Brendt and Elizabeth Hertnick Stier.—Photo by Rick Sweitzer

Elizabeth Hertneck Stier and Brendt Stier from Merchantville, were married Nov. 5, 2011. They were married and had their reception at The Southern Mansion

Elizabeth recalls:

Brendt and I had an amazing wedding weekend in Cape May. The entire weekend was magical, but I think one of my favorite memories from our wedding was watching the entire dance floor fill up and never die down the entire evening.

Our guests seemed to have as much fun as we did, and our DJ continued to keep the favorite dance music playing from Bruce Springsteen to Bon Jovi to Wildwood Days to On the Way to Cape May. The Cupid Shuffle was a line dance favorite, but oldies like Shout and Let's Twist Again brought every generation at the wedding onto the dance floor.

The Southern Mansion did a superb job with the food including crab cakes and filet mignon. Ray and Cindy Hertneck, the bride's parents created sand dollar and starfish place cards, Cape May County shore town post cards as table numbers, seashore themed centerpieces, and baked mini wedding cakes as favors. We also made a donation to Cape May County Animal Outreach in honor of their guests.

I grew up in Merchantville, and spent summers swimming in the ocean after swim team season ended. My parents planned family vacations in Cape May and Wildwood, and when I entered college I served on the Stone Harbor Beach Patrol.

The job was rigorous but kept me in shape for swimming and running on my college sports teams during the year. My Grandmother and many other relatives live in Cape May County, and my parents decided to buy at the shore.

My husband is originally from northern Jersey but has enjoyed spending time with my family in Cape May County. Our memories in the area continue to grow each year, and we look forward to the day we can bring our children down to swim in the ocean and eventually become lifeguards in Cape May County.

In the meantime, we enjoy running on the beach with our Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and swimming, rowing, and kayaking in the ocean.

LL Bean bags filled with Cape May goodies greeted each guest staying at The Southern Mansion. Elva Hertneck, Grandmother of the Bride sang Ave Maria, while Maria Hertneck, Maid of Honor and cousin of the bride walked down the aisle to join Best Man, T, best friend of the Groom.

A bagpiper and drummer recessed the wedding party down the aisle. The bride and groom danced to Jersey Girl by Bruce Springsteen as their first dance and cut the cake which included a groom's cake of Liz rowing a Stone Harbor Beach Patrol Van Duyne and Brendt paddling a kayak with their dog, Winston in tow.

Other parts of the weekend included the rehearsal dinner at The Peter Shields Inn, after-party at The Boiler Room, and a brunch at Ray and Cindy Hertneck's house in Cape May Beach.