Nikola and David got married in the Chambers Boat Landing at the end of October. They came over from their home in the Czech Republic for their wedding in Central Park. They had the legal ceremony at home before they came out to New York. The couple got married with their two best friends as guests, who were best man and maid of honor.
Nikola and David had been together for three and a half years when they got married. They originally met at summer camp when they were both twelve years old. They got together at their friend Michaela’s birthday party.
I planned the wedding with Michaela, who was the maid of honor, since her English was the best out of the party, and she kept much of all that we planned as a surprise for Nikola and David. The couple knew they were going to have a marriage blessing ceremony in Central Park, but not about all the other stuff that Michaela arranged for them.
Nikola and David had their ceremony on October 28th, which is a special day in the Czech Republic; it commemorates the date in 1918 when Czechoslovakia was created. So, each year, when all of their fellow Czechs enjoy a holiday for the Foundation of the Independent Czechoslovak State Day, Nikola and David, will also be celebrating the anniversary of their wedding.
They were originally keen to get married on Bow Bridge, and that’s where we got the event permit for, but when they all got there, they found it to be too busy. So, in the end, they decided to get married on Chambers Boat Landing, which is a lovely spot for a very small group like this. It is quite a secluded spot on the side of the Lake. People can see a wedding on Chambers Boat Landing from Bow Bridge, and everyone on the bridge was cheering for them. They got something that you don’t get when you hold a ceremony on Bow Bridge and that’s a view of Bow Bridge in the background!
Our officiant really worked hard for this ceremony, often we might have some names that are tricky to pronounce correctly, and she had to do that for this ceremony, and we also included some Czech words for her to say! She also had to speak very slowly and clearly for Nikola to understand everything, since she struggled a little with English. Nikola and David really like a famous quote from their country’s former president Vaclav Havel, which he said during the Velvet revolution in 1989, so we put that into the ceremony. The quote was “May truth and love prevail over lies and hatred.”
We arranged for a guitarist to play at the ceremony. He played at the start and at the end, and we had a break in the ceremony for him to play Take On Me by A-ha. He learnt a song to play at the end called Chci zas v tobě spat, which was the couple’s favorite song, by the Czech band Lucie.
After the ceremony, I checked in with Michaela and asked her how we did. “Everything was great,” she said. “It was a once in a lifetime experience,” she added. Thank you so much for your hard work in panning your friend’s wedding, Michaela. It was a pleasure working with you! If you would like me to help you with planning your own Central Park wedding, whether you’re from near or far, visit our website. Keep updated with our news and see lots of beautiful photos, “like” us on Facebook, follow us on Instagram and follow us on Pinterest.
