Reaching 10 years of being a couple is special and glad that we pushed through anxieties (and a little ADHD) to make it official in our own way. Our wedding journey will take us from the small ceremony on 2/5/2025 with my sister and parents to many places, visiting friends and family to celebrate our marriage. Each step of the journey, this website will be updated with photos and videos from each small event. Keep coming back and seeing our journey unfold all year long. 💕
Ceremony Video Currently Being Edited
February 5th
“At first glance, the key and the lock it fits may seem very different,” Sazed said. “Different in shape, different in function, different in design. The man who looks at them without knowledge of their true nature might think them opposites, for one is meant to open, and the other to keep closed. Yet, upon closer examination he might see that without one, the other becomes useless. The wise man then sees that both lock and key were created for the same purpose.””
The Ceremony
The ceremony was as magical and greatly unusual than I ever imagined. It started with a lovely walk with my mom and stepmom from our bedroom to the altar, created with stacks of my Aunt Maureen’s books and covered with Eagles and Yankees tapestries. In the center, where my sister stood, was a Hufflepuff rug to symbolize the strong friendship that Michael and I share.
My sister started off the ceremony with the usual ceremonial touches, highlighting the important numerological note of the date and the fact that we have been together for 10 years. With lovely quotes from Brandon Sanderson and Tolkien to highlight our shared literary writers.
Both of us wrote down five qualities that we appreciate in one another, so before the declaration of intent, we spoke to each other out loud. Highlighting each other’s unique qualities and abilities to make each of us better people. It was a very special moment; the words flowing through our lips and our hearts. Acknowledging the laughs, struggles, and everything in between.
We were definitely nervous about everyone staring at us, as each of us had some glistening sweat perspiring from our foreheads. So, we were both happy to diligently listen and respond to the declarations of intent, place a ring on each other’s fingers, and kiss in from of everyone; signaling that the celebrations can begin.
Morgan and Company
After the ceremony, we ventured to Glens Falls City Park to catch the last light of the evening to take photos in the lovingly decorated gazebo. Michael even surprised me by telling me to turn by head and kissed me. Certainly, made for a magical and beautiful shot.
The funny aspect of sneaking photos in the gazebo is the rather strange change in enforcement of nighttime activities in the City Park that was orchestrated in the summer to curb nefarious individuals. But knowing that Michael and Lynda, our photographer and Deputy County Clerk, were there, we had no troubles with law enforcement.
Walking into the surprisingly quiet Morgan and Company restaurant was really lovely. It has been an incredible staple of Glens Falls since 2014; and something that Michael and I always loved dining at, when we saved up for it. The food, atmosphere, staff, and friendly interactions with Chef Rebecca Newell-Butters was lovely, as always. Highly recommended to anyone visiting the area.
The server was incredibly well-trained, even skillfully carrying a non-alcoholic Cosmo to the table and presenting champagne to everyone to end the evening.
Celebratory Dessert
Coming home after dinner, all of us immediately changed into more comfortable clothes to enjoy some celebratory dessert. Each cake was made by L&M Bakery in Riverside, NJ and Dickinson’s Delights in Glens Falls, NY.
The impeccably delicious Red Velvet cake with vanilla frosting from the lovely folks at Dickinson’s Delights was perfect. We became neighborly friends with Tamberlyn and Jon over the years, from their very spot at the Glens Falls Farmer’s Market to their bakery on Bay Street. And our love of their Red Velvet Cookies became a running joke whenever we saw them; usually with a sad note that they just ran out of them. But Tamberlyn provided a half-dozen Red Velvet cookies along with the cake when we picked it up that morning.
The cake from L&M Bakery was also fantastic, brought up from New Jersey by my mom and sister the day prior. It was a mix of chocolate and vanilla, as well as included a lovely message of congratulations written in frosting. Our sweet cravings are certainly satisfied for a while.
February 9th
Philadelphia Eagles Superbowl
The Sunday after the wedding ceremony, Michael and I ventured down to my Uncle Charlie’s house in New Jersey to watch the rematch Superbowl between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles. It was a tumultuous task, given that we had a foot of snow covering our driveway from a recent snowstorm and we were coming out of a short, seasonal bout of sickness. But we made our way and got to witness an incredible game with the rest of the family.
It was exceptional wonderful to see everyone, now that Michael and I are officially married. The game provided lots of distractions, so our Marriage Celebration notebook remains empty for now. My family opted to wait to write in the notebook last Wednesday in order to process and think about what to write. And given the intense focus on the football game, we did not want to bother anyone with the task of thinking and writing something. But we have lots more visits and trips planned throughout the year; plenty of time to have it get filled out with lovely words from everyone.
Before leaving New Jersey, we stopped by the cemetery to visit the resting place of my grandfather. My cousin Tina had placed an Eagles plague nearby the day prior as a good luck charm for the game. It worked; the Eagles are Superbowl Champions once again!
My Pop-Pop must be smiling down from Heaven. Among our Palladino family in New Jersey, in the home of my Uncle Charles Palladino, all of us proclaimed the words, “This is for you, Pop-Pop!”
February 14th
Michael and I ventured to the Wood Theater in Glens Falls, NY to enjoy the Glens Falls Community Theatre’s production of Rent. The show originally premiered on Broadway back on February 13th, 1996, almost 30 years ago. The musical portrays Lower Manhattan, New York amidst the thriving days of bohemian culture and the HIV/AIDS crisis in the ‘80s. It was the last play by Jonathon Larson before he passed away suddenly mere weeks before the premiere. His legacy as a playwright lives on through Martha Banta, the original resident director of Rent, and several founding Adirondack Theater Festival members. Adirondack Theater Festival is a local organization in Glens Falls that puts on exciting new theater shows every summer. They recently celebrated 31 years since its founding. Gilles Chaisson, an early cast member, performed music from Rent at the second-ever Adirondack Theater Festival winter fundraiser.
One of the other incredible partnerships with this production of Rent, along with the many local non-profit and advocacy groups, is the display of a section of the AIDS Memorial Quilt, thanks to the Damien Center in Albany. Some of LGBTQIA+ community in the 80s were going through, what felt like, an extinction event, as this unknown disease caused countless suffering with a government that did not seem to care. Anthony Fauci, then head of the Laboratory of Clinical Investigation in the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), spearheaded the research and secured funding to help combat the deadly disease. Today, a HIV/AIDS diagnosis is no longer a death sentence with treatment available.
Jonathon Larson’s Rent provides a chilling reminder of the uncertainty and devastation of this time period, along with a wonderful blend of diverse stories of love and resilience. Their title song, Seasons of Love, is my all-time favorite, and it perfectly encapsulates the marriage celebration that my husband and I are embarking on. And the lyrics also eloquently describe my own mother’s relationship advice to always be with someone for four seasons before making a commitment.
I never realized, until recently, the wisdom behind that advice. On the surface, it makes sense; every person shows a different side of them in the warmer and colder months. But the message goes deeper into the multitudes of changes in a person’s life over the course of 525,600 minutes in a year, as the lyrics from Seasons of Love remind us. So much can happen in a year.