Wedding | Emma & Mitchell

Tell us a little about yourselves!

Both of us are native New Yorkers (Upper West Side and Winchester), and we met while working for City Government. Today, Emma works at an affordable housing non profit and Mitch is at MTA. We live in Brooklyn with a cat who eats all our food.

Why did you decide to get married where you did?

We met in City Hall when we were both working for New York City mayor Bill de Blasio in fall 2021. We had different jobs - Mitch was a spokesman for the mayor and Emma was a senior policy advisor. Work brought us together for the first time and City Hall is a gorgeous building, so we wanted to honour our history in that beautiful space.

How many guests did you have?

We had a 200 person Jewish ceremony later in the weekend, but our legal ceremony we had the Rabbi, our beloved photographer Diana from Diana Galay Photo, two witnesses, our former colleague (who helped get us together) and Emma’s former boss, both of whom were working in the building that day. They came upstairs for the occasion and then went back to their desks.

What was your budget?

Two metrocard swipes? The wedding ceremony cost more!

Tell us about your outfits.

Mitch wore a suit we got at a Theory outlet. I wore a gold stretch satin Dolce & Gabbana dress suit combo from Happy Isles. I accessorised with my Mom’s totally not fancy pink cameo earrings and my late grandmother’s hair bow. Her name was Paulette, she was from the Bronx and she wore a different bow everyday. I really wanted to have her with us when we got married.

What was the most important aspect for you, in terms of planning your wedding?

That the wedding felt representative of our relationship, and that our guests felt loved, comfortable and included.

Were there any elements that were important for you to incorporate?

Eating family style. We have friends over for dinner whenever we can - Emma makes a big dinner, Mitch pours drinks and plays CD’s from his collection. It’s an important part of how we live and we didn’t want that day to be any different.

Any tips for couples getting married?

Mitch: Planning a wedding means being asked more questions than you could possibly answer. There are going to be plenty of things you’ll decide that you won’t actually have an opinion about, one way or another. Its fine. Relax and remember why you’re doing this.

Emma: Consciously treat the wedding planning process as a part of the marriage preparation process. It’s good to do an emotional, financial, logistical group project before committing to those for the rest of your life. Use it! Enjoy it!

Are there any vendors that you would like to tell us a little more about?

Diana Galay Photo, both of us hate having our picture taken, but she felt immediately like a friend. She understood exactly what we wanted to get out of the day and her talent is extraordinary. We’re keeping her forever!

Photographer: Diana Galay Photo @dianagalay_photo | Planning: Gatherings By Emily @gatheringsbyemily | Flora: Outline Florals @outlinflorals | Ceremony location: City Hall | Makeup Artist: Lucas Dean @makeupbylucas | Hair Stylist: Salon718 | Dress: Happy Isles @happisles_salon | Engagement Ring: Esqueleto @shopesqueleto