Being the best man

Last week I had the honor of being the best man at the wedding of one of my best friends. I was totally taken by surprise when Ramses and Ilham told me that they were expecting their first baby and that they wanted  to get married in New York. Their plan was to have a "speed wedding'' and they thought the best place to have it would be New York. I was even more surprised, however, when they told me they wanted me as their witness. I have gotten used to being a NY tour guide for my visitors the past few months, but this was something completely different and unexpected. I had never been a witness before and I started to get slightly nervous. I  asked them what I was supposed to do and they answered that I just needed to show up at the ceremony and sign the marriage documents. Just like that. 

The ceremony was at the Manhattan Marriage Bureau and I got there before the bride and groom. As I waited, I observed all the other couples getting ready for their big day. Some just came in their jeans and sneakers while others came in beautiful dresses and suits. Despite these differences, I noticed the simplicity and relaxedness of the whole thing. This was exactly what Ramses and Ilham wanted and they got in the end. Both looked stunning. Ramses was wearing a spiky white suit and Ilham a lovely black and white dress. The wedding performer turned out to be a very cranky lady who probably does fifty ceremonies a day. She had a huge pile of wedding documents and mistook my friends for the wrong couple. It made the whole situation even more hilarious. It took her about a minute to find out who they were and after a couple more minutes Ramses could finally kiss his new wife. 

Afterwards, we went to a park for some romantic wedding pictures and we ended the day in a tiny restaurant in Soho with beer and burgers. The perfect end of a special day.

Aleks, my latest visitor, arrived yesterday. So I am back to being a happy tour guide again...