September 19th, 2015
The Atrium at STEM, Kean University
1075 Morris Ave
Union, NJ 07083
Cocktail Hour 5:00 PM
Christine and Dom greeted all of their guests as everyone raided the bacon station.
Ceremony 6:00 PM
Boris led the procession, playing Lateralus on acoustic. Rita took her place, while the bridal party walked down and took their seats in the front row. Christine and her father walked down the aisle while Dom came down at the same time from the side aisle. Rita spoke, delivering the occasional joke amongst thoughts, remembrances and advice for the bride and groom. Christine shared her vows, which were powerfully meaningful and original, while Dom's vows were alternatively funny and endearing. Someone sneezed during the ceremony in mid-sip of their beer, spitting over three rows of people, and Mommy DeMary could not stop laughing, making everyone else laugh. As the sun was setting, Christine and Dom kissed, and Ashley stood up in the cheering crowd and sang the end of 'I Will Always Love You' to great comedic effect. Listen to the audio recorded by a friend of ours, unknown to us.
Reception 7:00 PM
Lisa delivered her speech to Dom and Christine, proud and tearful. Christine's father Gus then gave a great toast, citing lyrics from Ain't No Mountain High Enough, not knowing that it was the very duet Christine and Dom would surprise their guests with. Soon the band, Double Down, started playing, and Chris and Dom did their best swing jazz dancing, followed by Dom's dad Miro taking his place and dancing with Chris. Soon everyone else joined them.
First Duet 8:30 PM
Chris and Dom took the stage and sang Ain't No Mountain High Enough with the band, all the while looking into each others eyes and smiling as they took their turns. When they were done, everyone had filled in on the dance floor at that point and cheered the performance by the newly wed couple.
Into the Night
Everyone enjoyed the food stations for the dinner buffet, with make your own tacos, shake shack stuff, and sliced sirloin with sides. Faith delivered her speech, which was filled with hilarious anecdotes of quirky happenings that were unknowingly meaningful later on. Then John Enciso showcased the game he put together to compliment his speech, a trek through the history of Chris and him growing up, ending with the addition of Dom to the family. The bar served their signature cocktail, Awesome Mix Vol. 1, a riff on a Revolver. By end of night, all the bourbon was gone, but there was plenty for everyone. Folks enjoyed the games upstairs, including 6 way air hockey and classic arcade titles, along with a photo booth setup by John Enciso, which featured tons of hand picked sci-fi and fantasy themed props and background options, so not your standard photo booth. See those photos on the Photo Booth page. The band played a metal medley special made for Dom, and then closed with a pop tune medley, after playing several swing standards and swing covers of songs from the 80s and 90s. Dinner finished with mini bread pudding, green tea mousse and Belgian waffles. Guests returned to the hotel for the after party at the bar and in Christine and Dom's presidential suite.
Officiant - Rita Chinyere
Rita is a writer and comedian based in NYC originally from London, England and is a friend to the bride and groom. She has a British accent and it's 100% authentic. Her work has been featured on Gothamist, Splitsider, CollegeHumor, FunnyorDie, Huffington Post and Huffington Post UK among other sites. You can watch her videos or follow her on Twitter: @britajames and/or Instagram: @britajamess. She wants you to know she once convinced members of the press that a Beyoncé cult existed.
Man of Honor - John Enciso
Older brother and sole sibling to the bride, John is a Senior Java & Web Developer / SuperDad by day and an avid PC gamer by night. He resides with his wife, Janne, and two beautiful children, Kami and Cody, in the charming township of Robbinsville, NJ. In his spare time, he pursues any number of hobbies including running, watching action-packed movies, honing his photography skills, and playing Pokemon with his daughter.
Best Woman - Faith Lim
Honorary sister to both the bride and groom. In the early days, Faith grew up with Christine as their mothers were close friends and fellow nurses. Post college, Faith was Dom's first roommate when he moved to Astoria. Without her, Chris and Dom may have never met! Faith is a thrifting extraordinaire running a small business on eBay, while working for an architecture firm in The City by day. She loves people watching (especially cute old folks), Third Golden Age of Television shows, laughing at ridiculous things, and being a Simpsons trivia pro.
Accompaniment - Boris Pelekh
Boris Pelekh is Dom's long time friend and has quite possibly done everything there is to do in the world of music. He's got his own band Hey Guy, is currently the guitarist for Gogol Bordello and has done various performances on stages as varied as Lollapalooza to Broadway Theater. He's produced hundreds of recordings for several artists including his own and has taught countless individuals how to play the guitar.
Honored Guests
Dominik and Christine would like to recognize some wonderful individuals that have been and continue to be a positive influence on their lives. For this, they have asked the following people to walk in their procession and be acknowledged as honored guests:
Estrella Dory
Maria Theresa Enciso
Lisa Bilello
John Bilello