October 17, 2026 | Gibbstown, NJNate & Kelly’s Wedding
We’re gathering our favorite people for a intimate outdoor ceremony, followed by an evening of good music, dancing, and being together. We hope you can join us!
Everything you need to know about the day is on this page, so we invite you to take your time to read through it and save it for later.
Location: Memorial Park
1201 Memorial Ave
Gibbstown, NJ 08027
Guests seated by 3:45pm
Ceremony begins at 4:00pm
We are having an outdoor ceremony.
In the case of rain, the Ceremony will be held at St. Michael’s Hall.
❋ The Ceremony
Location: St. Michael’s Hall
406 Memorial Ave
Gibbstown, NJ 08027
Cocktail hour: 5:00pm-6:00pm
Dinner & Dancing: 6:00-10:00pm
❋ The Reception
❋ Arrival & Parking
Our ceremony will take place on a grassy area of Memorial Park.
For comfort, we suggest beginning your arrival at St. Michael’s Hall to freshen up before heading to the ceremony site just a few minutes away. Carpooling from the hall is encouraged to help keep the neighborhood peaceful and accessible. Maps of recommended parking and ceremony location are posted below.
Guests will take the walking path to the middle of the park (past the Gazebo and Dog Park) to the Willow Tree where our Ceremony will be held.
After the ceremony, guests may return to their cars and enjoy an easy three-minute drive along Memorial Ave. back to St. Michael’s Hall for the reception.
Elegant, comfortable, and dance-ready.
Our celebration is cocktail or semi-formal, with an elegant yet relaxed feel. The ceremony will take place outdoors on park grass at sunset, so we encourage guests to plan for variable October weather and consider layers or outerwear. It may be as warm as 80 degrees or a cool, windy 50 degrees, so keep an eye on the weather for that weekend.
Guests are welcome to choose footwear suitable for being on grass at the Ceremony, and bring a second pair of shoes to change into for the reception. We’re all family here and want everyone to feel as comfortable as possible!
❋ Guest Attire
Travel & Accommodations
We’re so excited to celebrate with you in South Jersey, just minutes from Philadelphia. Fall 2026 will be an especially busy and exciting time in the Philadelphia area, as many events are planned in honor of America’s 250th Anniversary.
Please note:
Because of the Philadelphia festivities, many hotels, Airbnbs, and inns may currently show limited availability or no availability at all for guests trying to book early. Often, this simply means rooms and rates have not been released yet. We recommend contacting properties directly and booking as early as possible to secure the best accommodations for our wedding weekend.
For those traveling from out of town, we haven’t reserved room blocks, but we’re happy to share a few nearby hotels and Airbnbs that come highly rated and are a short drive from the wedding locations.
While we haven’t stayed at these properties ourselves, we encourage guests to do their own research to find accommodations that best suit their needs.
For those guests flying in, Philadelphia Airport is the closest to our event location, being merely 20 minutes over the bridge!
*Please note that there are MANY other hotel options in the South Jersey area that you are free to book. These are just some of the best rated ones we found.
Hotels and Inns in NJ:
The Inn on Holly Pitman Bed & Breakfast - 20 minutes
Airbnb Wedding Stay List - These vary from 10-30 minutes away. South Jersey is not a destination place, so Airbnb options are limited! *Hint - if they say unavailable, try to reach out to confirm anyway!
Courtyard by Marriot - Rowan University - 20 minutes
Best Western Phila South (W. Deptford, NJ) - 10 minutes
Hotels in Philadelphia, PA:
Courtyard by Marriot @ South Navy Yard - 20 minutes
Our Story
We Met at Dance
Our love story began with dance. Nate began taking salsa lessons at Art in Motion studio in Fall 2021, and Kelly started a few months later. Nate was in Kelly’s very first class, although they would go on to just be dance friends with a core group of other dancers for about a year before anything beyond sparked. They enjoyed salsa, bachata and cha-cha group classes together with their dance family.
Nate had his eye on Kelly, while Kelly’s attraction to Nate also grew, but both being awkward introverts, they did not get to know each other much beyond dance class. It wasn’t until Nate took a work trip in January 2023 and asked Kelly to send him the video of class (a common practice at our studio so we can practice at home.) So, Kelly attended cha-cha that week without Nate and sent him the videos. To her surprise, Nate struck up a text conversation and off they went!
They proceeded to have almost nightly chats via text for about a month, getting to know one another beyond the little they knew from dance class. In early February, Nate asked Kelly to meet up at a park. This would be their first time hanging out alone, outside of dance. They met up at Red Bank Battlefield Park (a park special to Nate because his dad used to take him and his brother there and, where Nate later proposed) and walked and talked for 3 hours!
It’s Official
It seemed for both Kelly & Nate that day at the park solidified that they both were happy to move into the next phase and became a couple shortly after. They've been together since February 12, 2023.
They continued to share a love of dance and dancing at AIM (Art in Motion) regularly, a place that, for both of them, feels like home.
