Tompkins Square Park Wedding

Socially conscious Colleen and Brian married on a glorious autumn day with dozens of their family members and friends surrounding them at the Temperance Fountain in Tompkins Square Park.  In addition to giving guests chocolates to reflect the sweetness and bitterness of life, integrating a Buddhist reading, and incorporating spilling wine to honor the tragic pain and inequality in the world, they opted for tattoos on their ring fingers that I think perfectly balanced sweetness and smart elegance. I added personalized introductions to their wedding vows, which I posted below.

Brian, “there’s something different about you.” A bit of a skeptic when it comes to people, Colleen felt comfortable with you quickly, as if she had known you for much longer than a mere two months of cyberspace correspondence. With you, she feels sentiments more profound than with anyone else. Colleen appreciates your sense of humor and your strangeness. Her own gifts as an individual become enhanced through your love of art and passion for hobbies. She finds the strength of your beliefs, your convictions, inspiring. She is grateful for your patience, especially for your ability to gracefully handle her quirks. She adores that you can be both playful and steadfast in your overall desire to help bring happiness to the lives of others.

For these reasons and more, Colleen wishes to marry you….

Colleen, do you take Brian to be your husband with sincere loving kindness in plenty or poverty, joy or sorrow, and well-being or illness for all the days of your life?

Colleen, everything about you fits perfectly with Brian’s life. Brian feels as though you are two pieces of the most complicated puzzle that happened to land, face up, next to each other. When you first encountered each other, he couldn’t stop himself from constantly checking his in-box to find out if you relied to his e-mails. Not too many moons into your relationship, he realized that you would always accept him for being himself no matter what may come. In short, you amaze him. Brian admires your devotion to family, love for animals, and passion for literature. He sincerely appreciates your sense of humor, intelligence, and quirks. From your smile and tolerance to your appropriate lack of tolerance when it’s clear something ought not to be tolerated, you make Brian’s life more wondrous. With you by his side, Brian knows he can handle anything that comes his way.

For these reasons and more, Brian wishes to marry you…

Brian, do you take Colleen to be your wife with sincere loving kindness in plenty or poverty, joy or sorrow, and well-being or illness for all the days of your life?

Hi Judie!  Just wanted to thank you for everything you did for us and for giving a beautiful ceremony.  Everyone loved it and it was everything we could have asked for and more.  I am so glad that I found you and decided to go with you for the ceremony (and seeing you perform the ceremony has inspired me even more to try to become a Celebrant)……..Coll

P.S. The New York Times ran an article about the popularity of October 10th as a wedding date.  With eight weddings over this holiday weekend (and about five more than I had to turn down in the last two weeks alone), the article came as no surprise.  Over the next two weeks, I’ll post lots of photos.