Wedding day!

Well, we did it! Sunday 18th September at 4.00pm in Red Hook, Brooklyn, New York. We had a great day, a fantastic week in New York afterwards and are very happy to be married. I'd starting writing approximately a million words about the day but have decided to let the pictures do the talking instead.

We decided to get married on a pier we found in Red Hook. It seemed really peaceful and it appealed to both of us to get married surrounded by water. Relaxing and pretty. And it had a great view of the Statue of Liberty! This is us watching the sunset from the pier the evening before the big day.



We'd rented an apartment in Red Hook through airbnb. I can't recommend it enough, I'll do a separate post on it. A huge converted loft space, it was perfect. This is us having pre-wedding mimosas, I'm just about to send Tom on his way to wait for me and meet the guests so I can get ready with my friend Jenny.



This is me practising my poses!



Meanwhile Tom is waiting anxiously at the pier.



After a sunny walk through Red Hook with Jenny, here I am! We'd made bunting out of some old typed library cards we found in the street, to try and seal off the end of the pier - it worked!



Aw, poor Tom must have been sweating at this point.



Excited!



During the ceremony. My friend Jenny was able to marry us, as she is licensed to perform weddings in New York. It was awesome to have a friend do the ceremony, she read a Dorothy Parker poem from a book I'd given her before she moved to New York.*





We'd also asked a musician, Andrew Lamb, if he would play for us. He played as I walked up the pier and as soon as we'd finished our vows. I'd seen him play the year previously at a jazz festival in NYC and he bent over backwards to come and play. It really made the day.





Job done! It went really quickly, was slightly dream-like and I couldn't remember the long sentences I needed to repeat. We frolicked around on the pier for a while. We made bellinis from ingredients we'd hidden in ice over the edge of the pier and threw the confetti both of our mothers had given us.



Cutting the cake I'd brought over from Betty's!

My friend, the wonderful Gypsy Rose Flowers made me this silk bouquet to take. It had a vintage lucky black cat brooch on the stem. She made Tom's buttonhole as well. Thank goodness she thought of it and insisted, I wasn't going to bother with flowers, can you imagine? 

The back of the dress, which I loved. It was from Sandro, it was the third dress I bought. Seeing the photos, I thought I looked like a 30-something Catholic schoolchild going for my first holy communion. Despite my mother lending me all of her best jewels for my 'something borrowed' I wore a gold locket I found for £1.50 in a charity shop in Whitstable. So I guess that was my something old. And I did wear my mum's pearl drop earrings and put a lucky sixpence in my shoe. And I had a something blue, but I can't tell you what that was.

Posing for pictures. The two guests are my friend Mike, who lives in NYC, and his wife Cristina. It was awesome to have a small wedding for many reasons but we did miss our family and friends hugely on the day.

Andrew and his wife Madaha leaving. They were such lovely people. I wish I could show you their stunning wedding rings, which Andrew designed.



Then off to a sweet neighbourhood bar to sign the papers. We had a cocktail here...

...then all went off to a cosy local place called Fort Defiance for more drinks and dinner. I had a scallop, corn and potato broth followed by peach pie. The perfect meal to end the perfect day. 

I'll post more pictures of our trip over the next week!

*I'm going to do a separate post about the practicalities of getting married in NYC. Jenny is available for hire to perform wedding ceremonies and I can't recommend her enough, plus it means you get to be completely flexible about your time and location. It was fantastic being able to choose exactly when and where we wanted to do it!