Are you a proud NYC bride, but can’t stop dreaming of beachfront nuptials for your big day? No worries — New Jersey is home to many beachfront venues not too far (about an hour and fifteen minutes, each) from good ole’ Manhattan. For your wedding festivities, leave the skyscrapers, bright lights, and fast paced living behind (for a few days) and think sand, salt water, and ocean breezes as you peruse our favorite New Jersey beachfront venues closest to Manhattan.

The Berkeley Oceanfront Hotel (Asbury Park)
An Asbury trademark for over 100 years, the newly renovated Berkeley Hotel combines classic beauty, modern luxuries, and Victorian architecture as both a wedding venue and hotel just steps from the boardwalk. Boasting 5 unique ballrooms with outdoor terraces, ocean views, and unique décor specific to each particular ballroom, The Berkeley is an ideal venue for the glamorous and beach-loving bride. Read real brides’ reviews here!

McLoone’s Pier House (Long Branch)
Offering awe-inspiring views of the Atlantic, McLoone’s Pier House is an exceptional oceanfront venue that offers delicious cuisine and high-end service in addition to a variety of wedding packages. Begin your special day with a ceremony on the beach, and continue as your guests enjoy coastal vibes and modern décor as they indulge in a mouthwatering menu while taking in panoramic views of the ocean. Read real brides’ reviews here!

See More: Find The Perfect Way To Transport Guests To Your Beach Ceremony With One Of Our Favorite Local Vendors

Windows on the Water (Sea Bright)
If neutral colors, sparkling views of both the ocean AND the river, and beachfront gazebos make you swoon, look no further than Windows on the Water. Surrounded by water on both sides (hence the name!), this 7,000-square-foot venue now is now able to enclose its outdoor decking for fall and winter weddings. Host your dream beachfront wedding amongst their picturesque setting, private entrances, separate cocktail hour space — with delectable bites prepared by Executive Chef Pete Cruz. Read real brides’ reviews here!

The Crystal Point Yacht Club (Point Pleasant)
Nestled on the Manasquan River in the storybook beach town of Point Pleasant, the Crystal Point Yacht Club combines nautical charm with chic sophistication throughout both its cocktail rooms and ballrooms. With expansive grounds and lush gardens, options for indoor or outdoor ceremonies, and an extensive menu to choose from, your guests will enjoy waterfront elegance from your ceremony through the after party and then retire at the Crystal Point Inn (just steps away from the venue itself) — making this venue the perfect one-stop-shop for coastal brides looking to make a beach weekend of their big day. Read real brides’ reviews here!

Haven’t quite found the perfect combination of city and sand? Head to our Local Vendors page for even more venue options!

Emily Ratajkowski smolders, Diane Kruger does radiant well, and Chloe Grace Moretz shows us a modern path to elegance.

Emily Ratajkowski at the Target + IMG’s NYFW kickoff party: Actress and model Emily Ratajkowski could teach lessons on effortlessly sexy, so if it’s a smoldering look you seek for your big day, emulating her sultry makeup is a good way to start. First prep your skin with a primer and then even out your complexion with a full coverage foundation. Use a very light hand on some classic contouring, and use a matte-finish bronzer for a ‘born this way’ effect, versus something that looks overly ‘done’. Brush your brows and fill in any sparse places, but leave the natural lines alone, so they look real versus polished. Then line your eyes, smudging the line above and below the eye from the center out to the outer corner. Next add a highlighter or gold eyeshadow from the inner corner around toward the center, and then apply several coats of mascara. A nude lipstick completes the effect.

Diane Krugar at the Opening Ceremony of the 42nd Deauville American Film Festival: To create a radiant look like Diane Kruger’s, start with a primer that encourages radiant skin and then use a foundation with mica. Add a bit of pink cream blush into the hollow of the cheeks and plenty of highlighter on the top of the cheeks. Tightline all the way around the eyes (include the inner corner) with a gray liner and apply a gray shadow from the lashline to the crease of the eye. Use a warm brown shade from the crease to the bottom of the brow bone and then apply a few coats of mascara. A bright berry lips continues the romantic effect and completes this perfectly bridal look.

