Park Chateau Wedding: Caitlin Hale and Angelo Massagli’s School of Rock Celebration

As a New York and New Jersey wedding photographer I shoot across the state constantly, and Park Chateau comes up more than almost any other venue. It is a French-inspired estate on fifteen acres in East Brunswick, with its own chapel, its own ballroom, and a grand staircase that has probably appeared in more first looks than any other staircase in the state. Couples find it and then stop looking.

Caitlin Hale and Angelo Massagli got married there on 4 January 2025. If those names are familiar, it is because they met as children on the set of School of Rock in 2003, she as Marta the backup singer and he as Frankie the band’s security guard. Twenty-two years later they married with nine of their former castmates in the room. The New York Times covered it. So did People, Fox and New Jersey Bride.

What I want to talk about is the wedding itself, because the celebrity reunion was the least interesting thing about it. This was a January wedding built almost entirely out of white flowers and candlelight, in a venue that still had its holiday decorations up, and it ended with a man making cannoli in the middle of the dance floor.

Two Auditions in Manhattan, Twenty-Two Years Apart

The story is better than the headline version. In 2003 the casting team for School of Rock was seeing children all over the country, and Caitlin and Angelo happened to be booked into back-to-back slots on the same day in the same Manhattan office. She went in first. She sang. He was waiting outside and heard her through the door.

They both got the film. She was eleven, he was ten. Filming in New York meant hot chocolate before call time, schoolwork and video games during downtime, snowball fights, trips to Madame Tussauds, and a group that ate hibachi at Benihana whenever they got the chance. The friendships held. There is a cast group chat that has been running for two decades.

In 2017 Caitlin posted into that chat asking whether anyone was living in Florida. She was doing a master’s in health care leadership at Nova Southeastern; Angelo was at law school in Miami. They met for lunch, took a selfie and sent it to their mothers, who had known each other from the months on set. By late 2018 they were together. They graduated in 2019, moved to Brooklyn, and in June 2023 Angelo proposed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, in the room that holds the Temple of Dendur.

Park Chateau was the first New Jersey venue they toured. They booked it.

Getting Ready

They got ready on site. This is one of the practical advantages of an estate venue and it changes the shape of the morning: nobody is driving anywhere, the dress is already where it needs to be, and the light in the suites is good enough that you are not fighting it.

Caitlin Hale wore a sleek strapless silk gown by Berta. Hair was Royal Brides by Senada, makeup by Glamour by Drita. Angelo wore black by Cad & The Dandy with Ferragamo shoes. She described the look she wanted as clean, modern and glamorous, and the flowers backed that up: white, structural, no color anywhere.

The First Look on the Grand Staircase

Park Chateau’s staircase is the reason a lot of couples book the place, and for a first look it does most of the work for you. Bespoke Floral had run white blooms and candles up the treads, which in January, with the holiday candlelight still in place, made the whole entrance hall glow.

Practical note if you are planning here in winter: the estate interiors carry the day. There is no pressure to get outside for portraits, which in early January is a genuine relief. We moved through the living room, the hallway and the library instead, and the black and white checkerboard floor in there is one of my favorite corners of any venue in New Jersey.

The Chapel

The chapel is what separates Park Chateau from most New Jersey estates. It sits on the property, so there is no travel between ceremony and reception, and it is bright white with tall arched windows down both sides. In summer it fills with green light off the grounds. In January it is cooler and cleaner, and with white flowers and candles down the aisle it reads almost like a winter garden.

Caitlin came in with her father, and Angelo Massagli was waiting at the altar of a chapel he had first seen on a venue tour two years earlier. Nine of the School of Rock cast were watching: Z Infante, Brian Falduto, Joey Gaydos, Rivkah Reyes, Robert Tsai, James Hosey, Maryam Hassan, Aleisha Allen and Cole Hawkins. So were a lot of their mothers, who had spent those months on set together back in 2003. Jack Black was invited and could not make it.

The Ballroom

Dinner was in the ballroom, which is the room people picture when they picture this venue: chandeliers, a deeply coffered ceiling, arched windows along the walls, and enough height that tall centerpieces do not crowd it. Bespoke Floral went with crystal candelabra and white arrangements, and Calandra’s Bakery made the cake. One hundred and fifty guests.

