First, there were the big celebrities. Jon Bon Jovi himself as well as guitarist Richie Sambora, pianist David Bryan and bass player Hugh McDonald served as ushers at the Chapel Beach Club ceremony in Sea Bright. They later serenaded the couple during the outdoor reception.
Then there was Donald and Marla Trump and Little Steven van Zandt, not to mention supermodels Claudia Schiffer, Helena Christianson, Gail Elliott and Tatiana and of course, Sambora's wife, Heather Locklear.
The wedding and reception was held in three huge tents set up by the ocean: one for the ceremony, one for the cocktail hour and one an outdoor ballroom. The ballroom was complete with a 40-foot circular revolving stage that allowed the entertainment to switch from a 40-piece swing band to a rock band to a Spanish salsa band.
During the cocktail hour, there were palm trees set up on the beach where a cigar roller rolled cigars adorned with hearts with the happy couple's names on it in hearts.
Bon Jovi did without his drummer during his band's rendition of "Always" for Torres and Herzigova.
And what better way to top off the night than with a fireworks display? "It was the most elegant, extravagant wedding of the year," said the couple's publicist, Gina Franano, who was also a member of the wedding party.
The 23-year-old bride wore a straight, full-length Galliano gown made of antique lace with an illusion back and front. She had a mantilla-style veil and a two-foot train and carried pastel roses. The 40-something groom wore an off-white Casablanca-style jacket with black pants designed by Richard Tyler.
They were married in a traditional-style wedding in the tent at 5:00 p.m. Saturday with the ocean as the background, Franano said. Opera singer Katie Agresta sang "Ave Maria" during the ceremony.
The groom's best "man" was hairdresser Helena Occhipinti, the woman who first introduced the couple three years ago. She also wore a 1940s style suite, as did the ushers. The bride's attendants were her best friend Ditta Hanzalov and sister Lenka Vysinova from the Czech Republic.
Some 350 of the couple's closest friends came from South Africa, Argentina, Italy and France. Among the honored noncelebrity guests were the groom's 100-year-old grandmother from Colonia, Woodbridge Township.
Guests were treated to a Mariachi band during the cocktail hour before the main reception. The fare during the reception included lobster, sea bass, veal chops, melon soup and hserbet and of course pieces of the seven-foot wedding cake, which was chocolate with raspberry sauce and white icing.
Local rock and roller Bobby Bandiera, who played with a group of musicians that included Jerry Vulvino from the Conan O'Brien show, said he enjoyed himself at the wedding. "It was great, a lot of fun," he said.
The groom presented his bride with a platinum bracelet with 400 diamonds totaling over 30 karats, Franano said. The newlyweds were planning to leave for their month-long "international" honeymoon today, she said.
When they return from the honeymoon, Franano said, the happy couple will live at the Torres home in Colts Neck Township and at the couple's apartments in New York and the Czech Republic.
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