or swim” trip. I bought the book on the trip (the day before we started dating) and I told everyone we were with that I was going to give it to our first child someday, and we weren’t even dating yet. Anyway, as soon as we got engaged I knew I wanted to write my vows in this book. I lost the book in the move but luckily, I gave a copy to our friends Pie and Kait’s new baby because it was their house in the Poconos that we went to. They let me borrow their book to put my vows in and they saved the day!
Did anything go wrong?
My sister did our signage and one of the signs I was most excited about was this huge beautiful gold-trimmed mirror that said ‘Darling, you look incredible now go grab a drink”... well, it was freezing the day I brought it up to the venue and the entire mirror shattered…yes… i shattered a mirror the day before our wedding day. My sister wound up going to Home Goods 1 hour before my rehearsal dinner and buying a new mirror and remaking it the night before the wedding.
First dance song?
James Blunt - Bonfire Heart
Where did you honeymoon?
We cruised to Bermuda! Highlights…hmm…LOTS of food and gambling, for sure!
Check this out…We were in the Bermuda Triangle on Halloween and the power on the cruise ship went out!
We did win quite a bit at the casino tho and we went into the Crystal Caves which were gorgeous.
How did you find out about me? What was it about me and my services that told you I was the one?
I found you on the NJ Brides page…I was looking for someone with FLAIR. I wanted a photographer with a more vibrant look and could emphasize the dramatic colors of our day…I was blown away when I saw the special editing techniques including the double exposure and the swirly light photos (this was awesome because our venue had string lights and so I knew how amazing the in-motion photos would come out.)
When we met you, I knew I would be stuck with you my entire wedding day. I needed to like you because we’d spend more time together than me and my husband. You and I really just clicked.
After booking is when my decision was really solidified. We struggled back and forth with wanting to take engagement photos and we just weren’t the most confident in our appearances at the time. I was afraid to confront you about this and you said “Hey look I get it, I've been through this too… nothing about our relationship if going to change if you don’t get engagement photos” and it didn’t, you didn’t think any less of us for not booking the extra service. You were always kind and understanding.
Also, the way we became actual friends and chatted even about non-photo wedding things on social media was great. We both did keto for a while, you’ve supported my small business. You’re just a great person on top of being talented as heck.
Officiant- our friend Christine Zaher DeEsposito - Universal Life Church Clergy Member
Gown- Maggie Sottero - Fiona
Shoes- BAREFOOT DOWN THE AISLE BABY! Very me
Jewelry- Macy’s – shoutout to my girl shannon at the counter the day before my wedding picking out the best pieces
Accessories-
Tie Patch for Dad - ShannahJSmith
Wood Cut Signs - CarpenterFarmhouse
Dog Animation Image - Infiniteartus
Doggie Treat Bags - CoupleofCokers
Acrylic NUmbers - ZCreateDesign
Gummy Bear Bags - PlumGroveDesign
Cody Socks for Groomsmen - PersonalizationLab
Groomsmen Flasks - ToonedUpGifts
BouquetCharm - ToonedUpGifts
RingBox - MsGreenGreen
Hair-
Ms Alisha Nycole (Rebecca Kiss @rebeccakiss_styles5)
Bridesmaids @Jaycie.ry
Makeup-
Bride: @GlamWithGalina
Ms Alisha Nycole @bridgetd.mua
Bridesmaids Dresses- Revelry
Groom’s Attire- GenerationTux
Groomsmen Attire- GenerationTux
Flowers- Whisper & Brook Flower Co
Cake- None – Pudding JBuzz.Bakes
Videographer- Oclulr Media
Invitations- Zazzle
Music- Posh Djs - DJ TORO
Signage - @ByBBoards BIANCA BONIELLO MY QUEEN
Linens- Venue
GrandExitSparklers
Cloverlawn Butterflies
AftertheTone audio guestbook