Florida Panthers NHL player Carter Verhaeghe marries model Casey Engleson in Palm Beach (exclusive)

NHL player Carter Verhaeghe of the Florida Panthers and model Casey Engleson got married!

The couple tied the knot on Saturday, July 27, at the Four Seasons in Palm Beach – a place that has special significance in the couple’s love story.

“When we first started dating, we would drive up A1A (the scenic beach road in South Florida) to Palm Beach and loved it,” Engleson, a former Elite Management model, tells PEOPLE. “It was always one of our favorite places. Getting married there brought back the best memories from when we first started dating.”

Those first days of dating began in 2021. Two years later, on August 4, 2023, Verhaeghe popped the question in St. Lucia.

Engleson called the wedding “a perfect day” and said her and Verhaeghe’s vision was simple: “We really wanted a weekend that was all about spending time with the people we love most.”

The festivities began with “an unplanned beach day with our guests, followed by a rehearsal dinner at the legendary Renato’s restaurant in Palm Beach.”

“Then we took our bridal party and families in a trolley back to the hotel for our welcome party, where we had a cigar bar with custom C+C cigar labels and an ice cream truck,” says Engleson.

The wedding day started in a similar way: guests as well as the bride and groom participated in a pickleball tournament and there was a coffee and mimosa bar.

The ceremony itself – planned by the couple and wedding planner 59 and Bluebell – was chic and intimate, with “lush, one-of-a-kind florals, dark green velvet drapes, and unique green and gold table lamps,” says Engleson, adding, “Our planner Katie Arobogast and florist Ellie Lewis of Ellie’s Garden did a really amazing job.”

Guests were greeted with champagne upon arrival at the outdoor ceremony, where Engleson walked down the aisle in a high-necked A-line lace gown by Pronovias Atelier—inspired by Grace Kelly’s wedding dress—as a string quartet played Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah.”

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The chic atmosphere continued at the reception, where 130 guests enjoyed a plated meal of roasted cauliflower salad with brûlée goat cheese, braised short ribs, Chilean sea bass and mushroom pasta.

The couple entered the reception in style, marching into the party to Verhaeghe’s goal song “Turn my Swag On” by Soulja Boy.

For her second look, Engleson donned a V-neck mermaid wedding dress made of embroidered tulle with a corset bodice with floral lace underlay and a hidden side slit. “I really wanted something unique and fun for my second look,” she says of the Berta Privée gown.

The party went on into the wee hours, and waiters handed out espresso martini shots at midnight to keep the festivities going. “We also had a lot of fun with the late-night snacks passed around the dance floor – chicken quesadillas, smash burgers and bags of chips,” says Engleson.

A five-tiered vanilla cake with dark chocolate mousse, fresh raspberries and chocolate-covered strawberries rounded off the evening on a sweet note.

“The wedding was a dream come true! It was a perfect day,” adds Engleson. “From pickleball in the morning with all of our close family and friends to our beautiful outdoor ceremony at sunset, the wedding was better than we could have ever imagined.”