Chloe Grace Moretz at the Opening Ceremony of the 42nd Deauville American Film Festival: To create Chloe Grace Moretz’s moody-but-elegant look, buff your favorite foundation into your skin and warm up the complexion with a coral blush all across the cheeks. Add highlighter to the top of the cheekbones and down the center of your face. Fill in and highlight around your brows to make them pop, and set them in place with a wax, so they maintain a natural look. Line the eyes with a black kohl liner, creating a cat eye shape out the corners, and then smudge the color around the outer edges (if the original line gets too smudged, go back over it, though, so it maintains a precise look). Then use shades of brown eyeshadow around the eye — the darkest shade in the crease and the lightest toward the inner corners. Add a pop of highlighter in the inner corners and apply several coats of mascara to finish. Use a glossy dark nude lipstick — a liner and clear gloss would work well — and you’re done.

See More: 50 Pre-Wedding Skincare Products for Every Complexion Type

There are not many moments in our lives when we can carefully pick out and curate the items we’d like people to buy us for gifts. Usually, we drop subtle hints or just cross our fingers that our friends and family members will pick out something on our mental wish list or that suits our needs and personality.

But when it comes to your wedding, you’re basically allowed to ask for anything and everything that you’d like your guests to buy you as a celebratory gift (within reason, of course). Wedding gifts are bought as a way for your guests to say ‘here is a little something that will help you start your life off with your soul mate’.

While there are traditional gifts, like kitchen appliances or items for the house, couples can truly register for anything they want, even honeymoon funds and excursions or experiences like cooking classes and the cheese of the month club.

That’s why after you get engaged, you may find yourself rushing to head on over to the stores of your choice and set up your registry. And, well, you’d be right. The perfect time to register for wedding gifts is basically as soon as the just-engaged dust settles. You want to do it before you send out your save the dates and, if you’re really on top of it, even before you send out invitations to your engagement party. Why so early? Some guests would prefer to buy you engagement gifts straight off your registry, to make sure it’s something you’ll love.

See More: Everything You Need to Register For

So make your wedding registry a priority on your wedding to-do list for the first month or two after you are engaged. To get prepared for this, do some research ahead of time so that you can flesh out your registry with many different gift options that fit all different price ranges and are available both online and at local stores — in case your guests want to swing by and check out the present before purchasing it for you. And in case you’re worried about adding something to your registry that you’ll regret or not need later on, don’t fret — most registry websites allow you to drag, drop, alter, and edit your registry to your heart’s content at any point in time.

Jen Glantz is a “Professional Bridesmaid” and the founder of Bridesmaid for Hire. She’s the author of All My Friends Are Engaged and frequently wears old bridesmaid dresses to the grocery store and on first dates.

Bridal showers are supposed to be fun, but it’s hard not to roll your eyes when you have to construct yet another toilet paper wedding dress during one of those traditional bridal shower games. So here are some ideas for more creative, quirky diversions that attendees can get excited about. See which bridal shower games you and your guests might want to play!

“He Said She Said”
Hand out “He Said She Said” cards and guests can guess fun facts about the couple, like who said “I love you” first, who is more forgetful and who is the better dancer. You can make your own or find some beautiful options on Etsy. — Anna Kesten of My Chic Nest

“Find the Guest”
Another great Etsy-inspired game is “Find the Guest.” Everyone will have a ball chatting up the room to find out who speaks a foreign language, who traveled over 50 miles to attend the shower and if anyone doesn’t have a Facebook account. — Kim Forrest of Wedding Wire

“Where Were We?”
Hang up ten or so numbered pictures of you and your fiancé on various trips or in different locations throughout your hometown. Guests can write down where they think each picture was taken, and the person with the most correct guesses wins a small prize. — Lauren Yang of GoodWorld

