Clayton couple who missed own wedding reception get a do-over

Tammy Paolino
The Courier-Post

 

Victoria and Dominic Tumolo share a private moment during their wedding reception in September. The fun was curtailed when Victoria had an allergic reaction after dinner.

Engaged couples share plenty of hopes for their wedding day.

The day will dawn sunny, beloved guests will fill the seats, the ceremony will go smoothly … and the reception will be a party of a lifetime.

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A toast. A first dance. A hundred Instagram-able moments.

What they do not envision is an massive allergic reaction, a race for an EpiPen and an ambulance drive to the nearest hospital – for the bride!

Yet that is the way it went down on Sept. 16 for Victoria and Dominic Tumolo of Clayton, who were waltzing their way across the dance floor to visit every table of guests just as the meal was coming to an end at Auletto’s Caterers in Deptford.

As Victoria (Peacock) Tumolo recalls, “We got married at St. Mary’s (Our Lady of Peace) in Williamstown, headed over for our reception and everything was going smoothly and it was a really good day. After the cocktail hour, we ate dinner and then we went to greet all of our guests. We were finally able to dance with each other and dance with our bridal party. And then I felt my throat start to close. I started to break out in hives. This had happened to me twice before that, so I knew I was having an allergic reaction.’’

Victoria left the dance floor quickly, grabbed her new husband Dominic, mom and dad and rushed to an outdoor deck.

“I was starting to have trouble breathing and we had to grab my EpiPen and my dad had to give it to me through my wedding dress,’’ she recalls. “I had to take my dress off outside so they wouldn’t cut it off me when we got to the hospital.’’

“Her mom and I got to take her wedding dress off together,’’ says Dominic, who grew up in Washington Township. "Not exactly what I was imagining for our wedding night … ’’

Victoria and Dominic Tumolo of Clayton share a dance at their wedding reception. The couple is being given a free do-over after their September reception was cut short when Victoria took ill.

Victoria, who is originally from Williamstown, has since learned she is allergic to milk and almonds, and that the symptoms manifest after exercise (in this case, dancing), a medical condition called exercise-induced anaphylaxis.

The bride had been going through a series of allergy panels but had not yet gotten the medical verdict on what she was allergic to, she says.

“I actually had just gotten back from the allergist,’’ says Victoria, a nurse who works in geriatric care. “I’ve had several skin tests just to rule everything else out. So, now I have to start switching my diet, which is going to be interesting.’’

At Inspira Medical Center in Woodbury, Victoria says “the doctor was awesome’’ and she was treated and released, but the couple missed the rest of their reception.

“It’s funny,’’ remembers Victoria, “because our DJ (Sam Catrambone of Center Stage Entertainment) was really awesome, and so was Mr. (Jim) Auletto. I wanted everyone to stay and have a good time. There was a lot of confusion, and some people knew what was going on. My bridesmaids were crying for about an hour. And someone else cut our cake.’’

Adds Dominic, “The DJ didn’t make it into a big scene, so everyone kept partying, which was awesome.’’

The newlyweds were able to go on their honeymoon to Aruba as scheduled, although Victoria admits she ate a very bland diet just to be safe.

“We had a great time, but hanging out in our hotel room talking to Dom, I was feeling a little sorry for myself, too. We were talking about the reception and I got upset about it again.’’

Checking her email later, Victoria would discover the best wedding gift of all.

“Mr. Auletto had emailed me just to see how I was doing, which was so incredibly kind of him.’’

Adds Dom, “He and the DJ got together the night of the wedding, afterwards, and said ‘We’ve got to do something for them!' ’’

Something turned out to be a second chance at their wedding reception, courtesy of Auletto’s Caterers and Center Stage Entertainment, which is based in Lindenwold.

Shortly after their wedding ceremony, Victoria and Dominic Trumolo pose for photos on a bridge. The couple will get a free second wedding reception later this month, thanks to the generosity of Auletto's Caterers, Center Stage Entertainment and others.

Frank Catrambone of Williamstown is the owner of Center Stage and DJ Sam Catrambone’s father.

“On Sunday morning, Sam called me and said, 'You will never believe what happened!

“It just struck me, this poor girl. How can you walk away from your wedding reception and your wedding day? It broke my heart, so I called Jim Auletto, and said, 'You know Jim, if there is something we can do for this girl, whatever you want to do, I’m in.' ’’

On Nov. 26, the couple will have a second reception, complete with a cocktail hour, dinner, dancing and of course, that cake they never got to cut.

“We’ll do food, we’ll do booze, Sam will come back and do the party … to give her some better memories,’’ the elder Catrambone says. “There are people who have volunteered to do her hair and makeup, all for free. The photographer is also on board in coming back, and it’s all going to be gratis and hopefully give Victoria and Dom the wedding day that should have been.

“It’s going to be great and very exciting. In today’s world, the more people do in a positive way for each other, well there just isn’t enough of that going around. This is a good thing.’’

As for the happy couple, they are doubly grateful for a second chance at their big day, which they say at least 150 out of their 250 guests can attend.

Victoria’s family has a long history with Auletto's, as her grandfather used to work in the Navy Yard in Philadelphia and hosted their social events with the catering family. Since then, other family members have used Auletto’s for their weddings.

And it seems like fate that her new husband, a marine engineer with a defense contractor, also works there.

They are especially excited to cut their wedding cake.

“I’m thinking of cutting that cake and smashing it in her face,’’ says Dom, 25, with a chuckle. “We’ve been trash talking like that for a while.’’

Asked how they met, Victoria, who will celebrate her 26th birthday this weekend, says a mutual friend suggested they might like each other. She showed her a photo of Dom on Facebook, and the two began sharing occasional messages.

But Dom was in Greece for a semester abroad with the Merchant Marine Academy, and eventually they lost track of each other.

Until one day, Victoria was returning from a 5K for breast cancer in New York and thought she saw Dom, whom she had never met, in the middle of Penn Station. She quickly texted her friend, who texted Dom, who texted back, “Is she the one who keeps staring at me?’’

Like a romantic movie, the two started chatting and the rest is worthy of a perfect wedding day.

“We are so grateful, and we sure have a lot of stories to tell already,’’ says Dom.

“And we’re still pretty young.’’