Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Sometimes I'm Part of the Family



Last Friday evening, it was my pleasure and honor to unite Nick and Viktoria in marriage. The groom is the son of my husband's first cousin. The groom's grandmother is my husband's godmother. So there were hugs and kisses all around.
The ceremony and reeption took place in The Grand Palace (formerly Passage Palace) on 18th Avenue in the Bensonhurst neighborhood of Brooklyn. This formerly Italian area is filled with memories for my husband. It is where he grew up. In fact, it is where his mother and her brother, the groom's grandfather, grew up too.

Nick and Viktoria wanted their ceremony to be just right for them...not too formal, not too stuffy, not too tedious. The final draft of the ceremony script was OK'd by them, and I was ready to "stand and deliver."

Well, getting to a catering hall on a Friday evening in the summer is a traffic nightmare. Some of the guests were hopelessly tied up on the Belt Parkway, and the bridal party was stuck in traffice coming back from taking photographs on the Brooklyn Bridge. So the ceremony started about an hour late.

I quickly adjusted the words I was to say...deleting a reading, for example...because the guests were getting antsy. The role of the celebrant is to be flexible on the day of the wedding because you never know what will happen. There is hardly ever a ceremony that goes 100% according to plan.

The highlight of the ceremony for me was seeing the groom's brother come down the aisle escorting his grandmother. He is recovering from a terrible auto accident...and the entire family was bursting with joy that he was there...walking in with a big smile.

The picture of Nick and Viktoria above shows the part of the ceremony when they signed the legal documents...much like couples do in a civil ceremony in the Ukraine where Viktoria and her family are from.
So I toast Nick and Viktoria! May they join the numerous couples in the family whose marriages are long-lasting and filled with love...."in good times and in bad."

Sunday, July 27, 2008

Renewing Your Wedding Vows





Whether it is your first anniversary or your fiftieth...it is a wonderful moment to renew the promises you made on your wedding day.

Tony and Stephanie celebrated their first anniversary by coming from Florida to New York City. In addition to shopping and going to museums and shows, they took time on the exact date of their first anniversary to renew their vows.

They selected The Bow Bridge in Central Park for the location...it is romantic and there are wonderful cityscapes from all directions.

To personalize their ceremony, I used words from the Aerosmith song, "I Don't Want to Close My Eyes," which was the song for their first dance at their wedding reception last year..."Forever and ever." So their vow renewal ceremony was linked to their wedding day.

During the ceremony it seemed like people were all over the bridge...talking on cell phones right next to us, calming weary infants, and chattering in other languages. But for Tony and Stephanie...they were in a world by themselves...remembering their wedding day and the reasons they have pledged their love to each other for life.

My husband and I took some pictures of them. The crowds that had been so evident during their ceremony disappeared so it looks like The Bow Bridge was their private domain for just a few moments...a small gfit from New York City to these Floridian lovebirds!





























Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Central Park and Bon Jovi




Last Saturday Central Park was dominated by the activity surrounding the mega-event...the Bon Jovi concert on the Great Lawn.


I had a wedding on my schedule for the Bow Bridge...lovely couple from Australia. The Bow Bridge is not particularly close to the Great Lawn, and the concert was in the evening...no problem. Well, not so fast. The park above 72nd Street was declared a "frozen zone," and the Bow Bridge was in that zone. We needed a "Plan B."


So the savvy couple picked me up at 72nd Street in their limo...and we drove to an "unfrozen" section of the park - The Pond, just a short walk from the Fifth Avenue and 59th Street entrance. It was still crowded...but we found a bit of shade with a lovely bridge as the backdrop.


The handsome couple said their vows, I read greetings from their friends and family back home, and their friends took lots of pictures.


So the moral of this tale is that there will be things on your wedding day that are out of your control. The best thing to do is not let anything get in the way of your having the best day you can have. I take my hat off to Paul and Georgie...they went with the flow and enjoyed New York City as their destination wedding site.








Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Overlooking the New York Harbor



Eileen and Tom came all the way from Chicago to celebrate their wedding with family and friends on Staten Island. They worked with me "long distance" to make sure their ceremony included a reading they liked and the vows they wanted to say. They wanted just the right tone for their ceremony...not too serious...quite happy...and totally appropriate for their situation. From their smiles and verbal feedback, I think they had the ceremony that they wanted.

The South Fin Grill and it's adjacent venue, The Vanderbilt, overlooks the New York Harbor...and the gazebo on the boardwalk is a delightful place to "tie the knot." The staff there is attentive, efficient, and really interested in making your special day go well.