They’ve had many travel adventures together, including housesits in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, trips to the Catskills in Upstate NY, Brooklyn, Phoenix & Vermont to visit family, and Georgia and South Carolina for family reunions. They love to hike, explore new places and converse over a good podcast on road trips.
They both share a Christian upbringing - Nate hailing from the AME Church and Kelly growing up Catholic, and having been a Catholic nun for most of her 20s. They thank God for allowing their paths to cross at AIM when they did - the timing was perfect.
The Proposal
Nate proposed at Red Bank Battlefield Park on July 6, 2025. The couple had decided to go for a walk there one lovely summer night, when Nate felt it was the right time to pop the question. Kelly had no idea that would be the moment, and was happily surprised that Nate chose to do it there and then! The sunset proposal was stunning and a nearby walker captured the whole thing in photos unbeknownst to the couple! It was perfect.
Proposal Night @ Red Bank Battlefield Park 7/6/25
Proposal Sunset @ Red Bank Battlefield Park
Wildly Blessed Indeed
Nate and Kelly enjoy their quiet life in the sleepy farm town of Woodstown, NJ.
They adore their dance family and intend to keep dance as a part of their shared life for as long as possible! They are grateful to their instructors and dance family for being a part of their special day.
They also are grateful for the unending support of their parents, siblings, families and friends over the years - for embracing their relationship, welcoming Nate & Kelly respectively into their extended families and for also being with them on their Wedding Day.
They consider themselves wildly blessed to be loved by so many beautiful people and pray that they can multiply that love with everything they do in their life together.
"Arise, my love, my beautiful one, and come away... The flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come." - Song of Solomon 2:10-13
"Arise, my love, my beautiful one, and come away... The flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come." - Song of Solomon 2:10-13
Arrival & Parking Details
Arrival
We strongly suggest stopping at St. Michael’s Hall first to freshen up before the ceremony as only portable restrooms will be available at Memorial Park. Then carpooling to Memorial Park to help keep neighborhood parking light.
St. Michael’s Hall is only a 3 minute drive along Memorial Avenue to our Ceremony Spot at Memorial Park- see highlighted route below:
Please note: In order to most clearly see the maps, it’s ideal to view our wedding page on a laptop or computer. On a cell phone, maps will appear small.
Parking
There is a small parking lot at the entrance of Memorial Park that we request Guests leave for immediate family and the Bride & Groom.
Ceremony parking is available along Carter Ave, Daniel Ave and Carson Ave. Please see visual below.
Once parked, Guests may follow the walking path that begins at Memorial Park parking lot, past the Gazebo on the left to the center of the park where they will find our Ceremony spot near the Willow Tree. See map of parking & Ceremony spot indicated below.
After the ceremony, guests may return to their cars and enjoy an easy three-minute drive along Memorial back to St. Michael’s Hall for the Cocktail Hour & Reception.
Wedding Gifts
Your love, support, and presence on our wedding day mean the world to us. We are so excited to share this day with you - that is truly the greatest gift.
We have chosen not to create a traditional registry. If you wish to honor us with a gift, a contribution toward our future together would be sincerely appreciated.
Please note:
As we are still in the process of combining our finances, checks should be made payable to either the bride or the groom individually rather than to both of us.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Octobers in NJ can vary widely! It can be as warm as 80 with full sun, and a rainy cold 48. We recommend keeping an eye on the weather for the week and plan your outfit details accordingly.
In the case of full sun, there is no shade in our ceremony location, so please wear a hat if needed! -
If the park ceremony is cancelled due to rain, we will be holding the ceremony back at St. Michael’s Hall.
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A single portable restroom is available at Memorial Park. However, we recommend using the restrooms at St. Michael’s Hall before the ceremony, especially if you’ll be dressed for the wedding.
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From the parking lot of Memorial Park, there is a walking path to our ceremony path.
St. Michael’s Hall is only accessible by stairs.
If you have accessibility needs, please call or email our Coordinator Mariah, so she can make arrangements for assistance.
Mariah Ebberup: meeventplanning@yahoo.com
609-618-4760 -
Each invitation is addressed to specific guests by name. To keep our celebration intentional and intimate, we aren’t able to accommodate additional guests or substitutions. Only those named on the invite are invited.
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No kids invited.
Aside from Nate’s two nephews, this is an adult-only occasion. Again, only those named on the invites are invited, no substitutions. We encourage parents to enjoy a child-free evening of dancing and fun! -
We’ll be serving a buffet-style BBQ with plenty of options for everyone! A beer and wine bar will be available, along with lemonade, ice tea and sodas, dessert and coffee.
Spirits and cocktails will be available for purchase. Cash only. There is an ATM in the building.
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We are confident that our menu will have something for everyone - from cocktail hour through to dinner. We have items for vegetarians and gluten free options. Our caterer will clearly label all items that may contain allergens & she is aware of our guest responses to the food allergy question on the RSVP form.
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Please reach out to our day-of coordinator, Mariah Ebberup.
Her contact info is: meeventplanning@yahoo.com
609-618-4760
She’ll be happy to help and make sure everything goes smoothly.