All weddings have some really great photos, but I only had to see one to know that I wanted Sarah & Dan to be a featured couple.
This is that photo. It’s Sarah’s band, Vixen77, leaning against Sarah’s car, a 1955 Chevy Nomad.
Caitlin Walker, Elizabeth Cartwright, Sarah Novack, Jazman Dobson, Samantha Chonski
Have you seen a cooler photo of a bride than this? If you have please send it my way.
What follows is a feature on Sarah, Dan, and their amazing family and friends. Enjoy this love story, written by Sarah!
The Beginning: Dan saw me for the first time at a bar called Artie’s 3 & 1/2 years ago. He was too scared to talk to me so he asked one of his friends who then messaged me on Facebook a week later.
Our first date was at Longhorn Steakhouse. Dan was a little shy at first, but once I started asking him about racing he opened right up! He’s a huge auto racing fan – Nascar, sprint cars, Indy cars, you name it he loves it! We hit it off after that moment. At the end of the night we officially exchanged numbers (we had been communicating through Facebook messenger up until that point). It was so refreshing to go on a date with such a sweet guy!
I love that Dan has the ability to literally fix anything, from tractors to plumbing to even fixing one of my necklaces, he’s a genius! I also love how sweet he is to me, he is so caring & thoughtful. He knows just when I’m in need of a hug, kiss, or even someone to make me laugh! He’s truly my best friend.
The Proposal: It was completely a surprise! It was his birthday and I was giving him his birthday presents before we went to work at 6:45am. After I was done giving him his presents, he said, “I actually have a present for you. Will you marry me?” He brought out a tiny white box with my engagement ring in it! I was shocked and so happy!
The Planning: Wedding planning was a bit stressful as I feel it always is for a bride, especially since I didn’t have a wedding planner, I did it all myself.
I really have to thank my mom for helping me with so much of the decor shopping. We came up with so many cute ideas for decor & had so much fun shopping around for the perfect decorations!
Dress shopping was DEFINITELY one of my favorite parts of the wedding planning process! Fashion is one of my favorite things, so trying on the dresses was so much fun for me. My maid of honor and my mom came with me and it was such a blast to walk around with my maid of honor pulling dresses off the racks for me to try on.
My maid of honor was actually the one to pick out my dress off the rack! I knew as soon as I tried mine on, I had that “yes!” moment! The staff at Darianna Bridal & Tuxedo really made it special for me, they were just as excited as I was when I found my dress!
The Wedding Party: My wedding party certainly was a great group of people. My bridesmaids included my best friend since high school Sara Dalen, along with my other close friend from high school Megan Reinhart, my awesome sister in law Laura Stanfill, and my brother’s girlfriend Rachel Baransky.
Dan had his best friend Lewis Moore, along with his other friends CJ Townes, Dave English, & Gary Magyar, Dan’s brother TJ Holmes, my brother Nick Novack, and Dan’s brother-in-law, Bryan Stanfill.
My flower girl was my cousin’s daughter, Izzy Mercer, and my ring bearer was Dan’s nephew, Cruz Stanfill.
My maid of honor was my best friend Sara Dalen. We have been inseparable since freshman year of high school. She is a super talented musician, she sings, and plays saxophone, guitar, piano, and violin! She was such a huge help to me with helping organize my bridal shower and bachelorette party, & helping my other bridesmaids with makeup and last minute dress fixes! Not to mention her speech at my wedding was absolutely beautiful.
She was one of my biggest supporters with planning this wedding. I couldn’t have had a fabulous wedding without her!
Dan’s best man was his childhood friend Lewis Moore. They grew up next door to each other, and have made memories to last a lifetime. Lewis is also a firefighter on multiple fire squads, and is an EMS first responder! We have super high respect for him and all he does for the community.
The Batchelorette Party & Shower: My bachelorette party was SO much fun! My MOH organized the whole thing: we did a wine & paint session at Pinot’s Palette, then went to dinner at a local hibachi restaurant! It was super fun & memorable.
My bridal shower was a total blast. We had it at a local Italian restaurant, Alfresco‘s. It was definitely a great kickoff to the wedding celebrations. We all had fun taking pictures together, and playing the typical shower games, like “Who knows the bride best?” “What’s in your purse?” I handed out rose gold/burgundy pens with my shower date on them, & handed out candles from a local Bucks County candle shop, “Libellule candle” as prizes for the games.
Fortunately, Covid did not really impact anything! The only thing was we couldn’t do a traditional cake tasting: the baker dropped off some sample cupcakes for Dan & me to try instead.
The Vendor Team: I decided to pick Razberry‘s in Frenchtown, NJ as my venue because it is a local place & I wanted to support local businesses! Being local was so convenient; if I forgot anything it was super easy to run back & forth. It is also a beautiful place, with a water fountain in the back, and a huge reception room. You also get a great deal on food, alcohol, etc. for the price!
Our florist was Gather Flower Shop in Frenchtown, NJ, Photographer was Corbin Payne, DJ was John from Simply DJs, Cake was from Storybook Cakes in Lambertville, NJ, Seamstress Renee Sopko in Milford, NJ, Hair/makeup: Anna Scelfo
Special Memories: Something that really meant a lot to me is that the classic car in my pictures is my 1955 Chevy Nomad – my dad & I restored it together. My friend, Derek Frey, has a detailing business “Precision Care Detailing” and as his wedding gift to me he spent 4 days detailing my car for me for my special day. He even came the day of the wedding to make finishing touches on it. My car has never looked so good. He went above & beyond for me & I am forever grateful.
Another great moment was my dad totally rocking out to my band playing! He’s always been my biggest/most animated fan.
Vixen77: We are an all girl, punk rock band from Philly! I joined them in January of 2021, it would’ve been sooner as I had been talking with them since June of 2020, but due to Covid rehearsal spaces weren’t open at the time. I was SO excited to be a part of the band! It has been my dream ever since I started drumming at 11 years old to be in an all girl band. I’m so thankful to be surrounded by these talented ladies! We are cutting an album in the beginning of December, then going to really start rocking out & playing live shows once the album is released!
Band members: Samantha Chonski: lead vocals; Caitlin Walker: lead guitar; Elizabeth Cartwright: rhythm guitar; Jazman Dobson: bass guitar; and of course me on drums!
Sarah and Dan definitely have a special bond between them and are the very best of friends. Our family wishes them a lifetime of joy and happiness as they start this new chapter together.
We love being able to feature our couples! If you are a Darianna bride and would like to be a featured couple, please let us know by texting our store at 215-491-8500.