NYC Part Five - The Wedding

The finale to our New York adventures is the main reason we traveled all that way; Troy's lifelong friend's wedding.

Troy and Greg met in Kindergarten and have stayed friends ever since, which is pretty remarkable.

Troy has a lot of intelligent friends, but Greg in particular was always grade levels ahead of his peers and eventually completed a degree at Harvard. When Troy wasn't succeeding as much academically as Greg in elementary school, he told Greg that he just wasn't as smart as him. Greg responded, "You just need to try harder."

We laughed at many more childhood memories throughout the weekend's wedding celebrations.

Greg married an equally impressive young woman named Caitlin. Together, they are known as "Graitlin."

New York has to be one of the most picturesque places to get married. I love the shots of them walking around the city before they headed to their ceremony.

The wedding day started out with quite a bit of stress on our end.

When we arrived in the city the previous Wednesday, we dropped off Troy's suit to be dry cleaned since it was completely wrinkled from traveling. They ensured that it would be done by Friday evening which worked out since we didn't need it until Saturday morning.

We payed in advance and arranged to have the suit left at the concierge because we wouldn't be home from the rehearsal dinner on Friday evening until after the dry cleaner closed.

When we arrived at our building, only Troy's white shirt was waiting for us. There was no suit in sight. Panic washed over Troy. He didn't know how he was going to get ahold of that suit by 10am the next morning when he was supposed to be on the Upper West Side for pictures. The dry cleaner didn't even open until 10am.

There wasn't much we could do aside from buying a new suit in New York City and having it tailored on the spot. We really wanted to avoid that option, so Troy let the groom know that he was most likely going to be late. Thankfully, the groomsmen were doing "getting ready" pictures from 10am to noon, so it wasn't as vital that Troy was there yet. But he absolutely had to be there by noon.

That left him a short window to track down his suit. No one could tell us where it was until the dry cleaner opened on Saturday morning. He practically broke down the door when they opened shop. He learned that they shipped all of their clothing out to an obscure facility in Long Island City. They called the location to make sure his suit was there and he immediately hopped in a taxi to begin tracking it down.

It the end, after getting lost a few times and racking up some hefty taxi fees, Troy was able to track down his suit and meet up with the wedding party in the nick of time. It simply didn't make it onto the truck the night before. Only in New York.

He told the bride that there was no way he was going to ruin her pictures by being suit-less. We were relieved that he could live up to his promise.

I experienced my own set of stress when the subway I was riding on to meet up with the wedding party got rerouted, which apparently happens often on weekends. I allowed myself plenty of time to get there, but after hopping trains several times to backtrack and finally just jumping off and booking it the rest of the way to the dock (in heels, no less), I barely made it to the ferry on time.

The bride did a quick shoe change and we were ready to party aboard the ferry.

I'm so glad I didn't miss riding over to Jersey City with the wedding party because it was a riot. The music was cranked up loud and the bride and groom danced the whole way there.

And that view...

We were so happy that the rest of the day ran smoothly. You couldn't have asked for more perfect weather.

The views from their venue were breathtaking. I still can't believe we were really there, soaking it all up.

They were married at Maritime Parc in Jersey City and from one side you could see all of lower Manhattan across the Hudson River.

From the other side, you could see Ellis Island and Lady Liberty standing tall.

With the addition of water lapping up against the shore and boats bobbing in the harbor, it was hands down the most beautiful venue we've ever been to.

Even the ceremony allowed for views of the city.

The celebration lasted well into the night with hors d'oeuvres and a cocktail hour, a multi-course meal and lots of dancing.

I kept sneaking out to the wrap around balconies because I just couldn't get enough of the views. 

We watched the sun set in the west, which in turn reflected on the buildings in lower Manhattan.

There are really no words for how spectacular that experience was.

The panoramic night views were just as breathtaking.

We were all exhausted after a full day of events but the party didn't stop there. We headed back to Jersey City the next morning for a wedding brunch. We dined at Skylark on the Hudson. I probably shouldn't have been as taken back by the view by that point, but it still did not cease to amaze me.

I think Troy had had enough pictures by that point.

One more stroll along the Hudson River Waterfront Walkway, and we said goodbye to a weekend full of unforgettable views, food, hospitality, friendship and love.

We were so honored to be a part of Greg and Caitlin's wedding.

Wedding Michigander Style

I think everyone should have the opportunity to celebrate their wedding twice.

Having another excuse to put on your wedding dress is pretty awesome.

Add in not having any wedding day stress and just being able to sit back and celebrate with friends and family, and you have the ingredients for a great party.

My brother and his new wife celebrated their marriage at a reception in Michigan over the weekend.

Troy flew in us just in time for the party. Blake was ecstatic to be reunited with his dad after two long weeks apart.

I was pretty happy to see him too.

The boys were thoroughly entertained by my sweet cousins.

...and the hotel ATM machine.

I caught Blake sneaking cookies under the table on occasion as well.

Another perk of wedding celebration #2: It is more acceptable to smash cake in each other's faces.

Since this reception took place in my hometown, I knew every single person in attendance. It was so much fun to have so many people I hold dear together in one place. I was supposed to be on photography duty, but I kept getting distracted catching up with friends and family that I haven't seen in years. It always shocks me to see how much my cousins have grown. These girls were flower girls at my Michigan reception 6 years ago, in the very same room!

My Uncle Jim is another obvious go-to for our boys. He entertains them to no end.

It turns out Uncle Jim is also a budding artist. I love this rend-ed-ition.

Of course Jorden was on A/V duty at his own wedding.

And insisted on getting a few of his own shots.

Dancing was the best part of the night.

It took three people to hold Nash still long enough to tie his shoe.

Check out that concentration in the front to catch the bouquet.

No one else even had a chance. These are some more of my flower girls, all grown up.

And with that, I think we've had enough wedding festivities to last us for a good long while. Even Nash, my boy with endless energy, crashed at the end.