Cape May Courtship Becomes a Cape May Marriage

What we’ll remember…
Erica Gutter and Bill Kelly were married on May 11, 2013 at The Southern Mansion in Cape May. The reception was held in the Solarium of the Mansion.
Erica recalls…
Though we are both originally from Springfield, PA, my husband introduced me to Cape May when we first started dating. He knew I would love all the Victorian homes and charm! One day, we drove past The Southern Mansion and I said out loud, “I don’t care when, but someday we are getting married here!”
Not too long after, Bill proposed to me while on a horse and carriage ride, outside of my favorite Cape May restaurant. What a fairytale! We just had to be married where it all started.
It was by far the best day of our lives. The morning started out extremely rainy, but the sun came out just in time for us to get all of our pictures and have our outside ceremony! The bridal party consisted of our family and a few friends, eight in total. The bridesmaids wore champagne dresses and the groomsman wore black tuxedos and ivory bowties.
Our dinner was served inside the long Solarium of The Southern Mansion. We had beautiful, long farm tables covered in vintage bottles filled with white and ivory flowers. Chandeliers covered in flowers hung from the ceilings. Dinner was a choice of filet or herb encrusted salmon. I had hand-embossed menus for each place setting.
After dinner, we had our first dance to a song by Adele called “One and Only”. Bill and I had taken a few ballroom dancing lessons to be prepared. We had an eleven-piece band play at our reception and they rocked! Our cake was gorgeous and delicious. It was 3 tiers of beautifully ruffled buttercream decorated with lace details and a single blush peony.
After the wonderful reception concluded, Bill and I went on a sixteen day honeymoon to celebrate as newlyweds. We visited Ireland, Paris and Greece. It was an amazing adventure.
The day was truly a dream come true and we are so lucky to have each other!