When Laura Finnerty accepted a marriage proposal from boyfriend Kurt Paul in mid-March, she didn’t waste any time in making arrangements for her wedding. Finnerty wanted to get married in July, which gave her a little more than four months to prepare for her big day. “There wasn’t a lot of time,” said Finnerty, a lifelong resident of Weehawken and the alumni relations officer at Fordham University in New York. “But as it turned out, everything just started to fall into place.” While she was getting her nails done on Park Avenue in the township soon after getting engaged, Finnerty told the manicurist, Jackie Cruz, of her big news and the planned date. “She told me that she would take care of my hair and nails,” Finnerty said. “And I didn’t know that she was a hairstylist for some famous performers, that she traveled with Paul Anka, doing his hair.” Her dress was a 50-year-old dress that was being reconstructed to fit Laura’s needs by Devina Bermello, who works out of an office on New York Avenue in Union City. Someone offered a suggestion about the wedding cake, mentioning that another Weehawken resident, Carmen Jurjo, had won awards for her elaborate baking skills. A site for the reception was needed. There wasn’t a better setting than the Chart House, located in Lincoln Harbor. “When my mother [Alane] and I went to look at the Chart House, it was just wood frames [due to a fire two years ago],” Finnerty said. “We didn’t know if it would ever be finished in time. They assured me that it would.” The Chart House was open and ready for customers in May, weeks before Laura’s big day. For music, Finnerty chose classical guitarist Anthony Bez, who also resides in the town. Finally, the idea started sinking in. Laura’s entire wedding was being planned within blocks of her home, including the reception. “There wasn’t any plan,” Finnerty said. “It’s wild how this all turned out. But everyone is within a block radius of my home. I’m totally amazed how it all worked out that way.” A hubby and a puppy Finnerty met her husband-to-be a few years ago in a synchronistic fashion as well, when the two were volunteering their time to the “Christmas in April” project in Jersey City. “Christmas in April” is the organization that asks contractors and architects to build housing for the needy. “We’re the first Christmas in April marriage,” Finnerty proclaimed. “I also got a puppy out of it.” Paul and Finnerty were working on restoring a house on Charles Street in Jersey City when they spotted a Labrador retriever that was abandoned nearby. “They called the puppy Charlie, because he was found on Charles Street,” Alane Finnerty said. “She couldn’t leave that puppy there.” Laura gained a pet and a husband at the same time. On Laura’s wedding day last Saturday, the wedding party was treated to the work of yet another Weehawken-based business, Earth Grains Caf
Our Digital Archive from 2000 – 2016
