Author: hawthorn

The rehearsal dinner used to be a checkbox. The family and wedding party gathered at a restaurant the night before the wedding, a few toasts, an early night. That version still exists, and it’s fine. But destination weddings, weekend-long celebrations, and out-of-town guest lists have changed what the rehearsal dinner actually does, and the couples… Continue reading How to Host a Rehearsal Dinner That Sets the Tone for the Whole Weekend

Most corporate retreats don’t fail because of the venue. They fail because the venue was the only thing the planner thought about. A team flies in, sits in a windowless conference room for two days, eats banquet chicken, and goes home unsure what was accomplished. The location was technically the Jersey Shore. The retreat itself… Continue reading The Best Corporate Retreat Venues on the Jersey Shore (And What Makes a Retreat Actually Work)

Bayfront weddings can easily start to look interchangeable if couples aren’t thoughtful about how they use the setting. They photograph beautifully on Pinterest, sound dreamy on a venue tour, and then, sometimes, show up on the day looking like every other outdoor ceremony that happened to be near water. The difference between a bayfront ceremony… Continue reading Bayfront Wedding Ceremony Ideas That Actually Look as Good as They Sound

There are louder Jersey Shore towns. There are bigger ones. And there are plenty that try harder to be everything to everyone. Stone Harbor isn’t any of those. It’s quieter. More refined. The kind of place where your biggest decision might be whether to spend sunset on the bay or the beach.  For couples, that’s… Continue reading Why Stone Harbor Is the Ideal Jersey Shore Getaway for Couples (and How to Make the Most of It)