This Hoboken Couple Had a Hyperlocal Mile Square Wedding – hobokengirl.com
Courtney Mulligan and Matthew Stein are a Hoboken couple that have both lived in Hoboken for about 15 years. This duo was meant to be — the two were living only four blocks from each other and their children went to the same charter school when they met online. After being engaged for about a year, Courtney and Matt tied the knot at Hoboken locale 7 Seventy House — only steps away from their apartment — and have since been committed to blending their new family of six. Read on to learn more about this couple and for more details about their local wedding.
(Photo credit: Matt Simpkins Photography)
Hoboken Girl: What do you both do for a living?
Courtney Mulligan: I am the Vice President of Marketing for NJ-based Real Estate Developer, Russo Development, owner, and operator of the Vermella brand of luxury apartment communities as well as various commercial and industrial assets.
Matthew Stein: I am a Vice President and Associate Creative Director at TBWA/WorldHealth, where I lead creative efforts on healthcare brands, and create both digital and traditional marketing.
HG: What city do you both live in + for how long?
CM + MS: We both live in Hoboken and have each lived here for about 15 years.
HG: When and where did you + your partner meet?
CM + MS: We met online in early 2018 and quickly realized that we were both single, divorced parents at the same Hoboken Charter School, Hola Dual Language Charter School @holahoboken, which made things interesting and quite convenient. We have four children who attend Hola, and they are all fluent Spanish speakers. The girls are ages 10 and 10 (Courtney has twins) and Matt’s boys are 11 and 12.
When we met, we lived four blocks apart on Seventh Street in Hoboken. The number “7” was always symbolic to us, without even realizing it, from Seventh Street to three out of four of our children being age seven when we met and we decided to get married at 7 Seventy House, our home, on May 7, 2022. They say triple 7s are lucky, right?
(Photo credit: Matt Simpkins Photography)
Read More: Microwedding Venues in Hoboken + Jersey City
HG: Was there an instant connection/chemistry between you two?
Courtney: Yes! Matt immediately made me laugh with his dry sense of humor and kind heart and I felt like I had known him forever. After our first date, he went on a Caribbean trip with his whole family for Spring Break and I could not wait for him to come home.
Matt: Absolutely. Laughing together and talking felt so easy and comfortable that it wasn’t long before we became best friends.
HG: How long have you been together?
CM + MS: We have been together for four years this past March.
HG: When was the moment you knew, you were meant to marry each other?
CM + MS: We knew we were meant to be together when, despite how hard it was with the very important and busy schedules of all four kids, we always went out of our way to be together and make plans, no matter how we did it. When we blended our families, it was a great fit and we realized we were just two children shy of the “Hoboken Brady Bunch.” Our friends and family will tell you that Matt and I have very different personalities and energies that truly balance each other out.
(Photo credit: Matt Simpkins Photography)
HG: Tell us about your proposal.
CM: Matt asked me to marry him when we were out to dinner at a lovely restaurant in Bergen County celebrating our three-year dating anniversary. It was intimate and just the two of us.
HG: How surprised were you? Were you expecting it?
CM: I knew it was coming but he surprised me that night.
HG: How long was your engagement?
CM + MS: We were engaged for about a year.
HG: Where did you get married + why that venue?
CM + MS: We got married in the Club Room at our building at 7 Seventy House, which is right down the hall from our apartment. It felt right because it is our home together with our family and a very cool venue for our guests as the room has beautiful sweeping city views. We had a bit of a rainy evening, but the city lights came alive towards the end, and they say rain is good luck, right?
(Photo credit: Matt Simpkins Photography)
HG: How many people did you have at your wedding?
CM + MS: We had about fifty-five guests.
HG: What was your favorite moment of the day?
CM + MS: We had a few favorite moments.
We loved dancing to our song, “Starting Over” by Chris Stapleton. We fell in love with that song because it has a powerful message about getting through life’s challenging moments and roads together and getting a once-in-a-lifetime second chance. We have danced to that song many nights in our living room. One of the song’s lyrics is, “And I can be your lucky penny, you can be my four-leaf clover, Starting over.” As our favors, we shared small keychains with pennies and clovers on them, so everyone went home with a good luck charm to remember the night.
(Photo credit: Matt Simpkins Photography)
We also wanted to give a special acknowledgment to the moms who were our guests, including our own mothers, as the following day was Mother’s Day, so we gave all the moms a long-stemmed rose to celebrate them and thank them for all they do for their families (and to our village of rockstar mom friends and family who we truly could not do without!)