Musical Matching
Play a music matching game that pulls wedding songs from the couple’s extended families. At the shower, display wedding photos from the bride and groom’s parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and siblings. Then have guests try to match the photo of each couple with their first-dance song. If you can pull it off, play a slideshow with the correct songs (shortened, for time). The guest with the most matches gets a CD with all the songs or an iTunes gift card. — Trish Simitakos of Trish Star Events

See More: 4 Fun Alternatives to Bridal Shower Games

Get Active
If you’re thinking of going above and beyond for your bridal shower, a rustic weekend retreat at a log cabin can be the backdrop for some serious fun. Swimming or boating on the water, hiking and biking through the woods, fireside s’mores, all in the name of pre-wedding relaxation. Outdoor games like corn hole, badminton and mini golf can be a hit with groups. — Andrea Freeman of Andrea Freeman Events

A Scavenger Hunt
An interactive scavenger hunt will get guests up and on their feet while getting to know one another better in a relaxed yet competitive setting. It’s an especially good idea if you’re hosting a co-ed shower. If the event is in the couple’s hometown or clues like, “This is where the couple had their first date” or “This is where the bride and groom shared their first kiss” are usually a fun place to start. Up the fun factor by booking limousines to take everyone around town and having a cocktail waiting at each stop. — Kim Sayatovic of Belladeux Event Design

Twists on the Traditional
Use traditional place cards to play a rousing round of Head’s Up. While holding a name card on your head for everyone else to see, you’ll receive clues hinting to the person on that card and you have to guess the name correctly. Or, set up a full bar, label all ingredients with cards, and have teams compete to concoct the best wedding cocktail. The bride can then choose her favorite drink and the team chosen gets bragging rights at the bar. — Brianne Noonan of Pretty Polite Print Boutique

Do you and your groom love cooking together? Or maybe one of you does the cooking while the other does, well, the eating? Then send guests home with a wedding favor they can enjoy at home and in their own kitchen. Check out these six delicious ideas.

Custom Cookbook (above): This food-loving couple gifted guests with a custom cookbook containing some of their favorite recipes.

Olive Oil: A bottle of good olive oil is such a thoughtful favor — it’s something everyone will reach for again and again.

Wooden Spoons: Personalize wooden cooking spoons by adding a recipe card of a favorite dish you like to make together.

See More: 35 Chic and Modern Wedding Cakes

Salt: Jars of herb-infused sea salt (this one is rosemary flavored!) makes for a tasty and useful parting gift.

Hot Sauce: Love hot sauce? Send guests home with bottles of your homemade concoction (or your favorite store-brand variety).

Spice Rub: This couple met while studying in Jerusalem and gifted guests with a Middle Eastern spice mix purchased from the local market.

Unlike our grandparents’ generation, most engaged couples have moved in together long before tying the knot was even considered. So, your home is already stocked with essentials — from that trusty Vitamix to full sets of plates á la Kate Spade. But now that the wedding is nearly here, where to begin when it comes to a registry?

Instead of making the rounds at department stores requesting items on a whim (like you really needed those candlestick and napkin holders), map out your dream honeymoon with the help of your guests’ gifts. Inspired by a destination just off North American shores that’s scattered with 700 tropical isles, we looked to The Islands of the Bahamas to fill you in on a few ins and outs when it comes to designing a personalized honeymoon registry.

Start a DIY Registry
Just as simple as it is with Pottery Barn and Macy’s, destinations are making honeymoon registries a piece of cake for couples. The Islands of the Bahamas offers up a slew of sample registry activities for couples to choose from when crafting their own registry. This means you and the hubby don’t have to agree on the same kind of gift. Make it a compromise with each of you choosing activities that appeal to your interests, whether it’s big game and reef fishing off Nassau & Paradise Island or kayaking past The Bahamas’s iconic pink sand beaches and cascading cliffs.

Gift Experiences
Not all guests feel comfortable trading in traditional gifts for an envelope of cash, but honeymoon registries not-so-secretly disguise monetary gifts as experiences that will actually last you a lifetime (unlike a typical toaster or blender). With a list of honeymoon adventures they can choose from, guests can see you actually live out these moments (hello Instagram and Snapchat!) that they helped make happen.