Studio 54 Never Closed

Angelo’s brief for the reception was that it should feel like Studio 54 never closed, and they staffed it accordingly. Raul Chiriboga of Elite Sound Entertainment ran the floor through disco, R&B, hip-hop and reggaeton. Arthur Crichlow III played saxophone through the crowd. Hannah Paints Events set up an easel and painted the couple live during their first dance, then spent the rest of the night sketching guests.

At one point Stevie Nicks came on. “Edge of Seventeen” plays during a scene in School of Rock, and Caitlin says the castmates recognized it instantly and went straight for the dance floor. It was the only nod to the film all night and it was a good one.

Then Nick D’Anna arrived. He runs Carrello di Cannoli, better known as the Cannoli Guy, and rather than setting up a dessert table he walks into the middle of the dancing and fills cannoli to order while the party continues around him. Later a Mobile Delights truck turned up outside with candy and McDonald’s. Caitlin put it plainly: they may not act any more, but you still have to put on a show.

The other detail worth recording is footwear. Caitlin wore Jimmy Choo for the ceremony and changed into thigh-high sheer bedazzled Berta boots for the reception. She had three separate fittings for the boots, which she says made them more high maintenance than the dress.

The Cast Reunion

I have photographed reunions before. Usually it is a college group, or a family that has not been in one room since a funeral. This was different, because the people in that chapel had been children together on a film set and had then watched each other grow up at a distance, mostly through a group chat.

Nine of Caitlin Hale and Angelo Massagli’s former castmates came: Z Infante, Brian Falduto, Joey Gaydos, Rivkah Reyes, Robert Tsai, James Hosey, Maryam Hassan, Aleisha Allen and Cole Hawkins. Between them they played most of the band. Several of their mothers came too, which Angelo pointed out was the part people miss. The kids were on set for months, and the mothers were there the entire time, sitting through the same long days. That group formed its own friendships in 2003 and this was the first time many of them had been together since.

From behind a camera you notice it in the small moments rather than the posed group shot. People checking each other’s faces for what has changed. A lot of laughing that arrives faster than it would between strangers. The group photograph everyone wanted was taken late, after several hours of drinking, and it is better for it.

Jack Black was invited. He could not make it, which I suspect is the first question anyone asks them.

A Note on the Press Coverage

The wedding was covered by The New York Times, People, Fox and New Jersey Bride, among others. I mention it for one practical reason: if you found this page by searching either of their names, the coverage is why, and the photographs here are the full set rather than the handful each outlet ran.

If you are a couple weighing up whether a press-covered wedding means a different kind of day, it does not. Nobody was managing publicity. There was no photo line and no publicist. It was a hundred and fifty people at a January wedding in New Jersey, and the fact that some of the guests had been in a Jack Black film twenty-two years earlier only really surfaced when Stevie Nicks came on.

Why Couples Keep Choosing This Venue

Having shot at a lot of New Jersey estates, the thing that separates Park Chateau is not any single room. It is that the whole day fits inside one property without ever feeling like you are reusing the same backdrop. Bridal suites upstairs, staircase and hallway for the first look, library and living room for portraits, chapel for the ceremony, cocktail space, then the ballroom. Six or seven properly distinct environments, no travel, no shuttle timing to negotiate.

It also means the day can absorb a delay. Weddings run late. They always have. At a venue where the ceremony is across town from the reception, thirty minutes lost in the morning becomes an hour lost by dinner. Here it stays contained.

The other thing is that the estate photographs consistently in every season, which is not true of most venues that lead with their gardens. If you are looking at a January or February date and worrying that you are getting a diminished version of the place, look at these frames and decide for yourself.

What I’d Tell You About Photographing Park Chateau

Notes from shooting here more than once.

Everything is under one roof

Chapel, ballroom, cocktail space, bridal suites and grounds all sit on the same fifteen acres. No travel between ceremony and reception, no shuttle, no weather gamble on getting from one building to another. For a winter wedding that matters more than people expect, and it buys back an hour of your timeline.

