It goes without saying that I love love stories. I simply can’t get enough. So when I see a love story like this couples’ turn into a wedding that makes me swoon, I feel like two of my favorite things in the world collided. And the result is beautiful. Captured by Leo Timoshuk Photography and overflowing with blooms by Splendid Stems so pretty I could cry – this gallery is couldn’t be more lovely if it tried.
From the Bride…Jason and I met through mutual friends, Jess and Josh. Jess was excited for a casual day time first date with Josh at a local favorite bar, Floyd, in Brooklyn. Josh decided he would bring a friend who had just recently moved to NYC, and so to save Jess from having to fend of two boys all on her own, I agreed to join them. Jason turned out to be the friend. Jason and Josh had agreed to a friendly bocce ball tournament (Floyd has a bocce court right inside), and so Jason, ever the competitor, came dressed in something resembling a costume. It was at first hard to see past the funny looking sneakers, wristtbands and size XXXL jersey – but I’m glad I did. Jess and Josh – now happily married – were flirting up a storm, and Jason and I started to do some flirting of our own. What was supposed to be a short daytime game of bocce turned into dinner down the street, a second double date the following week, and no turning back from there (for both couples!).
The week of hurricane Sandy, while I was weathering the storm, displaced from our apartment in Brooklyn which is only one block from the water in Dumbo. Lucky for him, Jason was in sunny California for the week for work, sending me text messages of palm trees and rooftop cocktails. I’d lost power and had to head up the hill to camp out at the apartment of our very generous friends. I was relieved when Jason made it home a few days after the storm, but I was particularly confused – and maybe even a little frustrated – when he insisted that the next day he make his way into Manhattan for work. This made no sense at all. It was a huge challenge to even get into Manhattan. First, because of the gas shortages, you had to find enough people for a carpool, or the police wouldn’t allow you onto the island. And even if you made it, Manhattan was a ghost town. Almost none of the buildings had power, cabs were non-existent, and none of the subways were running. But undeterred, Jason found a few adventurous friends to carpool with and made his way into Manhattan. The next day was Saturday and Jason suggested we go to Ted and Honey, a little cafe near my old apartment where used to go every weekend for brunch. We walked into my old neighborhood and had a lazy brunch together, just like old times. Ted and Honey sits right next to Cobble Hill Park, where we used to hang out regularly. Now, following Sandy, it was dessimated. Trees and branches down, the entire park was blocked off with police tape. Jason, usually a law abiding citizen, grabbed my hand and led me into the park. Unlike every other weekend, when it’s filled with birthday partying kids, dogs playing, and just generally a ton of activity, because of Sandy, we were all alone. We went to the bench where we had our first kiss, and to my surprise, Jason proposed in the most romantic way. Of course, I said yes.
After the proposal, we celebrated with our friends who I’d been crashing with, and then walked down to Dumbo to our apartment. No power meant no TV and no computers, and with near silence and no distractions, we lit the apartment with candles, opened a bottle of wine, and sat and enjoyed our first hours of our engagement together. We decided to have dinner together that night at one of our favorite spots. While there, Jason suggested we call Jess and Josh to see if they would meet us for a post-dinner drink at Floyd, where we all first met. I thought it was the perfect way to celebrate our engagement. But when I walked in to Floyd, it got even better. I was shocked to find a ton of our NYC area friends there for a surprise engagement party that Jason, known across the land to be lacking in the planning skills, had somehow organized and pulled off perfectly despite Sandy’s attempts to interfere.
It turns out that I was wrong to think Jason had escaped Sandy all together. Because he had planned the engagement party for that night, the date of the proposal wasn’t exactly flexible. But because of the storm, Jason wasn’t even sure he’d make it into NYC in time. Almost all of the flights back into NYC were getting delayed for days, but thankfully Jason’s flight into NYC was unchanged and was one of the first few flights to make it back into the city. And Jason’s insistence on heading into Manhattan for work the day before, was all for good reason. He needed to pick up the ring. That too was quite the challenge. With Sandy, trucks weren’t allowed into Manhattan, so for days the jeweler couldn’t get the materials he needed to complete the ring and told Jason he just didn’t think it would happen. At the last minute, though, our jeweler got his materials and Jason ended up actually watching him complete the engagement ring the day before we got engaged. And that was it how it all started. Despite all the challenges, the stars were aligned for our engagement to happen that Saturday, almost just as Jason had planned it.
Photography: Leo Timoshuk | Event Coordinator: B&B Ranch | Florist: Splendid Stems | Wedding Dress: Birnbaum and Bullock | Caterer: B&B Ranch | B&B Ranch: B&B Ranch | Band/DJ: Skooby Laposky | Escort cards: PulpArt | Grey burlap table runners: Pamela Eberhardt of Bebebundlestudio | Wedding Signage: Cheryl Westerkamp