New York Wedding Ceremony - Booked.

So today we signed a contract with our favourite photographer of all the ones we spoke to/ trawled the website and blogs of/practically stalked - and we couldn't be happier! Meet our photographer here: Amber Marlow Photography

Amber lives in Brooklyn and has been super keen to shoot our Christmas Eve wedding and to act as our witness.  Her fiancé Marley is also going to come along to conduct our Humanist Ceremony - so we've managed to score a bit of a package deal which absolutely suits us down to the ground! Amber's photos are so amazing. We're very keen to have photos that mainly focus on the City itself with us casually thrown in somewhere! We have a list of really awesome places we could hold our ceremony, some of them weather-permitting!  At the moment we've discussed using the gorgeous roof terrace in our very own hotel in Tribeca.  Which looks like this:

The very best part of this terrace is the view.  We'd have the entire Empire State skyline as the backdrop to our ceremony - you can see live webcam footage of the view from the terrace right here: Sheraton Tribeca View Cam which I am slightly obsessed with.  The only obstacle may be accessing the terrace if it's seasonal, but I imagine a smile and maybe a folded note would get us access for the super short ceremony and a few snaps.  If we do get there and decide that the terrace isn't going to work after all, I know that Amber will be able to suggest somewhere else that's really awesome instead.  No worries there. So we're all pleased with the latest developments and the new direction we're going with our New York Ceremony. 

Here are some of Amber's gorgeous photographs below - (I really hope she doesn't mind- they're fab!)

All images by Amber Marlow

Engagement

After 4 years of being together and surviving some pretty tough times it's been pretty clear to us for quite some time that we're in it for the long haul.  
 
We've created two very happy homes together and adopted a kitten and a bunny that we (lets be honest here) treat as if they are our babies. We've supported each other through all our ups and downs; 2013 was a particularly trying year where we both lost our jobs at the same time and believe me, if we made it through that we can make it through anything!  I even took off for 8 months traveling around the world at the very beginning of our relationship and we were in contact every single day by whatever means we could. £200 phone bill included!  We can honestly say that we're best buds and after so long together we're still as excited to see each other than we were when we first got together. We're beyond delighted that we're engaged and are really looking forward to being husband and wife.

The proposal was lovely.  He got down on one knee in our new home on Christmas Eve while we were sitting in front of the Christmas Tree and the open fire, sipping on mulled wine and watching the 1985 version of The Santa Claus - so cosy and relaxed and perfect.

I don't think I've ever drank as much Cava and Champagne in all my life than I did this Christmas.  Definitely not complaining though.

Everyone has been so kind and thoughtful - we didn't expect any gifts or cards especially as it was so close to Christmas but everyone really spoiled us.  Thank you to all our family and friends who texted, messaged, called or stopped by to congratulate us.

Beginnings.

Like millions of newly engaged couples in this day and age, we quite fancied the idea of beginning a diary to keep track of our wedding planning. Our wedding will be something a little bit different from the norm  - we're planning an elopement!  

 

I (Rachel) am no stranger to keeping track of experiences and milestones throughout my life whether it's on Facebook, Twitter or on blogging sites (some public, most private).  As a committed "memory collector" I take photos of absolutely everything and I write about them too.  There's something so lovely about being able to look back on what your thoughts and feelings were at a certain time.  Through this diary we'll be able to track our plans and see how much they've evolved and changed throughout the planning process - the things that went right, the things that went wrong and the things that happened differently than expected.

My main aim in life has always been to spend my present making sure that my past is worth looking back on.  I'm a self-confessed over-document-er and proud.  On Christmas Eve 2014 my partner of 4 years (Michael) got down on one knee and asked me to spend the rest of his life with him - one of the most special moments of my life - and we've since been launched at full-speed towards marriage and I want to record every moment. 

Having been surrounded by weddings my entire life thanks to my Mum being the best wedding florist/planner around, I'm not your typical Bridezilla (yet..) and I am taking a more chilled out, non-traditional approach to the Big Day.

If wedding stuff isn't for you - look away now - why are you even here?! 

- Rachel