Winter Wonderland

 

 

 

Connecting all the pieces of your wedding day makes your statement about your wedding come alive.
Jennifer and Michael selected words for the runner that was positioned down the aisle...the first words that their guests saw.  The words were used again to introduce their vows.

A quote on love and marriage on their wedding program was part of the ceremony too.

The visual image of the blue and ice played into the introduction...the winter wedding the bride wanted.  Words, images, colors, and emotions all came together.

Mike and Jenn presented her daughter with a necklace during the ceremony...a symbolic gesture that their new marriage would also be a new family with the three of them building a life together.
To use a winter word:  Cool!

Julie Laudicina, Celebrant!

Three Sixty Degrees of Celebration

Yelena and Yury...it was on the door to the venue! 

At Tribeca 360, the venue space actually circles around 360 degrees...from ceremony space around to the cocktail hour space to the dining area and then the dancing.  There were views of New York from...well, 360 degrees.

Russian weddings often have the cocktail hour before the ceremony.  It has the effect of creating community and warm feelings to set the tone of the day.  That was certainly the case for Yelena and Yury's wedding.

Yelena and Yuri had their Master of Ceremonies introduce each member of the wedding party for the ceremony procession.  It was lighthearted and fun.  The readings and the vows were in Russian...the language close to the hearts of the bride and groom...and their parents.  Sharing a glass of wine after their vows signalled the beginning of their new marriage.

Ceremony Tip:  Yelena and Yury had time for a ceremony-walk-through on site the day of the wedding.  That's a wonderful idea to calm pre-ceremony jitters for them and members of the wedding party.  The flower girl got the ideas of what she would do...and she was simply the best ever!

Julie Laudicina, Celebrant!

Bis das der Tod uns Scheidet

They met on a train in Germany.  He helped with her luggage, and she began the conversation. When they got to Munich, he changed his plans and got on the train she was taking.  Eighteen months later he proposed and she said "Ja."

Now living in New York City, they planned a small and intimate ceremony in their new apartment.  Before they moved in, they invited their closest friends and their parents to come for their wedding.  With no furniture except a few chairs, there was plenty of room for everyone to mingle, sample the buffet luncheon, and drink champagne.

For the ceremony, I thought it was important for some of the ceremony to be in German.  So their friend read a poem by Rainer Maria Rilke, and they spoke their vows in German.  My high school German permitted me to pronounce a few phrases without embarrassing myself.

Because there were a small group of guests, the ancient wedding ritual of ring warming worked beautifully.  Everyone present held their rings and said a silent good wish for Caro and Felix.

Ceremony Tip:  The ceremony area was decorated with many candles.  It created charming an elegant and warm setting...but we had to watch that the bride's gown didn't get too close.  Remember that the staging of a ceremony takes more space than most people think.   It's a good idea to actually place stand-ins for the wedding party in the space and see just how much space is needed.  The usual problem is that the front row of seats are too close to the ceremonial space. For this ceremony, it worked out, but we were mindful during the entire ceremony of the nearby flames.

Julie Laudicina,Celebrant!

Above it All

Nanette and Michael planned a wedding that was appropriate for their situation.  They are not twenty-somethings.  She has a grown daughter.  Their fathers are no longer with them.  Their families included teenage nieces and nephews.  You get the picture.

But they had a beautiful, dramatic, traditional wedding ceremony...her brother escorted her into the ceremonial space.  His sister was his "Best Woman." 

Family members did the readings.  Nanny and Mike carefully chose their vows...quite meaningful words for this public declaration of their commitment.

They shared a glass of wine as newly weds.  And they ritually placed a bottle of wine in a box with a copy of their vows...to be opened on their first anniversary.

All of this was done with the backdrop of the view from Above, the new and stunning wedding space at The Hilton Garden Inn.  It was a gray day, but the room was filled with bright good cheer from family and friends as I declared Mike and Nanny to be husband and wife.

Julie Laudicina, Celebrant!

Unplugged Ceremony

Shanna and Russell had talked about how they wanted their ceremony to sound, but also how it would look.  Shanna recalled weddings that had folks wandering all over taking snapshots, cell phones and  ipads up in the air, people blocking the aisle during the procession...all negative images to her. 

So they asked that I announce at the outset of the ceremony that the bride and groom requested no photos be taken during the ceremony...not even the procession or the kiss.  They wanted their family and friends to "unplug" and be fully present for these important moments.  (Of course, their professional photographers captured the ceremony images from start to finish.)

Everyone honored Russell and Shanna's request.  Their wedding guests all watched and listened attentively to the ceremony.  It felt different and looked different even to me.  Less frenetic, less jumbled up, less moving around, less interference to get the perfect shot. 

I hope Shanna and Russell got positive feedback on this decision.  It was forward thinking and retro at the same time.

So I have no pictures of their ceremony.  But I have great images in my mind's eye of their happiness the moment they were declared husband and wife.

Oh, I did get a picture with them before the ceremony.  I hope this new marriage is picture-perfect!

 

 

Julie Laudicina, Celebrant!

Use "per se" in a Sentence About a Wedding

Here's the sentence:  It was an elegant, sophisticated, urban wedding on a Saturday evening in New York City's renowned restaurant Per Se.

 



 The bride and groom had attended a wedding I did last year on the garden terrace at Rockefeller Center, and they liked it enough to seek me out for their ceremony. 

Lisa and Jichao's ceremony had a theme of stars...linked to star-gazing which is one of their mutual hobbies.  The telling of their love story had several references to the stars as did their reading by Robert Browning.  May the stars always shine brightly for them in the years to come.

 

 

P.S.  The cocktail hour was wonderful...lived up to Per Se's reputation!

Promises to Keep

They have been together for ten years, and they have a three year old daughter...so it was finally time to get married.  Andy and Stacey invited about 25 of their close family and friends to come from the UK to NYC to get married here.  I took this picture as they all posed for a post-ceremony photograph.

Overlooking the East River and the Manhattan skyline during the ceremony, they made their promises...the ones they already made in their hearts.  This time they said their promises out loud and in public...for all to hear.

Like a civil ceremony in the UK, they signed their license during the ceremony.  For anyone coming here for a legal marriage, the NYC City Clerk's Office is at your service.  It takes about 30-60 minutes, depending on how many couples are there on the day you arrive.  Take advantage of the download option for the application...that will save some time.  Also know that there is a 24 hr. waiting period before you can use the license.  So take that into consideration when you make your travel plans.  (...and the City Clerk's Office is not open on weekends or holidays...)

 

Julie Laudicina,Celebrant!