Sometimes an understated, elegant exchange of marriage vows at a marvelous edifice such as the New York City Marriage Bureau is exactly what’s needed for a wedding day. That’s how the editor in chief of Curve Magazine, Merryn Johns, and her partner Marcie Bianco, contributing editor for Curve Magazine and adjunct professor of English at Hunter College, saw it. “We didn’t want to make a big fuss on our wedding day,” says Johns. In fact, the couple, who’s been together since 2013, saw their early spring wedding as more of an elopement in their own city. Merryn wore Ralph Lauren and Marcie wore Giorgio Armani — attire plucked straight from their closets. Katherine Johnstone, one of their two witnesses, surprised her friends with two lovely bouquets of flowers. Read more of their love story in their own words below their wedding photos as captured by their friends on an iPhone.

 

 Marcie + Merryn

From Merryn: Having not ever wanted to get married, partly I because I’ve never been with the right person, I’d never dreamed about what it should be like. I had no idea! No preferences, no wishes. I was still amazed that someone who wanted to marry me was also someone I would marry. Since I like simplicity, I was quite happy with the quick and functional nature of a City Hall wedding. I felt surprisingly calm on the day. It felt completely normal for me to be doing it, and I had no nerves, no butterflies, just a quiet feeling of joy; that this was right. I have seen brides become hysterical and sick with nerves and the drama of a big wedding has never appealed to me. I was thrilled to take a ticket as though we were at a deli counter, wait out turn, and then have it all over in a matter of minutes. On with life!

From Marcie: From very early on in our relationship, I dreamed about marrying Merryn, whose beauty, intelligence, depth of feeling and creativity were everything I wanted in a partner with whom I could walk through life, side-by-side. The day was both momentous and intimate. It’s funny to think that marriages are considered life-altering events, because for me the day didn’t alter my life — it secured it.

More from Merryn: After the ceremony, us four girls took a Yellow Cab to the restaurant ABC Kitchen where we had a farm-to-table lunch with French Champagne. We have not set a date for a formal wedding or matrimonial ceremony. We are planning a fall trip to Sweden and then after that, Key West, which we hope will be a kind of honeymoon.

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VENDORS
ATTIRE: Merryn: Ralph Lauren ; Marcie: Giorgio Armani