Monika and Marko were married at Maritime Parc in Liberty State Park in Jersey City, the day after the giant Halloween snowstorm here in New Jersey!
They are both such exuberant, passionate, and interesting people, and I tried to capture a little bit of that in their ceremony. To honor Monika’s Polish heritage, we did a special ritual at the very end, after the kiss. The bride and groom were offered salt and bread, to show how they will sustain and support each other throughout their lives, by their moms – and then had a vodka toast, smashing the glass for good luck!
Their personal vows had everyone laughing and crying, and there seriously was not a dry eye in the house! Monika and Marko also incorporated a few readings into their ceremony, including some of my favorites (Taylor Mali’s “Falling in Love is Like Owning a Dog” and a selection from Captain Corelli’s Mandolin) as well as some I hadn’t even thought to use as wedding readings before (Robert Fulghum’s “Everything I Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten” – it works surprisingly well!)
Plus I just loved their polka dot theme. If anyone wants me to wear polka dots to their wedding – just let me know!
And their ceremony did include the story of one of the greatest pick-up lines ever:
Monika and Marko’s lives first crossed paths at a bar, when Marko overheard Monika discussing cheese, and offered this choice tidbit of trivia to her: “Did you know you can eat most things that grow on cheese and they won’t hurt you?” It turned out they had a mutual friend, so our couple was introduced – and Marko with a K met Monika with a K officially for the first time.
And included this wonderful line in the Love Story, too, which I just loved!
If Marko had to choose just one person he’d want in the Batmobile of life as his co-pilot, it would have to be Monika.
Congrats and much love to both of you!
