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Ellen + Monica in New York, New York
Georgia brides trek to the Gotham City for an intimate fall wedding in Greenwich Village.

Photography by Laurie Rhodes

From Ellen: While you can plan for, you generally can’t choose how or where you are born. The same can be said for marriage and death – while some societies and religions provide more or less leeway regarding individual rights related to these important life milestones, only a few states in our country afford two women “the right” to marry. And marry we did, on September 22, 2012 in New York City. Not so much because we were politically motivated – though we firmly believe in our rights to fulfill self-evident truths and enjoy unalienable rights – but because we love each other and we want to pursue happiness together. That, unfortunately, is a tall order for two women in the United States today, which is why we planned an intimate, special, private event to celebrate our wedding.

Dan Fehlig and Jim Weitzman from The Upper Crust, Laurie Rhodes, Jeff Pennington and the countless armies behind them made our dreams come true that night. From the second we stepped into the venue at 91 Horatio, the second we realized Laurie’s innate ability to capture people’s hearts and souls from the inside out, the second we smelled the first flower, we were hooked. And so were our guests. The team embraced our love of family – our blood relatives and our closest, longest-term friends alike – and worked with us to ensure everyone felt special, felt loved and felt the magic. Family members who were ill or had passed away felt the love as much as those of us who celebrated together that night as they too, were part of the ceremony that evening. Whether our marriage is ever recognized beyond the State of New York remains to be seen. But thanks to the team who made our wedding so unique, so special and so “us,” our marriage is real and the magic in our lives and the twinkles in our eyes are pervasive, contagious and eternal.