We were married by Courtney’s cousin, Steve, as he knows us so well so that meant a lot to us.
We also decided it was important to share wedding vows with the kids, which we did after our own vows, officially blending us as a family. We shared a heart-shaped crystal from Love Locked @shoplovelocked, with each of the children to tie us together in a memorable way.
HG: Did you work with a wedding planner? If so, who + how was that experience?
We did not use a wedding planner. We did everything ourselves with so much help and support from our creative friends, family, and the great network of Hoboken and Hudson County connections we are thankful to have here.
(Photo credit: Matt Simpkins Photography)
HG: Did you use any local vendors?
CM + MS: As we have lived in Hoboken for 15 years, we wanted our wedding to feel super-local and really support all the vendors and businesses we love most in Hoboken, but also Hudson County.
Wedding Venue: 7 Seventy House – @7seventyhouseliving
Wedding Catering and Team: Hoboken Catering – @hobokencatering
Beverages: Delite Market – @delitemarket
Specialty Cocktail: Markaritas Hoboken – @markaritahoboken (In honor of Cinco de Mayo 2 days prior!)
Cheese Trays: Cheese + Wine Store – @hobokencheesewine
(Photo credit: Matt Simpkins Photography)
We love to support this special shop as it has been a part of our story since the beginning with many cheese and wine nights at our apartment and it is in the Monroe Center, right next door.
Floral Design, Décor, and Flowers: Laura Clare Design – @lauraclaredesign
(Photo credit: Matt Simpkins Photography)
Music: Acoustic Guitar + Vocals by Ray Greiche – @raygreiche
Ray is such a talented performer and plays in local Hoboken spots almost weekly. His take on our song, “Starting Over” was outstanding and we will never forget it.
Wedding Cake: Sweet Hoboken – @sweethoboken
(Photo credit: Matt Simpkins Photography)
Sweet is our spot, for birthday cakes, cupcakes, and weekend scones and we could not imagine another baker celebrating this milestone moment with us.
Italian Wedding Cookies: Dolce + Salato – @dolceandsalato_hoboken
After-Party Lasagna: Losurdo Brothers – @losurdobros
What after-party is complete without some old-school Hoboken lasagna love?
Wedding Gown: Adrienn Braun Couture – @adriennbrauncouture
It was wonderful to work with Adrienne as not only is she our neighbor in the Monroe Center, but she quickly understood what I was looking for, and was a pleasure to work with. I highly recommend Adrienn for brides-to-be, but all special occasion dress needs. She has gorgeous style and does great work. Shopping local for my dress was something I was so happy to be able to do.
(Photo credit: Matt Simpkins Photography)
Hair + Makeup: Ashley Pak of @byoo.tee.bees + owner of @hobokendreamnails
Ashley feels like family, as I have been visiting her for nail art for years, so having her do my hair and makeup on our day was perfect. She knows my vibe and look and was able to help me look like a “classic Hollywood glam” version of me for our day. I cannot recommend Ashley enough for weddings or any important day-styling.
Wedding Rings: Love Locked – @shoplovelocked
We had such an amazing experience at Love Locked. Kerry, the owner is an incredibly talented gemologist and designer and created us the perfect forever pieces.
Photography: Matt Simpkins Photography – @mattsimpkinsphotography
Courtney worked with Matt Simpkins for many years in NYC for both real estate photography as well as event photography, so he was a natural fit for our wedding day.
See More: The Best Wedding Venues in Essex County
HG: Any advice for couples planning a wedding locally or in general?
CM + MS: It is so easy to get caught up in the chaos of planning and executing a wedding. We both really tried hard to remember why we were doing this day, why we wanted to marry each other, and what was important, which was marrying our best friend. On the day of, we tried to stay as present as possible, while being so excited to be around so many friends and family who we had not seen in forever, due to Covid, life, etc.
(Photo credit: Matt Simpkins Photography)
HG: What are you looking forward to most as a married couple?
CM + MS: We are looking forward to many more adventures and just settling in together as a family of six.
We took our first trip, a short honeymoon to Puerto Rico, and stayed at the beautiful St. Regis, Bahia Beach in the Rainforest in the Rio Grande, which was planned for us by a talented travel NYC-based Travel Planner, Laine Wladis with Smart Flyer @laineluxetravel.
We are looking forward to more laughter and fun in the awesome city we love, surrounded by all the people who made our wedding day so incredibly memorable and symbolic.
Cheers to second chances, lots of good luck, good vibes, and starting over!
