Completely over the stress of planning their wedding and meeting the demands of everyone around them, these cuties threw it all to the wind and ran off to City Hall. And are we glad they did – because these pics by Cynthia Chung are too sweet for words. Their genuine love for one another is evident in every single photo and isn’t that what weddings are all about? See them all in our VAULT right this way!
From the Bride… We planned our $2k elopement in 10 days and it was truly the most fun I ever had during our wedding planning. Although we’d been engaged for a year and a half and there was only two months left till our big day, we were constantly dealing with family drama and our wedding no longer felt like ours. When you’re crying almost every night because of your wedding and absolutely dreading it, you know something has to change.
We have been people pleasers our entire lives. I finally broke down one day and decided I couldn’t allow myself to have a wedding neither of us absolutely did not want. So we took the plunge and decided to get married at City Hall on our anniversary on a Wednesday morning.
I told my photographer all the anxiety I felt about my wedding and how Chris and I finally decided we were going to elope. She was incredibly supportive and helped make our day extra special by capturing it all. I bought a Badgley Mischka dress from Century 21 the weekend before and asked my florist to make me a simple bouquet of white anemones, which she kindly delivered to work for me. I put my faith into a wonderful makeup artist I discovered on Instagram and without a trial, asked her to come to my apartment at 7 am to help me get ready. I felt like Cinderella getting ready for the ball with all my amazing vendor helpers.
Right before we entered the chapel room, my mom whispered to me that I was the most beautiful bride and my eyes started watering. When Chris began to say his vows, I immediately began to cry.
After our ceremony, we blew bubbles outside the steps of City Hall and took pictures at the Ludlow Hotel, where we were staying for the night. We had lunch at the Dirty French, where the amazing staff kept bringing out complimentary dishes in honor of us being newlyweds. We spent the rest of the afternoon at the Bowery Museum and had a private dinner at the Stanton Social. The next morning, we had breakfast together at the hotel and went straight to work.
It’s unbelievable how fast the day passed for us, and that I get to call Chris my husband now. The sight of his wedding ring on his hand always makes me smile, and I am so excited for our future together. Although we are still having the big 150 person wedding and honeymoon in Mexico in December that our family wants us to have, we have absolutely no regrets for having the small and intimate wedding we always wanted. I encourage any couple who’s in the midst of wedding planning to really take a step back and see if the vision you have for your day is really yours, and to honor what both of you want.
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Photography: Cynthia Chung Photography | Floral Design: Uprooted Flower Truck | Wedding Dress: Badgley Mischka | Ceremony Venue: NYC City Hall | Reception Venue: The Ludlow Hotel | Bride's Shoes: Kate Spade | Hair + Makeup: Nyc Glam Girls | Groom's Attire: Zara