A Complete Novice In New York - Day 4 Central Park And The Wedding

[ally1966]

We have finally arrived at the day that inspired the entire trip. Ian and Georgie's Wedding Day.

The original plan had been for Ian and Nicola to swap rooms last night so that the bride and groom didn't see each other before the ceremony. However, with Nic being ill, we decided that it wasn't wise to expose Georgie to any bugs that she might have. So the happy couple had to stay together and Ian came in to us at about 8am so that Georgie could start getting ready.

Georgie had a hairdresser booked for 9am and Fiona had ordered breakfast in the room for herself, Georgie and Emily.

We went down for breakfast and decided to order from the hot menu for a change - Ian, Dan and I had omelettes whilst Nic went for waffles with strawberry topping. Very nice it was too!

After breakfast we Face Timed DH back home just to make sure that everything was working OK for this afternoon. He spoke to Ian and wished him well.

Me and the girls then nipped out into Times Square while Ian and Dan went back up to the room. Ian had forgotten to pack his aftershave so I wanted to get him a new one as a little extra wedding present. After a quick phone call to consult Georgie I settled on Armani Code.

We stopped off at the Red Steps for a quick photo op - it had always been too packed when we'd walked this way in the evenings!

We bought a bottle of champagne to take back to the room to toast Ian and wish him all the best for the afternoon.

When I returned, there was a lovely surprise waiting for me. Ian and Georgie had treated Fiona and myself to a beautiful pair of silver and pearl earrings each to say thanks for helping them arrange everything.

We spent the morning getting ready and making sure that Ian and Georgie didn't bump into each other in the corridor.

It was soon time for Ian and Dan to set off for Central Park. I think that I was more nervous than Ian - he said that there was no need to be because he "knew that he was doing the right thing" and remained completely calm!

We girls continued putting finishing touches to hair and make up until it was time to go down to the hotel lobby.

In the lobby, we met up with Emily and Amelia (Georgie's boss) and her partner Will and waited for Georgie to make her grand entrance with her Mum.

She looked absolutely stunning!

The limousine had arrived to take us to the park - this was part of Ian and Georgie's wedding package but they had very generously offered to let the rest of us travel with them.

When we pulled up at Central Park quite a crowd gathered and began taking photos. Georgie said later that she felt like a movie star.

The celebrant, Alexandra and the photographer were at the entrance to the park to greet us and led the procession through the park.

This was quite a long walk with high heels and aching feet. A few of us were struggling!

When we reached Belvedere Castle, Ian and Dan were there waiting with the rest of the guests.

Georgie made her entrance down the steps on the arm of her sister and the ceremony began.

It really was a beautiful wedding. The words were perfect and so touching, it was quite an emotional experience.

I'm sorry that there are no pics from the actual ceremony but I was busy Facetiming the Dads back in the UK!

As soon as the service was over Ian and Georgie spoke to their Dads'. There were tears shed on both sides of the Atlantic but both said that although they weren't there, they were glad to have had the chance to watch the wedding.

It was then time to take photos of the new Mr & Mrs Mee...

... and all the group shots with friends and family.

It was a picture perfect location and I can't wait to see the professional photos.

Georgie won't be easily pleased as she has a degree in photography herself but I'm sure there will be some amazing shots.

Ian and Georgie then went off with the photographer to get some shots in other areas of the park.

They also had a horse and carriage ride booked as part of their package with knotbythesea so we knew that they would be gone for quite a while.

We had considered doing a horse and carriage ride ourselves to pass the time and see some of the sites but it would have been further to walk back to the entrance to the carriages than it was to go straight to The Boathouse. So we settled on going for a drink.

The time passed fairly quickly - helped by a couple of large glasses of wine and the bride and groom soon returned.

Georgie showed off her gorgeous Manolo Blahnik wedding shoes and the garter made for her by her best friend Laura, who unfortunately couldn't be here.

Georgie's cousin Callum then decided to take them out for a row on the lake. This was so funny - but I guess you had to be there to appreciate it!

We had booked the meal for 5.30pm and we were seated at one long table, right by the window with a perfect view of the lake.

It was hard to choose what to eat as so many of the options sounded delicious.

In the end, Dan and I both settled on crab cakes for our appetisers.

and pork tenderloin for our entrees. I also ordered a portion of fries to share.

This was massive!

The girls both ate off the children's menu. Nicola had a cheese toasty.

And Chloe had grilled chicken with fries.

She hardly made a dent in this but the children's meals were huge and would easily have fed most adults.

We all had the moist chocolate fudge cake for dessert, except Chloe who had chocolate ice cream.

My bill came to $345 but this included several drinks and will almost certainly be the most expensive meal of the holiday.

For a special occasion it was definitely worth it.

We stayed and enjoyed the views and the ambience for a while before hailing cabs to take everyone back to the Sanctuary.

We enjoyed a drink in the bar - so much for never returning - the service was a lot more attentive than yesterday! I'm not sure if something had been said or if it was just because we were obviously a wedding party.

By 10.30pm Chloe had fallen asleep so we called it a day - leaving the others to party on into the night.

The day really could not have gone any better. Everything went without a hitch, which really is amazing considering that it was all arranged by Email from the other side of the Atlantic.

A lot of credit for this has to go to Alexandra Paez from knotbythesea who arranged all the transport, the flowers, the photographer and the bride's hairdresser. She also conducted the ceremony and helped Ian and Georgie to write their vows... and all for a fraction of the price quoted by Virgin for their most basic package!

I can't speak highly enough of her and would definitely recommend her service to anyone considering getting married in New York.

A completely wonderful and exhausting day - tomorrow Woodbury Common Outlets to "shop til we drop"!

[abiknox]

Eeeek! The Carrie Bradshaw Manolos! Lucky girl

The wedding looked beautiful! Food at the Boathouse looks great too!

[Jesslydevie1]

Sounds like a beautiful and also quite chilled out wedding day .

[ally1966]

Originally Posted by abiknox

Eeeek! The Carrie Bradshaw Manolos! Lucky girl

The wedding looked beautiful! Food at the Boathouse looks great too!

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Yep! Georgie had had her eye on these for ages but actually bought some Ted Baker ones the same colour instead because they were so expensive.

However, Ian knew that she had her heart set on the Manolos so when they went down to London for the weekend he treated her.

I think that the other pair ended up on EBay!

[Melbatb]

What a beautiful day! Georgie's dress is stunning!

[OB1LukeLucas]

WOW, what a fabulous day. Wonderful setting for a wedding. You all look amazing but the bride and those shoes were just perfect. So pleased The Boathouse worked out. What a wonderful day full of great memories to treasure 💕

[Dogwalker]

Beautiful photos

[mick]

A brilliant day you all looked lovely

Joan

[debidee]

Beautiful day - but as shopaholic looking forward to the shopping report... please show us inside the bags! xx

[ally1966]

Originally Posted by debidee

Beautiful day - but as shopaholic looking forward to the shopping report... please show us inside the bags! xx

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Will do, We're just on our way back - but apparently not finished shopping yet! DS couldn't find the trainers he wanted so headed for Footlocker in Times Square next.