The Brooklyn Wedding Story

As I mentioned in my last post, this past month has been busy for us.  We've moved our youngest into college, celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary, been to the theater, I went back to work after 2 months of freedom and we attended this very trendy and hip wedding in Brooklyn!  The drive in to the city isn't terribly long for us - just about 90 minutes - and if you've managed it once or twice it's not the nightmare you imagine it to be.  This was a wedding for one of my husband's youngest cousins.  He's now in his mid 30's and a professional along with his wife in New York City.  They live in a beautiful part of Brooklyn (and by beautiful I also mean expensive) called Brooklyn Heights.  If you're young and hip though, you refer to this area as DUMBO.  Dumbo is an acronym for Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass.  Click on this Wikipedia link to learn more. 

We arrived at the church where the nuptials were to take place with about 15 minutes to spare.  The wedding was supposed to commence at 5 p.m. but the bride was a fashionable 30 minutes late to her own wedding which was fine.  It allowed all the latecomers to find the location and their way to this historic venue.  They were married in the now Episcopal church called St. Ann and the Holy Trinity which has a colorful and rich history.  Click on the official church link and this Wikipedia link to discover how this church eventually became what it is today!  No good story would be without a bit of mystery and controversy and this story comes with a built in drama worthy of a movie of the week!  The church was actually shut down for several years and empty following the removal of the leaders of the parish for political and social concerns that emerged during the turbulent years following WWII.  Here's a link from The Brooklyn Historical Society that sheds some light on how a church can get 'shut down'.  Here's a pic of the church interior to give you an idea of how grand and cathedral like this place of worship is!

The actual ceremony only lasted 30 minutes and was over by 6:00.  The couple opted for no receiving line so that streamlined our gap time between ceremony and reception significantly.  Many of our family members opted to head straight to the reception site.  My husband and I decided we wanted to walk the 2 or 3 blocks to the river edge and meander in the beautiful September twilight before having to share the evening with family, friends and others.  It was selfish but we had just observed our 25th wedding anniversary and felt we were entitled to some time alone.  By the way, we have yet to officially celebrate this significant milestone but little stolen moments like this make the date seem that much sweeter.  Little did we know that the exact spot where we thought we had found a private escape (in the middle of the city...I know) is also where the wedding party had taken a limo bus to have their official photos taken!  We walked away.  Here are some of the photos we took of that beautiful sojourn.

 

 

 

The reception wasn't like any reception I had ever been to.  Remember, this couple is in their mid 30's and wanted it done their way!  It was in a super trendy club called 'Rebar' located in the Dumbo section of Brooklyn (see the link above to learn more).  Rebar is a nightclub that bills itself as a 'gastropub'.  There was no assigned seating.  Genius.  No head table, no 'program' or order of events.  It was a club.  Appetizers were passed, there was a buffet and people ate wherever.  Some stood, some sat in groups, my husband and I mingled.  It was refreshing.  I liked it.  This couple took an event that can become a major stress fest and turned it on it's head!  I loved it!! 

We left earlier than most at 10:30 but with our drive back to Danbury, CT we knew we would be skirting midnight before we got home.  It was a long day.  What made it grand for us - as selfish as this sounds - was our time alone as a couple who's made it 25 years walking by a river and gazing at the sunset.  Alone.  We wish John and Rachael many 'alone' moments through the crowded future.