Tara Meacham and Rick Clapper of Lumberton, NJ (Burlington County) were the FIRST non-crew members to be married on the A.J. Meerwald in Barnegat Bay on Saturday, July 25th. They were surrounded by around 80 friends, family, members of the media, sponsoring organizations and onlookers. The ceremony service was performed by Deborah C. Whitcraft, wedding officiant and former mayor of Beach Haven.

Invitations were provided by Stephanie Somodi of Invitation Designs by Stephanie, offering a "Nautical Theme" (shown below - click for larger view) for this special couple's announcement and photographs of the wedding ceremony and reception were captured by David Toth Photographers (example shown to the right).

Click here to view more photos from the A.J. Meerwald wedding ceremony, including some images leading up to and following this special event, and click here to view video footage, edited by Jon Slackman from J & S Video Services.

Announcement of the winners was made at the "Jersey Shore Store" in Manhattan on Wednesday, June 24th (click here to view photos from the event) and an article appeared about the wedding in the Press of Atlantic City on Friday, June 26th, in the Beachcomber on July 31st and on New Jersey Newsroom on October 29th. Click here to read how Tara discovered the contest through facebook in an article on the Chamber's web site...

Invitation Design For Tara & Rick's Wedding aboard the A.J. Meerwald

A.J. Meerwald pre-wedding contest media coverage:

Thank you to the Jersey Shore Store (on Broadway in New York City through July 5th), WedAlert.com, the Beach Haven Times/Asbury Park Press, and New Jersey Bride magazine for helping to get the word out about the "Tie The Knot on the Tall Ship" contest! Read official Press Releases here...

Sponsored by the Southern Ocean County Chamber of Commerce,
New Jersey Division of Travel & Tourism, Reclam The Bay,
Schooner A.J. Meerwald and NJWedding.com