Nourah and Matt were excited to share their love of Cape May with their friends and family and chose the town’s historic Congress Hall hotel for their wedding on 11th October 2025. With Rachel Pearlman Photography, behind the camera, their New Jersey seaside celebration was a beautifully classic affair, with some gorgeous contemporary bridal fashion.
Nourah wore a Vivienne Westwood gown from LOHO Bride in Los Angeles, with Jimmy Choo shoes and a vintage Mikimoto pearl choker. I love that she describes her dress as comfortable as well as elegant, something that can so easily get overlooked when you’re searching for a wedding dress. For the after party, she changed into Clio Peppiatt and Prada.
Bel Momento Weddings helped the couple plan their day, with white flowers, soft blue and green details and watercolour stationery complementing the hotel’s historic interiors. Nourah’s account brings us much closer to the family at the centre of it all, and I’m grateful to her for sharing these memories with us.
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The Venue & Location
We were married at Congress Hall, part of Cape Resorts, in Cape May, New Jersey and we worked with Bel Momento Weddings to plan the day.
We really wanted a clean, simple, and classic design. I didn’t want anything overly themed or trendy, or any colours that felt like they had to be incorporated everywhere. I also tried to match the decor to the wedding venue. Colours were pretty much white, with hints of blue and green. We also wanted to make sure Cape May’s personality was also represented, so we had some coastal elements, which helped with the colours and style of everything.
The Dress
Vivienne Westwood
My gown was by Vivienne Westwood – bought it at LOHO Bride in LA. After I got engaged, I had a trip planned to LA in September, so I was able to go wedding shopping with my mom.
I tried this gown on, and my mom cried (only at this dress!). I went to a couple of shops in LA, then one in NYC, and kept coming back to this one!
My stylist Shay at LOHO was super helpful and listened to exactly what I wanted, while also helping me navigate what I didn’t know. They didn’t push anything on me and definitely looked at what I liked + what was flattering on me to help me make the final decision. Definitely an experience I would recommend to other brides.
I loved how old-timey and classic it looked. It was simple and comfortable, but it was so flattering and elegant. I also didn’t have to alter it at all, which was amazing!
My make-up was by Kristen Fiori and my hair by Ermira Nebihu, both with Beauty Icon NYC.
For the after party I changed into a dress by Clio Peppiatt and a pair of Prada shoes.
My shoes were by Jimmy Choo and I wore my grandma’s ring, which had some sapphire in it (old and blue), and my mother-in-law let me borrow this beautiful vintage Mikimoto pearl choker with a heart on it that fit so perfectly with my dress.
My make-up was by Kristen Fiori and my hair by Ermira Nebihu, both with Beauty Icon NYC.
The Ceremony
I walked down the aisle. I chose my song because it’s another Coldplay favourite of mine and always.
The wedding party and Matt walked in to Birds of a Feather by Billie Eilish, my processional was A Sky Full of Stars by Coldplay and our recessional was Just Like Heaven by The Cure.
Reasons we picked these: all songs I love and always have on repeat, that felt happy and uplifting, not too emotional and heavy, but still good love songs.
Our ceremony was officiated by my little brother Ramzy.
We wrote our own vows and read them to each other in private on the beach the day before the wedding. We pulled and tailored some of our vows for the ceremony so our guests could hear. My brother told stories of us, how we met, his relationship to each of us, and then we read our shortened vows.
Our photographs were taken by Rachel Pearlman Photography. We chose Rachel because we loved her style of photography and portfolio.
She was familiar with our venue, vendors, and planner. When we met her we were immediately sold because she was on the same page with us on everything, and we both felt so comfortable and trusting with her. She is so kind and cool, and captures beautiful photos.
Our film was made by Cinemarvel.
How They Met
We met in NYC in February of 2022. We had originally first met in 2018 or 2019 when I first moved to the city from LA, but it was a brief hi, nice to meet you, and that was it from there.
We met through my friend in the city, who was dating one of Matt’s friends from college. We first started dating after a reintroduction at my friend’s 30th birthday party bus to the wineries in Long Island (in the middle of winter in Feb).
We dated for two-ish more years after that and got engaged in August 2024. We were at our friend’s wedding in Kent, UK, then took a long trip with our friends after to Sicily.
Matt planned to extend the trip in Taormina at a hotel with just us two before we went home. He proposed on his birthday when we checked into the hotel, on the balcony in our room.
It was perfect, and we were able to enjoy the rest of our trip engaged, which was so special.
I was also truly so surprised because I had no idea. He was good at being stealthy!
The Reception
Our flowers were by A Garden Party. Congress Hall is very classic and historical with simple colours like blue, green, and yellow, so I was able to complement those with natural colours in flowers and greenery.
Our cake was from Chez Michel.
We worked with an artist who does custom watercolour and illustrations. Taylor Near from Mulberry and Elm. She was amazing and helped design everything from invitation suites, napkins, signs, matchbooks. She designed a beautiful crest for us that we were able to tie into everything.
Our speeches were great. Everyone gave great speeches, and were perfect for each person. Everyone did a good job being funny but also very emotional!
We had a photo booth from The Best Philly Photobooth.
We booked our band through East Coast Entertainment. Our band was so amazing and fun, so dancing with everyone was a major highlight for sure.
Our first dance was to Yellow by Coldplay. I have always loved Coldplay and Matt started liking them when we started dating. We actually got to see Coldplay first together at a work Christmas party (crazy I know), then went to a Coldplay concert in London before we got married and it felt right!! We both love this song, and had the same thoughts as our processional music, it was upbeat enough, not too heavy, but still a sweet love song.
Everything went so well, from my brother being the officiant, to our first dances, to speeches, to ending the night at the bar downstairs. Getting ready was also great, having my mom, sister, and mother-in-law with me in the AM. It was super chill, and my friends came to hang out and say hi while we were all in the suite.
I loved having all of my friends and family there. Also, just having fun with everyone! There was no drama, and I appreciate that I was able to let loose and actually enjoy it with everyone – mainly, having my friends get to finally see and experience Cape May after talking about it for so long. Also, our families coming together was so special. I love seeing people that you know, and love feel the same way about each other! Having my grandparents there was so special too.
My grandpa sadly passed away two months after our wedding, so it was a really beautiful family memory in hindsight. My grandma has been waiting for a grandchild to get married, so she was excited.
Words of Wedded Wisdom
I wouldn’t have done anything differently! If I could’ve added four more hours to dance, hang, and talk to people, I would’ve done that! But, that’s just how weddings go!
Enjoy the time because it feels like you’re planning for so long, and there is a lot to do, but then it’s over! It’s true that it feels like a blink of an eye.
The day speeds by, so try to relax, you’re not going to fit everything in. Have fun and relax because it’s your time to enjoy it thoroughly. Also, plan as much as you can together! It’s fun to make decisions together and feels like the pressure is off of one person.
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