Our Perfect Day

Before I start posting pictures of our wedding, I wanted to give a little background on how it came to be...

Growing up, I always said that I would elope; I never wanted the big wedding, I never dreamed of it or dressed up as a bride when I was a kid. A big wedding was so far from my thoughts and truly, any wedding was far from my thoughts. I bought nice furniture when I was 21 because I figured that it would be a permanent part of my "bachelorette pad" for the next 10 years...little did I know that God had other plans :)

Then girl meets boy, at a destination wedding, and because of the small, intimate wedding, we got to spend a lot of time together.

Fast forward to September 13th, 2008, Clint proposed! I immediately bought every wedding magazine on stands and started planning.

It can be overwhelming; big wedding, church wedding, destination wedding or home town wedding. I started planning this big soiree, adding to a guest list that kept growing. We kept wondering how were we going to pay for this, how would this turn out and how could we please everyone from our outgoing friends to our Baptist families. Then I saw pictures of a friend's destination wedding on Facebook, with about 25 people in attendance, and I thought, "I want that..."

Ha, duh!! How did I let myself get so off track from what I had always wanted!? In the background, I had my best friend whispering 'New York wedding' and with mine and Clint's history in New York, it sounded perfect! I bought the New York Magazine's Wedding edition and started from scratch.

I didn't like working with "wedding vendors" who had their own ideas, I didn't like anything that was stereotypical wedding. I am an outside-of-the-box person with a mind of her own and that is how I approached this event. Clint and I truly march to the beat of our own drum and our wedding needed to reflect our unique personalities and lives.

Starting off, I searched for venues that were not usually tied to weddings; things like restaurants, high-rise lofts and museums. Fig & Olive Wine Bar was a "light-bulb" moment as I made a list of what I wanted at a venue: good food that didn't require a caterer, beautiful decor and a modern atmosphere, and affordability. Micki, Clint and I had a small engagement celebration at Fig & Olive when we visited New York in January 2009 and it was such a perfect place. The upstairs could be made private, there were huge windows that opened to the night air and the most unique, modern setting for a top tier wine bar...just breath taking. Done. They serve amazing food and wines, all within our little, tiny budget.

Next, I had to figure out where the ceremony would take place. I didn't want a church wedding in New York. Neither of us had any ties to a church there and it just wouldn't feel right to be a stranger to the church so I began looking for something unique and very New York. I don't know how I stumbled upon it or what lead me to it, but I began browsing the Central Park website. Clint and I had walked Central Park during every visit to the city and it is just amazing. I figured out that for a $25 application fee, I could get a temporary events permit and pick a spot in the park to hold our ceremony...$25 and we get to pick the spot, in that huge park! I cannot tell you how ecstatic I was to figure this out!! It took some research and a few conversation with NYC Parks Department but we picked Cop Cot, a fantastic, rustic gazebo tucked away in the south end of the park. I'm getting excited just writing about it! It was beautiful, it looked amazing, and I could not have found that perfect of a ceremony site anywhere else. You can imagine my excitement to just get the permit in the mail; Clint and I were in love with this spot and it turned out to be even more amazing than we could have dreamed.

After that, the big stuff was taken care of, ceremony site and venue, the rest were just details.

We aren't big on sweets, so an expensive wedding cake just did not fit out taste. We wanted to stick to the unique, New York feel of our wedding. For the wedding cake, I ordered a pumpkin spice, fall themed cake from Dean & Deluca; this is a high-end grocery store that is New York famous; watch the Today Show and there is one in the background. Then for the groom's cake, nothing could be more perfect than a massive cheesecake from the one and only Carnegie Deli, name after the famous Carnegie Hall. Clint and I even shared a piece of this cheesecake during my first visit to New York. Of course, the cake topper had to be a NYC yellow cab, so I bought a toy cab, added some personalized touches and had the perfect cake topper.

My shoes were purple, my sister did my hair and make-up (she's amazing) and we made my bouquet the day-of; my bridesmaid, Kacie, brought ribbon and, also on the wedding day, we put together the bridesmaids' bouquets of dried lavender. The boys wore dress shirts, ties and sweaters, and there were no boutonnieres. It rained but that just added to the beauty of New York and we were prepared with white umbrellas for everyone. About 35 people attended, all of which we were able to talk to, spend time with and enjoy the week before the wedding and during. We fought to find cabs and got split up a lot but it was all part of the New York experience.

Clint and I had our dream wedding, a perfect day where we were able to see our friends but also hold hands almost the entire night. We had our wedding in a city that is so important and special to us, as a couple; we got to do things our way and we truly loved every moment. Not one regret, not one disaster, just a small wedding that was uniquely ours.

P.S. The amazing violinist from the ceremony...Clint found him playing in the Subway; I love this city!