Appeal to All Budgets
Glancing at a registry, some items hit much higher price points than guests can afford and the more budget-friendly picks are usually quickly snapped up. One of the perks of honeymoon registries is that you can vary activities or offer multiple contributions that quickly add up to cover your largest expenses like flights, hotels or even upgrades to snazzy villas with butler service and plunge pools. In the end, both you and your guests win as these contributions cover the bulk of your honeymoon, and they can also gift pricier activities as vague as “fine dining” or something a bit friendlier on the wallet, like $50 toward a casual conch shack dinner.

Create an All-In-One Website
The Islands of the Bahamas is just one destination that offers an all-in-one website, meaning you don’t have to create multiple sites for your guests. You can do everything by building a single website that allows you to craft downloadable announcements, add online photo albums, write a wedding blog, and post items to your registry that can be shared on all of your social media channels. The only hard part left is deciding on your getaway locale and honeymoon hashtag!

With so many nightmare stories about blind dates, it’s easy to see why Suzi Sabogal and Elliot Friedman were hesitant about meeting for drinks. But the duo quickly got over any first date fears and hit it off. Just 18 months later, the couple got engaged. As two longtime Manhattanites, Suzi and Elliot couldn’t picture their September 19, 2015, wedding anywhere other than New York City, where they could offer their guests sweeping views of towering skyscrapers and Central Park from Le Parker Meridien’s Midtown perch. “It couldn’t have been more New York, and we knew the iconic setting would ‘wow’ our guests,” says Suzi.

Beyond exposing their friends and family to the glory of New York City, Suzi says the couple had three goals for their wedding day: For it to reflect them as a couple, for it to be meaningful for their families, and for it to be a blast. “What that meant in practice was that our ceremony was very important to us,” she says. “We made sure to add little touches here and there that referenced our families and backgrounds, and that we had an amazing DJ who would make sure the crowd danced the night away.”

Their wedding, captured by Brian Dorsey Studios, hit all those marks, with a white color palette that let the sweeping skyline views be the star.

“The more typical wedding dress look — think: sleeveless, strapless, full skirt — never appealed to me,” Suzi admits. “I thought other brides looked beautiful in that style, but it just didn’t ring true to who I am.” So when the bride spotted a form-fitting, flared-sleeved Inbal Dror gown with back flowerette details at Mark Ingram Atelier, she fell in love. “It was the second dress I tried on, and it felt like it had been made for me.”

The bride paired her gorgeous wedding dress with rose gold Jimmy Choo pumps, a nod to her rose gold wedding ring. Elliot wore a special detail for their wedding, too: A watch given to him by his parents on the big day, a tradition in his family.

Suzi asked her bridesmaids to select their own gowns. Their only guidelines? The dresses had to be floor length, and fall within what she dubbed a muted-metallic color scheme. Each dress ended up being a different color and from multiple designers. Meanwhile, the groomsmen wore classic tuxedos, sans cummerbunds and suspenders.

The couple hosted their ceremony in a windowless conference room complete with orange walls, a space that Suzi says was a challenge to decorate. To transform the room to fit with the clean vibe the couple envisioned, they draped the back wall in white fabric, ran a white runner down the aisle, and added soft candle light to cast a warm glow throughout the space. “The final touch was a gorgeous hydrangea, garden rose, and hanging orchid chuppah,” the bride says. “All of our guests commented on the beauty of the ceremony space, and I don’t think anyone knew that we had started with a burnt-orange conference room.”

Because personalizing their big day was so important to them, Suzi and Elliot wrote their ceremony from start-to-finish, and asked a friend to serve as their officiant. “We thought it would take days and days, and then surprisingly we sat down one Saturday afternoon and it came so easily,” says Suzi. “We were done in less than two hours.”

