The Finishing Touch — Weddings, Events, Design, Paperie

 

All Photos you will see in this blog were provided by Battery Gardens to show off their fabulous site! Photo credit:Jang Photographers http://www.jangphotographers.com/

We occasionally have brides who tell us that they have decided to plan their wedding themselves, only to return closer to the wedding to ask us to step in and ensure all their hard work goes according to plan. Now, this may seem like a piece of cake, but trust us, it is no easy task. Given that we are hired much closer to the wedding, and have not been a part of all the detailed planning, we must immediately get down to business. Confirming all vendor services, balances, creating the detailed day-of timeline and tying up all loose ends are only a few of the major items we focus on. The weeks pass by in a whirlwind but watching the bride and groom enjoy their wedding day without stress is reward enough.

In what turned out to be a very rare occurance, we were recently hired 5 days prior to the wedding by our couple Erin and John who were married in a beautiful ceremony on June 6^th. Our beautiful bride, Erin, works in the finance industry, and John is a NYC restaurant owner of Tribeca’s Steakhouse Dylan Prime. [Our owner Candice highly recommends the Lobster Grilled Cheese Sandwich!]

With rain pouring everyday during the week, we called in a favor to Mother Nature and the sun broke out Saturday morning, providing a gorgeous day in Manhattan. (Yes we can control the weather, he he.)  While Erin was pampered and dressed at the Ritz-Carlton in Battery Park and John at the Wall Street Inn Hotel, Misha (our fabulous Summer intern) and I ensured all guests received bottles of champagne and truffles as they checked into their rooms, steamed Erin’s gown and helped the bridal party into their dresses. Once the photographer arrived at the Ritz, the girls took some pre-ceremony shots in the hotel as well as Battery Park, with the Statue of Liberty in the background. Once it was time to head over to the ceremony at the quaint, Our Lady of Holy Rosary, across from Battery Park, we walked down the hallway to grab the elevator.

As is the case with most events, we hit our first road bump.  As we approached the elevators, we started to hear a fire alarm coming from another floor. The elevators were all out of order and one of the stairwell doors was locked! I quickly called the Front Desk and we were told the Fire Department was on its way and we just had to wait it out. Knowing I had a VIP to get to a wedding, I calmly tried each and every stairwell and eventually found a door that was unlocked. Fortunately, as we were just about to head down 7 flights of stairs, the elevators began running.  We were a couple minutes late to the ceremony, but the bridesmaids said, ‘It wouldn’t have been like Erin if we arrived on time!’

Father Jose, who flew in all the way from Texas, performed a very beautiful and touching ceremony, including a full Catholic Mass. As a surprise to her father, Erin & John had hired NYPD Emerald Group to play the bagpipes as soon as the church doors opened. As both Erin’s parents are retired law force officials, as well as Irish, it came as a wonderful surprise.  The bagpipers led the group through the park to Battery Gardenswhere they then enjoyed cocktails and TONS of hors d’oevures right on the Hudson River, overlooking the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.

Around 8:30 PM, guests were ushered upstairs to an immaculate ballroom and the voices of the Jeff Lubin Band from Hank Lane Entertainment filling the room. Each guest found at their place setting, a clear glass bottle personally labeled as Erin & John’s Signature Drink called The Big Apple Martini. On the back of the bottle was an explanation of how to prepare the drink and the couple’s thank you. These thoughtful and personal favors were a huge hit and people raved about their creativity. The guests dined and danced the night away, while taking in the breathtaking views of the Hudson. All in all, the day was a complete success. We truly enjoyed helping make the day memorable for such a wonderful couple. We wish them only the best!

All the best,

Nicole & Misha