Stephanie Agresta and Chris McCaffrey used only local businesses for their wedding, which took place at Oyster Point Hotel, and their journey will be televised tonight. (Photo by Dustin Racioppi; click to enlarge)
By DUSTIN RACIOPPI
Before taking part in March’s Wedding Walk, Stephanie Agresta had already planned on having a Red Bank-heavy wedding.
But, as she pointed out, “the wedding walk really brought to life all the opportunities in Red Bank.”
It also brought another opportunity, which airs tonight.
A film crew followed Stephanie Agresta and her husband Chris McCaffrey as they planned their wedding in Red Bank. (Photo courtesy of Stephanie Agresta; click to enlarge)
In the first of a four-part series called “A New Jersey Wedding: Red Bank,” a television crew from NJ Discover follows Agresta and her husband, Chris McCaffrey, on their journey to make their wedding a purely local affair. It airs at 9p on Comcast channel 190.
The borough couple was approached at the walk by NJ Discover host Frank Dicopoulos to be part of an idea he had to shine the light on Red Bank businesses through a reality TV show. Cameras then followed them through town as they geared up for an August wedding, telling the couple’s story and showing the relationships made with merchants, Agresta said.
“For me, the most important thing was I was working local vendors, giving them a chance to talk about themselves to show how great Red Bank was, particularly for weddings,” she said.
That was the impetus for the show, said Curt Ciumi, of NJ Discover.
“We came up with an idea to help Red Bank out by highlighting local vendors,” he said. “It’s more of a story-telling thing, so people can see a Red Bank wedding.”
This is not a groundbreaking idea, but the first to be televised. Back in 2007, Red Bank couple Tom and Eileen Labetti set out on the same mission as Agresta and McCaffrey, except they didn’t have a film crew following them. Having the lens trained on them was “interesting,” Agresta said, “but it was a fun experience.”
“Our wedding was specifically Red Bank-centric,” McCaffrey said. “It was important to us to support the local community.”
If you miss tonight’s episode, it will air again at 1p Saturday, and will also be available online.
