February 24th, 2013The Green Building — February 24th, 2013
The Green Building

I didn’t grow up dreaming of my wedding day like a lot of young girlies do. I dreamt of having boyfriends and romantic feelings reciprocated, but never did I go so far as to picture a wedding day. When Michael and I got engaged 5 ½ months ago, my first thought was to throw a picnic table party in the vacant lot next to our apartment. We’d do it in the summertime, hire my friend’s band to sing and get everyone sweating, make toasts with Brooklyn beer and my father-in-law’s wine, throw a slideshow of photographs up onto the concrete wall of the building when the sun started setting. Neighbors wouldn’t complain because it’d be like a good, old-fashioned block party. But it was September and we didn’t want to wait until next summer. Why wait? I’d like to chalk it up to being far too in love to have to hold out until the dog days, but in reality it was because neither of us wanted to mask an entire year with planning a wedding. Decisions can be made. You just have to make them. Some can even be made in a matter of minutes. Lucky for us, we knew we wanted to keep the celebration in the neighborhood. The Green Building sat smack dab between our parents’ homes – it was the perfect event space – and what could be better than walking to your own wedding? We had a cloudy Sunday all to ourselves after a rainy Saturday of not a whole lot. Our invitation called February 24th a day in the “hazy shade of winter” and that’s what it felt like. Cold, but not too cold, March felt right around the corner, and I got away with leaving my stockings back at the apartment. From our second floor windows I crouched down to steal better looks at Michael, suited up, down on the Columbia Street sidewalk. Once outside he looked even better - him in Palermo pink, a skinny black tie, clandestine skulls and crossbones in a place I won’t give up. His presence felt good and warm, like it always does, and the knots in my stomach got a head start on unraveling. Later on, standing up in front of so many people in an effort to declare romantic feelings reciprocated, life was only made easier because Michael was up there with me. I could never have gotten married without him.