How did the two of you meet?
I used to meet up with a close group of friends every Thursday night to hang out for a long night of fun. One Thursday in August of 2011, it was just my friends Paul and Whitney meeting up at our local bar in Astoria, Queens. That night was the first night that Nathan moved to NYC to begin his master’s program at NYU. He is Paul’s best friend from high school, so Paul invited him to join us, naturally.
I remember walking into the bar and looking over at Paul and his friend. Whitney pulled me over to the bar right away to gossip about our week. I looked across the bar at that man and I will never forget the blue of his eyes… or the blue of his tie-dyed laser cat t-shirt! I turned to Whitney and told her I wanted to snuggle with that man. (And I mean G-rated snuggle.) Turns out, Nathan was having similar feelings that evening as well.
Ultimately I am marrying my best friend, so none of the details matter.
The four of us hung out into the wee hours of the morning. And it was that night that Hurricane Irene hit, so we ended up all crashing on couches at Paul’s house in order to avoid crossing into any hurricane danger zones on our way home. Despite my instant attraction to Nathan, by the next morning, I swore I would never get along with him due to his outrageous sense of humor and stubbornness. But, it turns out, that sense of humor is one of my absolute favorite things about him. And, four years later, Paul and Whitney have recently tied the knot… and Nathan and I are about to as well!
Give us the proposal details! When? Where? How?
Nathan and I went back to NYC to celebrate New Year’s Eve with close friends. We had discussed marriage and I knew he would be proposing on the trip. I just had no idea how he was going to do it. We were planning to announce our engagement at the New Year’s Eve party we were hosting at a friend’s house. I knew it had to be before then. So on New Year’s Eve, he arranged to meet me at Columbus circle at 2pm.
And I trust him, that even in the bad times, our trust and respect will get us through it. The wedding is just the appetizer.
I was in a tizzy, despite knowing exactly what he would be asking and exactly how I would respond. My heart was fluttering so much, that I way underdressed for a walk around the city in late December. And of course, from Columbus Circle, he walked us into Central Park.
He took us right to the spot where we officially decided to be a couple 3 ½ years earlier. He was so fumbly—it was cute! He made an inside joke as his proposal, which was perfect. But I had to remind him to get down on his knee and actually ask me the question! I was dying laughing. His response, “But I know what you’re going to say!”
What has been your favorite experience planning the wedding?
There are so many things I love about planning this wedding. But it’s been really fun for us to play with seating arrangements, even this early in the game. We’re so excited to introduce our friends to each other and we are making sure that everyone sits with some people they do know as well as someone they’ve never met before.
How do you stay sane under the pressures of wedding planning?
Wedding planning is so much fun. I love to plan events! I’m sure things will get more stressful as the day approaches. But ultimately, I am marrying my best friend, so none of the details matter to us. We’ll have fun and our friends and family will have fun. And beyond that, who cares? It’s a celebration!
What is your favorite part of using Joy for your wedding?
We are having a separate evening reception for a much larger group of friends who we were not able to invite to our brunch wedding due to the small size of that venue. It is wonderful that Joy will keep track of this list, has allowed us to make a simple, user friendly website, and that there are even photo features and check-in features for all of our guests.
At Joy we believe that even though a wedding lasts a day, joy lasts forever. What does that mean to you?
I am marrying my best friend—and I get moved to tears every time I think about that. We are going to have so much fun throughout our life together. And I trust him, that even in the bad times, our trust and respect will get us through it. The wedding is just the appetizer.
