Hop the subway to this NYC park wedding with a yellow dress

The Offbeat Bride: Julie, Graphic Designer

Her offbeat partner: Jon, Marketer

Date and location of wedding: Ladies’ Pavilion, Central Park, NYC — September 12, 2015

Our offbeat wedding at a glance:

It was small and quite low-key, but still bright, colorful, and a little formal. We met and fell in love in NYC. Ever since we found the Ladies’ Pavilion, while exploring Central Park many years ago, I knew I wanted to get married there. It’s a small corner in the park and we had only about 40 of our closest friends and family with us, which was actually a great size! Looking around and seeing the faces of those we love the most was just magic.

Also, my dress… I can’t even describe how much I adore that thing. I knew I wanted to get hitched in yellow (I love wearing bright colors). When I saw this specific dress online, I knew, beyond any doubt, that was the dress. I matched the taxis as we walked through traffic!

Tell us about the ceremony:

We kept it very simple and sweet. Making sure the ceremony was free of religious references was important to us, as was emphasizing the partnership we have as a couple. Jon was the one who really worked with our officiant, Aretha. We didn’t do any custom vows or declarations. I’m not much of a wordsmith and get so nervous when people are watching me. It took all of me just to be able to repeat after Aretha!

Jon still managed to get a little teary-eyed. We kept the exchanging of the rings, which Jon handmade from 1942 (Hitchhiker’s Guide reference) coins. It was threatening to rain almost the entire day, but managed to hold out just long enough for us to get pictures of everybody.

Tell us about your reception:

The reception kicked off with a small group of us (the wedding party, few other friends and family) and our photographer venturing through the subway. Weekend service is tricky, but it all worked out, we had a blast, getting congrats from complete strangers.

The reception was at the Landmarc, at Columbus Circle. Once there, my dad was so cute and got very excited to announce us. Everything was pretty relaxed. We had a delicious buffet (no courses), a few toasts, cut the cake, and danced the rest of the evening away.

One of the few things I was picky about was the music, and the venue was nice enough to just let me plug in my iPod. We left amongst a sea of smiling faces, bubbles, and “All My Friends” by LCD Soundsystem.

What was your most important lesson learned?

The distance was quite difficult, with us in California and my parents in Georgia, but going back to NYC for this was what we knew we wanted. Thankfully, I have the best parents who helped with damn near everything. And thank goodness for the internet. My parents were also able to take a trip, earlier in the year to check out the reception venue and whatnot, since we couldn’t. Also, since it was a destination for pretty much everybody, that meant there were some people who weren’t able to make it. But, we got plenty digital love from those from afar, with so many sweet texts and social media comments.

Vendors

• Planner: Central Park Wedding and Events by Shoshana
• Photographer: Fotovolida
• Officiant: Aretha Gaskin
• Dress: Katie Ermilio
• Ceremony: Ladies’ Pavilion
• Reception: Landmarc at the Time Warner Center