Finally, a happy ending!

After all the waiting, the drama, the paperwork, the visits, the headaches, the hellos, and the goodbyes Nick and I were finally married Thursday July 22 in New York.

Once we were all gussied up, Nick and I headed down to Manhattan’s city hall to arrive by 12:30. We met our small pseudo-wedding party there and signed in with the desk, gave them our ID and marriage license, and told them we were there to be married!

They gave us a number, as the process is first-come-first-served. We didn’t have to wait long at all, only about 20 minutes.

We spent that time visiting with our loved ones, taking some photos, and smiling harder than we’ve ever smiled before!

We were assigned the West Chapel. Everyone was allowed to come in with us and watch. Nick and I giggled and couldn’t stand still. We were so happy, we felt as if our heads might burst!

The official who married us was great – he had a sense of humour and a strong New York accent! The entire ceremony took less than 2 minutes. We walked out of there ecstatic and, if possible, more in love than ever.

After taking some photos in the immediate area, we all headed to the City Hall Restaurant for lunch.

They did a wonderful job hosting us. We had the Rose Room to ourselves downstairs. After a delicious lunch, some lovely speeches, and some champagne, they brought us our wedding cake with candles lit for us to blow out.

After lunch, we parted ways with our guests and went off with Jesse (and Courtney!) to take some photos as a couple. There were so many great photo-worthy spots in the city hall area. At one point, while standing in front of the subway entrance, some tourists started taking our photo behind Jesse – I think they thought we were famous!

We ended up walking all the way back to Brooklyn over the Brooklyn Bridge. It was a beautiful day, afterall!

That night, we met a couple more friends at Bowlmor Lanes for a wedding afterparty of sorts. It was a great idea and a ton of fun. Nick’s friends who don’t drink had a great time bowling, and those who did drink enjoyed excellent service and a great bar. Shannon did a wonderful job setting it all up for us! We finished off the night upstairs in the “Carnival” room which is set up to look like an indoor Coney Island. There will be more photos to come once I have our professional ones from Jesse! In the meantime, check out my Flickr for more photos Courtney took with my camera.

(My hair and makeup was done by Lauren at Woodley and Bunny in Williamsburg. My dress was from Betsey Johnson in SoHo.)

UPDATE: SEE OUR PROFESSIONAL WEDDING PHOTOS HERE!