For the reception, guests moved into another room with unobstructed views of Central Park and décor carefully selected to complement the city skyline. “We settled on a white-on-white-on-white vibe done in a modern, timeless way,” Suzi says. Low arrangements contained a mixture of ranunculus, roses, and tulips, while votive candles warmed up the monochromatic color palette. “Ultimately everything was done to be timeless, modern and elegant, and keep Central Park as the major ‘wow’ factor.”

Suzi is allergic to dairy, so the couple’s baker, Cake Alchemy, made a special slice in their four-tier fondant cake that was dairy-free, just for her. Layers included coconut and vanilla flavors, with passion fruit curd.

Suzi and Elliot danced to Billie Holiday’s classic “It Had to be You,” and then asked guests to join them on the dance floor. After the wedding, they flew to Kona and Kauai, Hawaii, for their honeymoon.

Venue & Catering: Le Parker Meridien || Wedding Planner: Vanda High Events || Bride’s Wedding Dress & Veil: Inbal Dror, purchased at Mark Ingram Atelier || Shoes: Jimmy Choo || Hair: Nancy Caroline Bridal Styling || Groom’s Attire: Lanvin; Tom Ford || Wedding Bands: Tiffany & Co. || Florist: Michael George Flowers || Invitations: Bliss & Bone || Music: Artin Arts; 74 Events || Cake: Cake Alchemy || Videographer: First Day Films || Photographer: Brian Dorsey Studios

Did you love this wedding? Then check out another couple’s Central Park elopement in the video below.

Planning the menu for your wedding is fun, but it can also involve some work and a lot of choices. Buffet or plated? Multi-course or family-style? Chicken? Fish? Beef? It’s a lot to address! One thing that most wedding menus include is some sort of starter course, such as a soup, salad, or amuse bouche. The question is, does it have to be vegetarian if you’re offering a vegetarian menu option? Our experts weigh in.

When you’re choosing your wedding menu, start off by picking items that sound delicious to you — but keep a mental list of any guests who might need alternative meals. One of the safest ways to cover multiple dietary restrictions in one go is to work with your caterer to create a vegetarian entrée that is also free of big allergens like nuts and is also kosher-friendly, so most of your guests can opt for that meal without worrying. So does that mean you can’t serve a gazpacho with grilled shrimp or a lobster ravioli before the main course comes out?

There’s nothing stopping you from choosing a salad or appetizer course that isn’t vegetarian, but you may want to have your caterer prepare an alternative option that is available upon request. This could mean the plated salad with no cheese, a napoleon of chilled grilled and fresh vegetables, or some other vegetarian and vegan-friendly choice. If you do have the menu include a non-vegetarian appetizer, either include a note in fine print that a vegetarian appetizer is available upon request, or have your servers ask any guests who selected the vegetarian entrée if they would like the special salad or starter, as well.

Another thing to keep in mind is that the vegetarian option is (usually) less expensive, so if you’re looking to cut down slightly on catering costs, it could be in your interest to choose a delicious vegetarian salad or starter instead of one with meat or fish, and save the protein for main courses only.

See more: 21 Food Bar Ideas for Your Wedding

When you have 1.7 million Instagram followers, your engagement ring selfie is bound to get tons of attention! Youtube and social media star Sam Pottorff just got engaged to his girlfriend, actress Rosa van Iterson, and their totally adorbs on-screen announcements — including an aptly-named “I GOT ENGAGED!!!” Youtube video — are taking the Internet by storm. Seriously, these two cuties just earned all the heart eyes emojis.

Pottorff, 20, and 24-year-old van Iterson are two social media darlings who have earned their fame through Pottorff’s über-popular Youtube channel and the bride-to-be’s film credits. Think they have enough room for their millions of social media followers at the wedding?

Those devoted fans were clued into the engagement just two days ago when Pottorff posted a video (see below) to his Youtube channel on September 5th, announcing his to-be-wedded status. “If you guys notice by the name of this video, yes, it’s true,” Pottorff began before his pulling his now-fiancé on camera. “Recently, we got engaged,” the star shared, dissolving into a totally adorable fit of giggles with his bride-to-be. Later, van Iterson even flashed her sweet and simple engagement ring — a thin, dainty gold band that Pottorff snagged on Etsy of all places! “Just like Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis!” Pottorff proudly added.

