Stephanie Spear 
The Hoboken Girl may not be the Grey Lady, but we love a good wedding story around here. Hoboken residents Meg Rushforth and Kevin Barry’s October 2025 wedding, and everything that led up to it, is basically a Jersey Girl bingo card. From the elementary school meet-cute to the Jersey Shore wedding, this story has everything a Garden State Gal could want, including a Bon Jovi cameo. We got all the details from Meg + Kevin about their wedding at the Parker House, a Jersey Shore institution. Read on for more about this Just Jersey love story.
The Backstory
Every good rom-com has a memorable meet-cute (where the two main characters are introduced), and Meg + Kevin’s story began in elementary school. They both grew up in River Edge, New Jersey (same hometown, check) and went to River Dell High School. “I grew up with my extended family all around, so my cousins were basically my siblings,” Meg said. “Kevin was best friends with my cousin, which meant we saw each other a lot but anything romantic was not allowed.”
After graduating from high school, they each went their separate ways as friends. Meg went to Rowan University, and Kevin went to Sacred Heart in Connecticut. After college, Meg moved to Hoboken with her friends, and Kevin moved to Boston with his friends. They saw each other here and there, as friends, but again, each felt the other was off limits.
Meg + Kevin’s engagement photo at Elysian in Hoboken. Photo credit @nataliegphoto
Since this is a friends-to-lovers storyline, romance readers and rom-com fans know what happens next. Kevin moved to Hoboken in 2022, got in touch with Meg, and shortly thereafter declared his love. “We were on a walk in Hoboken and Kevin said he felt like it was now or never,” Meg said. “We started dating immediately,” she said.
Read more: This Couple Met at Birch + Had a Wedding Slice at Basile’s Pizza
Meg and Kevin got engaged in October 2024. “I knew a ballroom-style wedding wouldn’t be a fit for us,” she said. They started looking for venues and landed on the Parker House in Sea Girt.
An Iconic Location
As New Jersey residents know good and well, Parker House is more than a beach bar. Our team at The Jersey Shore Girl hasn’t seen such luck, but according to People, it’s *the* place to fall in love at the Jersey Shore. [Editor’s note: this is counter to Jersey Shore philosopher Ronny’s mantra, ‘dont fall in love at the Jersey Shore.’] Per People, hundreds of couples can credit the Parker House for their origin stories, whether it was a chance encounter while waiting in line to get in or longing looks exchanged while drinking Spring Lakers.
Image courtesy of @nathaliegphoto
“We went to the Shore to look at venues. I was surprised by how much I liked the Parker House,” Meg said. “The day we visited, another wedding was being set up, so we could actually see what it would look like.” Kevin agreed, and then they had to sell it to their parents. “Our parents were initially reluctant, but we had lunch there and they were convinced,” Meg said.
The Big Day – Jersey Style
The wedding was on October 17th, 2025. Meg and Kevin had a cocktail-style reception for 200with a live band. “We had a live band in the basement and an acoustic guitar upstairs,” she said. “The band, Audio Riot, was amazing.” Naturally, the band played a set of Bon Jovi covers and another of Springsteen covers.
The River Dell wedding party. Photo courtesy of @nathaliegphoto
“The food was amazing,” Meg said. “We had an insane charcuterie board.” The 75-person wedding afterparty crew walked from the Parker House to the Irish Rail. The next day, the whole crew returned to watch college football.
Some of the only-in-Jersey elements of the wedding included a 16-person bridal party where everyone went to the same high school; using Wally’s for the official wedding transportation; and copious amounts of the Parker House’s signature cocktail, the Spring Laker.
Reflections
Meg and Kevin have settled into married life in Hoboken – the happy ending of the romcom plot here. “We love it here,” she said. Some of their favorite restaurants are Onieals and Alessio’s. Both Meg and Kevin are fitness enthusiasts. Meg is a Sculpt instructor at Prime Cycle in Hoboken, and Kevin works in medical device sales.
See more: The Best Wedding Venues in Essex County
As for choosing a somewhat ‘unconventional’ wedding venue, Meg says that it was worth it to stick to her vision. “I think a lot of brides get stuck in the idea of what a wedding should be, and you should just have fun,” she said.
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