^^ 7:30am: On the bus to NYC! The ride from D.C. to New York is about 4 hours, give or take depending on traffic. My great friend, Durell, was getting married to the love of his life, Hannah, and there was no way we were missing it.
^^ 12:00pm: We made it to the Big Apple! For those who are new to this blog, I lived in NYC for 2 years before moving back down to D.C. for grad school (and to live with Charles and get engaged and then get married haha). So it felt really good to be back after being away for a while. The pulsating energy of NYC is one of a kind.
^^ 12:30pm: Grabbed a little snack at the Doughnut Plant on W 23rd St! Charles picked out the Cinnabon Doughnut while I went with the Green Matcha Doughnut. If you’re ever in NYC, you definitely need to make a stop at Doughnut Plant. Their doughnuts are made fresh daily (and taste really good) and the interior design of the bakery is so damn cute.
And for those who are curious, the Doughnut Plant was established in 1994 in the basement of an old tenement building in the Lower East Side. The owner, Mark, converted it into a bakery and made doughnuts all night using his grandfather’s doughnut recipe. He would then deliver them to various businesses on his bike in the mornings. After a couple years of building his business and developing partnerships with established cafes in NYC, he opened the Doughnut Plant in 2000. The bakery now has 4 established locations in the city.
^^ 2:00pm: After strolling through the city for a little bit, we hopped on the Q train headed to in the direction of Brooklyn, where Durell and Hannah were holding their wedding ceremony at the Brooklyn Tabernacle. When we arrived at the church, we rushed downstairs to the bathrooms to change into our fancy gear. Once changed, we came back up to the main entrance, filled out the guest book and were seated by an usher. It wasn’t long before the ceremony began at 2:30pm.
^^ 3:30pm: Hannah and Durell are married! This was by far one of the most touching wedding ceremonies I had ever attended. Charles and I were so happy to be present and bear witness to their union!
^^ 4:30pm: Chillin at the bar and grabbing a few drinks with Charles at the Hill Country Market where the wedding reception was scheduled to take place in 30 minutes. No alcohol at the reception? No problem. Charles and I did a little reconnaissance and found that the bar was located just one floor down from the reception area. :)
^^ 5:00-9:00pm: As you can tell from the photos above, we partied, ate some tasty barbecue, and danced hard in the name of Hannah and Durell’s love! Such a great time sharing this moment with them.
^^ 9:30pm: After the wedding reception, Charles and I changed back into our casual gear and walked about 10 blocks down from Hill Country to where the Brooklyn Bridge Park is located. In the 2 years that I lived in NYC, I had never been here. Since we had a couple hours before we had to catch our bus back to D.C., we made the most of our time and casually strolled through the park hand in hand. It was a great way to unwind after a long day and the views of NYC’s skyline from this side of the Hudson River were stellar!
^^ 10:30pm: Hopped in an Uber and made our way to Chinatown where our bus for D.C. was scheduled to leave at 11:00pm.
^^ 11:15pm: Before our bus could depart, it was stopped by a police officer who needed to verify the bus driver’s registration (#sketch)… 10 minutes later, the police officer came out of his car, said everything was clear and and the bus driver was finally able to make it his way through NYC and take us back home to D.C.
4:30am: Home.
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And that, my friends, is how we spent (less than) 24 hours in NYC. Since Charles and I are on a mission to save money, it made more sense for us to come right back to D.C. instead of booking an accommodation to stay overnight. I do wish we could’ve had more time to hang out in NYC and catch up with friends but c’est la vie. Yes, we were exhausted when we finally made it home but sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do.
Wishing you forever years of happiness Hannah and Durell! Love you guys mucho!
