Monmouth County Couple Honor Late Dog With Design Business
MANALAPAN, NJ — It was the happiest day of Manalapan couple Mo Olivo-Fromm and Adam Fromm’s lives when they were met with unexpected tragedy.
Adam Fromm, a long-time Manalapan resident of over 30 years, met Mo Olivo and adopted their dog Rocco together during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Over the next 3.5 years, the couple raised Rocco alongside his two doggie brothers (Tyson and Loki), but on the morning of their February wedding, Rocco unexpectedly passed away.
“It was a really tough day,” Mo Olivo-Fromm told Patch. “Beautiful, but really, really tough all the same.”
Following the couple’s wedding, the Fromms found themselves looking for a way to honor Rocco's legacy. For Olivo-Fromm, she looked to creativity, and found herself leaning into her art and hobbies more and more.
One of those hobbies? Designing custom mirrors.
“It started off with me using the mirror I used for my wedding,” Olivo-Fromm said. “And I started with that one mirror and now I have like, 30 different ones.”
As Olivo-Fromm continued to craft more and more custom mirrors, the couple decided to turn their artwork into a business — Rocco’s Wedding Designs.
"It's a way that we carry on his legacy," Olivo-Fromm said. "And in a way, crafting all these mirrors for beautiful brides, for baby showers, for sweet sixteens...it's like having an outlet to pour that love that we still have for Rocco into art, and helping others celebrate their own special days."
With Rocco's Wedding Designs, the couple offers special event signage including seating charts, welcome signs, signature drink signs, favors signs and more.
As a Manalapan native, Olivo-Fromm said her husband's connections to the local community have helped their business feel right at home.
"He's been in Manalapan for years — even graduated from high school here," Olivo-Fromm said. "And we've been living here together for about three years, so it's been great getting to know the area more and working with the community."
Before starting Rocco's Wedding Designs, the Fromm family got to know the inspiration behind the business — Rocco himself.
According to Olivo-Fromm, Rocco was adopted from Rescue Dogs Rock NYC, a non-profit animal rescue founded in 2015. Though Rocco did end up going home with the Fromm family, the couple said they originally found him through Rocco’s brother, Loki.
“At the time, I already had my 14-year-old dog, Tyson, and my husband and I were like ‘we should get Tyson a brother,’” Olivo-Fromm said. “And that’s when we came across Loki’s profile.”
When the couple moved to adopt Loki, Olivo-Fromm said the rescue organization introduced them to Loki’s brother, Rocco. The brothers were closely bonded, and the Fromms fell in love with both dogs instantly.
“They said Loki needed Rocco because he really depended on him,” Olivo-Fromm said. “And that’s really what Rocco was for our family. He was a little guy, but he had a big presence — he was the protector of the family.”
Now, Rocco’s love for the Fromms and the family’s love for him have come together in Rocco’s Wedding Designs.
For Olivo-Fromm, running the business has not only helped preserve memories of Rocco, but has allowed her to celebrate and bring love to others on their special day – just like Rocco did for her and her husband.
“Truly the best part is that Rocco’s legacy gets to live on through all of these people’s special moments,” Olivo-Fromm said. “Every time I bring a mirror or a sign or whatever it is, it’s like a piece of him is present there, and I know it’s going to be a great day.”
To learn more about Rocco’s Wedding Designs, you can visit their Instagram page.
Monmouth County Couple Honor Late Dog With Design Business originally appeared on the Manalapan Patch
