Back to the future

I started work again yesterday.   It was a good day – minus the dropping my kid off to a place so that other people could watch him thing.   I miss NYC so much.   I don’t realize how much until I’m back there.

There are a zillion things to tell you about.   I guess I can start with the wedding and go through a little recap if that works.  Not sure who is still around reading but I’d like to have it written down somewhere. 

It was nearly a year ago.   That’s the craziest thing about it!!

Our wedding was held at Battery Gardens with a view of the Statue of Liberty as a backdrop.   We stayed at a nearby hotel with a lot of our family and friends.

The night before we had our rehearsal dinner at Stone Street Tavern.  We sat outside and had glorified pub food.   I loved our dinner.  It had a street fair type atmosphere.

The day of the wedding the weather was kind of  hot but not the oppressive heat that we are experiencing here at the moment.   I did almost faint at one point during our pictures but I gotta chalk at least some of that up to Ryan’s presence during the festivities.    Add to that the fact that I stubbed my toe so badly the day before I was 99.9% sure I broke it so my feet were killing me.

I have absolutely no complaints about our wedding whatsoever.  Everyone I loved was in the same room at the same time. 

Timing was tight so Dave and I chose to take pictures pre-ceremony.   In theory I would have wanted to wait but in hindsight this was a great idea.    I missed not a single moment of my cocktail hour or reception.   It was perfect.   Bob Krasner did our photos and was unobtrusive and caught every moment we wanted.   He did a mix of formal photos and candids and everything came out perfect!

Pardon the proofs.  We have done nothing about getting our whole album yet – so far we just have a few pictures framed.

 

Our ceremony was inside.  As an event planner I am cautious when it comes to outdoor events.   If we had the ceremony outside we would have had a) no sun cover b) no rain cover c) random people in Battery Park as witnesses.  I preferred to have a climate controlled private ceremony.    Our minister – Maureen - was amazing.   She surprised us with what she would say about us based on a few meetings and a questionnaire and she was spot on.    Lucy Wu did our flowers and again – she was fabulous.  She worked with my budget and talked me out of floral headpieces for the little ones telling me they were too expensive, too labor intensive and not worth the money.   J Crew headbands worked just fine.

 

Outdoor cocktails were next up.   I was shot down with my dream of a mashed potato bar but we had a shrimp and crab station and lots of passed hors d’oeuvres.   We had indoor and outdoor space and two bars serving our guests.  One of my biggest pet peeves is having to wait for a drink at a wedding.

 

Our cake was not cake at all.  Cupcakes from Butter Lane.

 

Again, Lucy did a great job on the table decor.   I wanted simple and I wanted hydrangeas and that is exactly what I got.  I did my own table numbers using cards I bought at Staples and a Sharpie.

We had one full ‘kids’ table and we made our own centerpiece for them.    There was also a Candy Bar.   Jen is still having nightmares about it and I don’t have a clear picture of it but I have been told people went back for seconds.

We also had a photo booth.   It was a HUGE hit.

 

 

 

Our dinner started with a salad with brie and Mandarian oranges.      Guests had a choice of Braised Beef – almost like short ribs with mashed potatoes or ginger crusted snapper.   Sorbet and cupcakes for dessert.

And then the party began.   Our DJ was AMAZING.   I had known about him for a few years as he played at an industry event I attended at Top of the Rock.   Seriously – if you are in NY you need to book Jason for any event.  He’s awesome and worth every penny.  And for those Real Housewives addicts like myself – he played at Kelsey Grammer’s NY wedding.   Sorry, Camille.   I didn’t want to do a bouquet toss but in the end I relented.   It made for a great picture so I’m glad I did!

 

There is not one moment from this day I would change.   Don’t get me wrong – I wanted certain details the way that I wanted them but learned really quickly not to stress about the small stuff.   Might be because I do this for a living but in the end, I think that’s the point of  having a wedding.     Having a big party to celebrate marrying the one you love.

And they lived happily ever after. :)