A couple who found each other by chance on a cruise ship tie the knot at Winterthur.
By Lisa Dukart
While the plot is fit for the big screen, it was reality for Brooke Morgan and Shane Halsey. The strangers both happened to be aboard the same Bermuda cruise with their families in August 2015 when they met at a bar.
Shane approached Brooke, who unbeknownst to him had already noticed him earlier in the day. “[We] really hit it off and just enjoyed each other’s company,” he recalls. Their connection was instantaneous, and for the duration of the trip, they made a point to see each other in between family excursions.
“Within the first few days…we were kind of hoping that it would work out,” says Shane, who had never felt that way about someone before.
But as the ship began its return to New York, anxiety grew inside them that the relationship would soon be severed by distance—he lived in Jersey City, she in Philadelphia—and the demands of the real world.
Determined not to let their hot new romance fade like a summer tan, Shane and Brooke vowed to keep in touch. Soon after, they committed to traveling back and forth to test the relationship waters. For four years, a long-distance, weekends-only relationship blossomed—until Brooke made the leap in 2019 and moved in with Shane.
They lived. They laughed. They loved to travel. And on one of their journeys, Shane planned to propose. They would be in Ireland to attend a March wedding for Brooke’s friend. But then the pandemic hit. The wedding was postponed, his plan thwarted.
Not wanting to wait much longer, Shane coordinated a surprise gathering with family in Ocean City, New Jersey, where the Morgans have a shore home and the couple had been quarantining. It was a rainy fall day when Shane and his mom transformed a beachside gazebo on 58th Street into a scene set for a proposal, complete with twinkling candles. Brooke’s sisters suggested stopping by, and when Brooke realized the man inside was Shane, he at last popped the question.
On July 9, 2022, the couple exchanged vows before 200 loved ones and a magical reflecting pool at Winterthur Museum and Country Estate. Brooke’s childhood pastor presided over the ceremony.
The venue, which they both loved at first sight, had special significance because Brooke’s father grew up in Delaware and many of her extended family members had worked for DuPont. The location was also a perfect halfway point between her family in South Jersey and his in Maryland.
Like the day they got engaged, the morning of their wedding started out rainy, but as Brooke began her march down the aisle, the clouds parted.
“It was almost…like a storybook,” Shane says.
Details
Photographer: Morgan Elizabeth Photography morganelizabthphoto.com
Ceremony and reception venue: Winterthur Museum & Country Estate winterthurwedding.com
Rehearsal and welcome-party venue: The Inn at Mendenhall mendenhallin.com
Videographer: Florescio Films floresciofilms.com
Wedding Planner: Social Graces Events socialgracesweddings.com
Florist: Anne Ottley Floral Design
Entertainment: EBE Talent’s Monte Carlo ebetalent.com
First dance song: John Legend’s rendition of the Beach Boys’ “God Only Knows”
Makeup: Noel Pirolli
Hair: Top Knots by Aimee
Bakery: The Master’s Baker themastersbaker.com
Caterer: Restaurant Associates restaurantassociates.com
Transportation: Delaware Express delexpress.com
Honeymoons: Greece
Occupations: Shane works for Willis Towers Watson and Brooke is an account executive at The Knot.