FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - July 20, 2009
Contact: Lori Pepenella - (609) 494-7211 ext. 101 or Erik Kent, (908) 874-0417

New Jersey couple to wed aboard NJ's official Tall Ship A.J. Meerwald during visit to Beach Haven, LBI this Saturday
NJWedding.com contest winners Tara Meacham and Rick Clapper to become married at 6:30 pm on July 25th as highlight of A.J. Meerwald's weekend trip to the Long Beach Island region

BEACH HAVEN, LONG BEACH ISLAND, N.J.– On Saturday, July 25, 2009, Tara Meacham and Rick Clapper from Lumberton, NJ will marry. But their ceremony spot isn't any usual location, because their wedding will take place aboard the A.J. Meerwald, New Jersey's official Tall Ship, as it is docked in Beach Haven, NJ during a special summer visit to Long Beach Island.

Ms. Meacham was one of about 100 entries into a recent contest to "Tie The Knot on a Tall Ship" through the Southern Ocean County Chamber of Commerce and NJWedding.com, two organiziations helping to promote the Long Beach Island region as a wedding destination in New Jersey. It also tied in to several other initiatives with the Schooner A. J. Meerwald to feature 2009 as the "Year of the Tall Ship" and with its planned sail into the LBI region during the weekend of July 24-27th. Other organizations included in this special event are ReClam the Bay to help promote coastal heritage and protection, The Museum of NJ Maritime History (headed by former Beach Haven Mayor and Wedding Officiant Deborah C. Whitcraft) and the New Jersey Division of Travel and Tourism.

Ms. Meacham had been following the LBI Region, the Southern Ocean County Chamber of Commerce's facebook profile for several months, starting in January 2009. It was not until the Chamber posted a reminder about the contest on its facebook page that Tara learned about this unique wedding opportunity and considered the idea of getting married on the A.J. Meerwald. "Rick had wanted to get married on Long Beach Island," she stated, "and my dream was to be married on a ship. We did not have enough money to rent a ship or a location on LBI. This is the perfect opportunity for us and we are so grateful for it."

Since the origin of the contest in May 2009, many businesses and organizations have shown support for the A.J. Meerwald wedding. First, the announcement of the winners was made at the Jersey Shore Store in Manhattan during the celebration of the state of New Jersey's birthday on June 24th, which was covered by NJN News and featured a visit by the newly crowned Miss New Jersey, Ashley Shaffer. In addition, New Jersey wedding professionals Stephanie Somodi of Invitation Designs by Stephanie, offered to create Tara and Rick's wedding invitation at no charge, which featured a nautical theme. Also new LBI chamber member David Toth of David Toth Photography will be taking pictures of the couple during the ceremony, and also at their wedding reception at the Mt. Holly Library later in the evening. The Press of Atlantic City is planning on covering the wedding on the day of the event, and other New Jersey media are invited to attend and witness the ceremony on the A.J. Meerwald.

For more information on the couple and details about the contest, visit http://www.njwedding.com/lbi. Also, for an iternerary of the A.J. Meerwald's weekend activities in Beach Haven, LBI at their new web site http://www.visitLBIregion.com. Media representatives are invited to contact Lori Pepenella, Destination Marketing Director for the chamber at (609) 494-7211 ext. 101 or Erik Kent, Co=Publisher of NJWedding.com at (908) 874-0417 for further information about covering this unique and special New Jersey event.