It is a strong winter venue

Most estate venues sell themselves on gardens, which means January couples feel like they are getting the lesser version. That is not the case here. The interiors carry the whole day, the chapel is bright even under gray sky, and if you marry in early January the venue may still have its holiday candlelight and greenery up, which is free production value nobody planned for.

The staircase is the shot, so book time for it

It is the most photographed feature of the property and it deserves fifteen unhurried minutes rather than five rushed ones. It also works best dressed, so talk to your florist about it early. Bespoke Floral ran flowers and candles up the treads for this wedding and it transformed the frame.

Catering is in-house, which simplifies things

The venue has run its own kitchen for over thirty years and food is part of what they sell rather than something you bring in. Practically, that means fewer vendors to coordinate and a team that already knows the room.

The chapel is bright, so plan the ceremony light

Tall windows on both sides mean a lot of daylight and real contrast on a sunny day. It is beautiful and it is directional, so if you have flexibility on ceremony time it is worth asking what the room does at your hour rather than assuming.

Park Chateau Wedding FAQs

How much does a wedding at Park Chateau cost?

Park Chateau does not publish a rate card, and I would treat any specific figure you find online with suspicion. Venues at this level price by date, season, guest count and package rather than from a list, and they do not quote every couple the same way. What is dependable is the structure: catering is in-house and forms the bulk of the number, the day of the week and the season move it substantially, and Saturdays in peak season sit at the top. Book a tour and get a written quote for your own date. That is the only figure worth planning against.

Where is Park Chateau Estate and Gardens?

678 Cranbury Road, East Brunswick, New Jersey 08816, on fifteen acres roughly midway between Manhattan and Philadelphia. I spell it out because at least one national news outlet reported this wedding as taking place in East Rutherford, which is a different town about forty miles north. East Brunswick is correct.

Does Park Chateau have its own chapel?

Yes. There is a chapel on the estate, which is unusual for a New Jersey venue and means your ceremony and reception happen in the same place with no travel in between. Caitlin and Angelo married in it. The venue also offers outdoor ceremony space in the gardens for warmer months.

Is Park Chateau good for a winter wedding?

Yes, and it is underrated for it. The chapel, ballroom, grand staircase, living room and library all photograph well without any reliance on the grounds, so a January wedding does not feel like a compromised version of a June one. Early January has a specific bonus: the holiday decor may still be installed.

Is there a hotel on site?

The Chateau Grande Hotel is on the property and was one of the reasons this couple booked. For a guest list traveling in, having rooms and the reception in the same place removes the late-night transport problem entirely.

What does a wedding at Park Chateau actually look like?

Every photograph in this post is from one January wedding there, covering the bridal suites, the grand staircase first look, portraits through the estate interiors, the chapel ceremony, and the ballroom through to the cannoli cart. It is one couple’s version of the venue rather than a highlight reel from many, which I think is more useful when you are trying to picture your own day.

Vendors

Venue: Park Château Estate & Gardens, East Brunswick NJ · @parkchateau
Photography: Julian Ribinik Studios · @julianribinikstudios
Planning: Christie Napurano of The Wedding Plan & Company · @theweddingplanandcompany
Florals and decor: Bespoke Floral · @bespokefloralinc
DJ: Raul Chiriboga of Elite Sound Entertainment · @elitesoundent
Saxophone: Arthur Crichlow III of Sax Man Art · @saxmanart
Live painting: Hannah Paints Events · @hannahpaintsevents
Cake: Calandra’s Bakery · @calandrasbakery
Cannoli: Nick D’Anna of Carrello di Cannoli · @carrellodicannoli
Late night truck: Mobile Delights
Hair: Royal Brides by Senada · @senadakxo
Makeup: Glamour by Drita · @glamourbydrita
Gown and reception boots: Berta · @berta
Ceremony shoes: Jimmy Choo
Groom’s suit: Cad & The Dandy · @cadandthedandy_nyc
Groom’s shoes: Ferragamo
Hotel: Chateau Grande Hotel

Caitlin Hale and Angelo Massagli’s Park Chateau wedding was also featured in New Jersey Bride and covered by The New York Times.

Planning your own celebration here? Start with my full Park Chateau wedding venue guide, browse more of my NYC and New Jersey wedding photography, or see the rest of my favorite New Jersey wedding venues. I would love to hear about your day.