NYC I Do

---

What was going to just be a long weekend in New York City 6 weeks beforehand turned into Scott and I getting married! One sunny Sunday afternoon in Bermondsey Square over a glass of wine we both decided to get married in NYC. After reading through someone’s blog called ‘101 to getting married in New York City’, sorting the hotel, dinner reservations, dress/suit/shoes and rings, plus filling out an online application form we were set ... and no one but us knew what we were up to.

Scott was over in the city for work, so on the Wed evening I headed to Heathrow with our wedding attire and the rings. It was a long flight so I arrived in the pouring rain a little tired, having not slept. Even with the low cloud the ride into the city from JFK is awesome; the city appearing in front of you, the sparkling lights of the Chrysler, the Empire State and down town the new Freedom Tower is starting to make an appearance on the skyline. Scott was in a lovely hotel called the Mondrian right in the heart of Soho with a great view uptown (although the Empire State was covered in low mist/rain clouds) and across to where we were soon moving to – Trump SoHo. The following morning we headed off to City Hall to get our marriage licence; it was rather a quick process. When you walk in the first thing you must do is go to a counter where you get a ticket; licence, marriage, records. So you get given a number and take seat on one of the couches and wait for your number to be called. A little like the Argos experience! Within 20mins we had paid our $35 and we had our licence, then there’s a 24hr ‘cooling-off’ period before you can get married. So Scott went off to work and I went site-seeing. First stop was to get some tickets to visit the newly opened 9/11 Memorial and have a look at the Occupy Wall Street protesters. I then headed down to Battery Park for a New York pretzel and to take in the statue of Liberty. This was actually the first thing I ever did when I visited the city back in 2000, the second thing was to go up the Twin Towers. I then headed up to Time Square and of course hit the shops before getting my nails done in the spa near Scott’s old flat on 7th. I met Scott after work and we headed to the Memorial. It is absolutely amazing; the water monuments are so peaceful, graceful yet enormous. The site itself is huge and the two monuments are in the original foundations of the towers. They have also kept the iconic rusty twisted piece of steel in a large case as stark reminder of the destruction. That evening we headed to a few of our local haunts and favourite restaurant up in the Meatpacking called Fatty Crabs.

Friday 14th December 2011 - the day arrived with overcast skies as predicted, but the day itself weather wise didn’t matter. But we sure were lucky with the breaks in the rain and caught the only sunshine during the day when it mattered for some photo’s. After a quick run around at the gym we headed out to brunch at Balthazer, an extremely popular place in Soho ... it was packed. After toasting our day with a champagne cocktail I was off to the Seaport area near Brooklyn Bridge to Pepper Pastor Salon. It was Pepper herself who did my hair and lovely makeup, it was really exciting and she was great. Then I was soon whizzing back to the hotel to jump into my green frock and sparkly shoes. Scott had himself ready in a smart charcoal suit. We were a little early as our witness Jack (Scott’s friend from work) was running a little late from a meeting. So after checking out we had a glass of bubbles in the bar then we were off on foot to City Hall. For those that have seen my shoes, yes I took flats with me so I was changing between shoes all day. No way I would have lasted the day in those heels!

As luck would have it Jack just arrived from work just as we strolled up to the steps of City Hall. So we jumped in queue to grab our number, C765. The place was packed and there was all sorts; full wedding parties, people in jeans, a women dressed in stunning wedding dresses and some not so stunning, bridesmaids mostly dressed like they were about to go clubbing Jersey Shore style, and of course there were lots of couples like us. So the first step was going to the counter, filling out another form and signing, plus paying $25. Then the wait really started it must have been around 40mins or so before C765 flashed up when Jack quietly said ‘going to the chapel and going to get married’, which was highly amusing. Next step was to wait by the chapel waiting to be called, by name this time ‘Cameron / Hartshorne’. I think this is the point we both become very nervous. We were led into the East Chapel by our officiate Alisa. Before I had time to put my coat and bag down Scott was being told where to stand and soon I was up there after placing our wedding bands on the little podium. Jack turned from witness to official photographer. Before we knew what was happening the ceremony had started. No one there objected to the marriage, we both said ‘I do’ to loving, cherishing in sickness and in heath, for richer or for poorer. Then it was ring time and lucky after a bit of turning we both managed to get each others on. That was that. We were married in New York City ... Mr & Mrs Cameron!

Next we had to do a little admin and get paper work completed so that I can change my name in UK/NZ. As we stepped outside the sun was shining and we managed to get a few photos on City Hall steps, in a marked ‘wedding grove’ near the Supreme Court (which was across the road) before heading into the Court for our first administrative step. After thanking Jack he headed back down to Wall Street and work, and we headed off to the New York State Department for the final step. We then jumped on the subway and headed up to Time Square, we managed only a few photos before it absolutely tipped it down. Time Square cleared out in a matter of seconds! As it happened we were right next to the W-Hotel so we raced in and up to the bar to order up a couple of dirty martinis and called up our families. Our parents and sisters where all absolutely awesome and over the moon with happiness for us, it was great. As soon as we had called both families it is like it all become really real and the shock of it all went away and we both started laughing ... fun, fun, fun. We did certainly manage to surprise family and friends a like! Luckily it had cleared slightly to take some more photos before our mission started to get to the Trump SoHo. Due to the rain the cabs were all in service and the traffic was jammed right the way through the square. So we jumped back on the subway and walked back to the hotel and picked up our bags, the bell boy told us there was no way they could get us a cab as it was raining and change over, so most cabs were heading back to base. Rather than waste time messing about we headed off in the rain under umbrellas about 8 blocks to the Trump. The traffic was grid locked and we passed an ambulance. The hotel knew we were getting married so they upgraded us to a huge room on the 39th floor and had bubbles plus chocolate strawberries waiting for us. The view up town to the Empire State was fantastic we could see straight up the red atory of 6th avenue. That evening we had dinner at a NZ owned placed called Public, so there was a little bit of home in our day. For us it was a perfect New York day and wedding.

The rest of the weekend was spent doing touristy things and catching up with friends. We headed to the newly opened High Line. It is a park built on the old raised train line up the Westside from the meatpacking to 30th Street, we then strolled through Scott’s old neighbourhood and hit Broadway for a little bit of shopping. On returning to the hotel late afternoon whist asking for a power converter we got offered a glass of bubbles so we enjoyed that in the hotel lobby watching the coming and going of the residents. That evening we met up with some friends for drinks, moving around a number of different spots in the Village, Meatpacking, Soho, and ending up in a Karaoke Bar in the East Village where Scott did sing a few numbers. On Sunday we woke up feeling a little ropey but the All Black win and a stroll in the fresh air up to Union Square to the Coffee Shop for brunch made us feel a little better. Could also have been the fantastic Bloody Mary’s they serve as well! After strolling past the Flatiron building we jumped on the subway up to Central Park and lay on The Sheep Meadow soaking in the rays before having a late lunch in Soho and heading to the airport.

There you go. That was a long weekend that turned into something very special for us and our families.
Photos
Wedding only Photos

---