Owner, staff joined together to rescue wedding reception

We wanted to share a story about how our daughter’s New Year’s Eve wedding was saved by some very thoughtful people.

Two years ago our daughter, Jillian, and her boyfriend, Douglas, were engaged. They decided they wanted to have their wedding on New Year’s Eve 2007 and promptly booked a place to hold their wedding reception.

Well, the time was coming near, and all the plans were made and the invitations were sent out. Plans were moving along, and time was getting close. Then we received word that the place they booked for their New Year’s Eve wedding reception had lost its liquor license. Six weeks before the wedding it was becoming more evident that there would be no champagne, alcohol or bar staff at this celebration.

It was very stressful, and we had to decide what we were going to do. We even contemplated postponing the wedding a few months to give us more time. How could we find a place on such short notice and on a holiday on top of that?

Our daughter, Jillian, is a schoolteacher, and her fiancé, Doug, is a financial recruiter, but on weekends they are bartenders at the Shadowbrook in Shrewsbury. When Jillian told the owner, Mr. Zweben, of their plight, he immediately offered the services of the Shadowbrook.

Six weeks before our daughter’s wedding, the Shadowbrook owner and staff came together and organized the most beautiful wedding we have ever been to. The food, the service, every aspect of this wedding was flawless. What could have been a disaster turned out to be perfect beyond our wildest dreams.

Thank you to the Zweben family and to their staff for their generosity, their kindness, their professionalism. We will be forever grateful.

Debra and John Jackson

Morgan section

of Sayreville