Although the pair couldn’t be happier to tie the knot, they did address that not everyone in their lives are as thrilled as they are, as some are insinuating that the couple is too young and haven’t been dating long enough (they just celebrated their six month anniversary) to make their love official. But the duo is staying strong with their decision, planning for a wedding in Amsterdam (van Iterson’s home country) sometime in 2017.

See More: YouTube Star Elle Fowler’s Totally Romantic Wedding Video

“I had to get her before someone else could, because she is my better half,” Pottorff captioned their engagement snapshot on Instagram. “She’s made me a better person and helped me through things I didn’t even know I had to go through. And everyday I’m without her I feel so lost, she’s to good to be true and I would never be able to find anyone better. She’s the most amazing person I’ve ever met and I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with her.”

Meanwhile, we can’t wait for their wedding day! Promise to livestream those “I do’s,” okay Pottorff?

So guys! I did it, I put a ring on it! I had to get her before someone else could, because she is my better half. She's made me a better person and helped me through things I didn't even know I had to go through. And everyday I'm without her I feel so lost, she's to good to be true and I would never be able to find anyone better. she's the most amazing person I've ever met and I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with her, she's my rock and my best friend and one of the only people that I can tell anything to and know she'll still love me just as much. I love you more than anything. You and me against the world baby. Video on YouTube: Pottorffbitch Photo by: @ben_steinberger

A photo posted by Sam Pottorff (@sampottorff) on Sep 5, 2016 at 3:41pm PDT

I said yes!! We decided to spend our everyday together and I've never been more certain of anything in my life. You're the most beautiful person inside and out, you make me laugh, you hold me when I feel alone, and you make me feel loved in a way I never thought I would experience. I know I will love you forever and I can't wait to laugh, cry, travel, love and experience everything together until we're old and wrinkly. My best friend, my love, and now soon to be husband. I can't wait❿ￏ You and me against the world, always.

A photo posted by Rosa van Iterson (@rosavaniterson) on Sep 5, 2016 at 2:13pm PDT

Congratulations are in order for Natalie Portman and her husband Benjamin Millepied, as they are expecting baby number 2! The Oscar-winning actress just revealed her growing baby bump on the red carpet. And, yes, she’s already serving up MAJOR maternity style inspiration.

A source revealed the news to Us Weekly, and the 35-year-old actress unofficially confirmed the story when she appeared on the Venice Film Festival red carpet today to promote her movie Planetarium, sporting a very obvious baby bump. Dressed in an off-white one-shoulder gown, complete with a cape, Portman is already making us über-jealous of her mom-to-be style. Looks like Portman might just steal the title away from Blake Lively for the best dressed baby bump in the biz!

There is no confirmation yet on how far along Portman is or if she and Millepied know the sex of their little one, but a source who was at the festival told Us Weekly that she was rubbing her belly throughout the day, proving the star to be a very happy mom-of-two to-be.

Portman and Millepied met on the set of Black Swan in 2010, and married two years later in 2012. They already have one child together, a 5-year-old boy named Aleph. Back in July, Portman dished on motherhood during an interview with T magazine and about how parenting has changed both her career and outlook on life.

“I think being a mother made me realize how maternal the role of director is,” she said. “It made me much calmer under stress because there’s that weird parent thing you develop, that when things get really bad, your voice gets calm and your blood pressure slows and you can make everything okay again. And things get bad and stressful easily on films.”

Besides being excited for the cute couple to welcome a new little bundle of joy into their family, there are a few more aspects of Portman’s pregnancy that are sending us into a frenzy. What other too-cool maternity outfits will we have to be jealous of in the coming months? Will Portman and Millepied go for a creative moniker or more traditional baby name? Will we get to see those future obviously-adorable baby photos? Guess we’ll just have to (try) and wait patiently for the answers. (Wish us luck!)

See More: Chanel Iman, Heather Morris, and Natalie Portman Are Your New Natural Beauty Inspirations