A Chic and Elegant Wedding at Linwood Estate in Carlisle, Pennsylvania

The Jersey Shore has always been a special place for Alyssa Diminick and Robert Stiefel, as they each grew up spending summers there. On the 4th of July 2012, the Shore became even more special when Rob was meeting up with a college friend at a bar in Sea Isle. That friend happened to bring along his little sister, Alyssa, and as the couple states, “There were fireworks in the sky and fireworks between us.”

Alyssa says she always knew “something big” just happened from the moment she met Rob, and Rob left the bar telling his friends that he just met his future wife.

On a snowy afternoon in December 2016, the proposal took place on the couple’s street, right outside their home in Philadelphia. This led to the wedding planning process, which ended up being a time of intense emotions. 

“We lost Rob’s mom to cancer in September of 2017,” Alyssa shares. “She was an incredible person and mother who loved deeply and was a huge part of our lives. It put a lot of things in perspective for us, and reminded us that life can be short, to hold on to the ones you love, and not to stress about material things.”

The bride and groom were married in the cathedral in Harrisburg, followed by a beautiful tented reception in the garden of Linwood Estate – an Appalachian Valley gem set on over 300 acres. Flowers adorned every corner of the celebration spaces, and a skilled team of vendors created an effortlessly chic ambiance filled with elegance and romance.

“Our wedding day was a dream,” recalls the bride. “It felt like you could physically reach out and grab all of the love in the room. It’s impossible to describe the amount of love and happiness you feel as you marry your best friend. The whole day was filled with the most intense feelings of happiness and appreciation for how lucky we are to have each other and so many wonderful people in our lives. Neither of us have ever experienced happiness like that. We are so lucky for so many reasons and getting the chance to celebrate that with everyone we love was just incredible.”

The following Monday, the newlyweds set out for an epic honeymoon in Africa. They spent five days on safari in South Africa at Chitwa Chitwa in Sabi Sands National Park. Next was a week spent on the island of Bazaruto in Mozambique. Finally, they ended their honeymoon with three days in Cape Town, exploring the city and its wine country.

“We made so many incredible memories, but the safari was absolutely the most incredible part,” says Alyssa. “There are very few times as an adult that you get that Christmas morning feeling – you don’t know what’s going to happen, but you know it’s going to be awesome and you can’t wait! Every morning was like that on safari, and it never disappointed. To top it off, the staff at Chitwa Chitwa was truly extraordinary and went above and beyond to make our honeymoon unforgettable.”