Before I begin to talk about our ceremony, I want to tell you a little bit about our "other" guests. Who are they? Well "they're the people that you meet when you're walking down the street each day." (Thank you, Sesame Street!)
No seriously...as a New Yorker, I'm used to doing everything "on the street". The notion of public space is real to me. I've done darn near everything out in the open or on a sidewalk (um...well...not EVERYTHING, but you know...): I eat and buy food on the street; I stumble onto to street fairs almost every weekend in the summer; and I buy clothes on the street (my favorite summer dress for years was one that I bought, guess where? On the street!!). You get the idea.
When it came to our wedding, I guess I didn't really think about the fact that it would end up being super public in the middle of a very touristy park on a Saturday morning/early afternoon with perfect weather. I guess subconsciously I just I didn't mind or rather put it out of my mind. I saw our wedding ceremony as a public declaration of my love and commitment to Mr. Swan. It ended up being that in the literal sense of the word "public." In that way, I wasn't fazed that the only separation between us and passersby in Battery Park was essentially a barrier that our venue, Battery Gardens, had provided. We had guests that I hadn't anticipated, but I was more than happy to share our loving words and promises of commitment with them too.
Our first run in with our "other guests" came before we even had our ceremony. During our mini-photoshoot, a lovely Italian family of tourists noticed us. In between the daughters' and the mother's squeals, shooting us begging puppy dog eyes and yelling "Sposa! Sposa!" (Italian speakers, I assume this means "bride"?), Mr. Swan and I gave them a look that said, "Okay, sure. You can take a picture with us." Besides, the Dad was wearing one of our wedding colors. It was serendipitous!
Wherever you are, Italian family, I hope we made the final cut in your vacation album.
Little did we know that our Italian friends were not the norm, and that most of our "other guests" would decide to join us at our ceremony. I was honestly too caught up in the moment to notice them when I was walking down the aisle and finally reached the end, but apparently they were there for that too.
There was definitely a point in the ceremony where I broke concentration, looked up and noticed a guy videotaping the ceremony. Now come on! Are you really going to watch the video of my ceremony when you get home, brotha man?! I barely even have a video of my ceremony (It's on a friend's video camera, and we haven't seen it.). I gave myself a mental kick in the pants, reminded myself that I was actually getting married and refocused. Geesh....
So how many "other guests" did we actually attract? Take a look!
Everybody wanted a picture. Who knew that people found weddings this fascinating? It was like having our own paparazzi. I don't know who this guy is, but this may be one of my top 20 favorite pictures Dante, our photographer, took for us.
Luckily for us everyone who ended up watching our ceremony was so quiet and respectful. There was barely a peep, which is why I probably didn't realize how many people had stopped to look. Well, actually that's not true. Mr. Swan's Uncle V. did tell us one story. Apparently during our vows, he heard someone softly crying. I guess they were feeling the love in the ceremony. He looked around and couldn't figure out who it could be. It turns out that one of our "other guests" was moved to tears. How sweet :)
So there you have it. I shared my wedding day not only with family and friends but also with some of my other favorite people.....my fellow New Yorkers (and tourists from around the world), my "other guests."
Is anyone else having/had their ceremony in very public place? Would you mind sharing this moment in time with non-family and friends?
Swan Tip #9 - Everybody loves a wedding. There are going to be people you don't expect who will love yours too.
All images taken with the foresight and artistic flair of Dante Williams. D, thanks for taking these!
So what happened before this? Check it out:
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2 comments:
hi! i saw your images on dante's website and am so excited to find you have your own blog with more pictures of your fabulous wedding.
i am getting married in brooklyn in may nad can i tell you i am seriously looking to copycat you! i am not having bridesmaids or anything, just my parents and the pastor. also i would very much like to wear my hair like yours. so i am glad to see more pictures so that i can explain to the hair dresser just what i want.
congrats to you two, you looked just radiant! looking forward to more posts!
warmly,
camille in slovenia
Camille,
Thanks for reading! I love Dante's work too! I doubt you are copycating me. :) Greetings to you in Slovenia. I just saw a great 1/2 hour program on Slovenia and it looks like a beautiful place. Please keep reading.
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