As soon as Samantha and Amber’s super gorgeous rainy-day NYC elopement showed up in my inbox, I fell for it. Samantha and Amber are clearly head over heels, and their love is obvious and so, so sweet. But for me, it’s even sweeter because these two accidentally shared their wedding day with another couple. Rhys and Michael are a couple from Australia who came to NYC so they could legally get married. Rhys and Michael didn’t realize they needed a witness, so Samantha and Amber graciously offered to joined forces to inadvertently pull off an accidental double elopement.
Samantha and Amber originally planned their elopement for $3,000, and a lot of their budget was allotted to photographer and hotel. As Samantha explained:
Since we eloped, we wanted to still make it special for us. We wanted to go to a nice hotel, and spurge a little on ourselves since we weren’t going to feed a hundred-plus guests. Staying at The Ludlow just felt right. The hotel was close enough to the Marriage Bureau that we wouldn’t face too much traffic, and it was in the area we wanted. The hotel was lovely and classic, while still being modern. They had a lovely terrace we thought we might take pictures at, as well as a restaurant we could go to for celebratory drinks.
As for the photographer, I think it was the most important aspect for the two of us. Neither of our families would be able to join us, so we wanted to have a means for them to feel a part of the ceremony. Kate embodied that in every way possible. She was lovely to be around and allowed us to just go about our day without forcing us to stand in funny poses. The whole set felt very true to how the day went and showcased our love to family and friends.
Rhys and Michael, however, have a different story, as photographer Kate Thompson (of Betty Clicker Photography) explained:
There’s a great story there! Rhys and Michael are Australian and came to NYC so that they could legally get married. When they arrived at the circuit court, they didn’t realize they needed a witness, so Amber and Sam became their witnesses. Both couples got married in the small courthouse room one right after the other.
Samantha and Amber are clearly champions of rolling with it—whether “it” is doubling up with another couple, or last minute changes to their photo plans:
It took us almost one hour to get from the Marriage Bureau to Buvette (1.5 miles), where we took the outside pictures. That was not even the plan. We wanted to go to Central Park and get pictures there, but unfortunately we only had Kate for four hours. That was not even close to enough time to get us up there and back. So we decided we could go to Buvette, take some pictures on the West Side, which was GORGEOUS. I’m very happy with how everything turned out, but so that expectations aren’t let down, I suggest you keep in mind traffic when planning photo ops.
Samantha is also all about those plans—and it turned out that being a planner saved the day:
I’m a planner, so I made sure to research when were the best days to get married to avoid a line, checked out best restaurants, researched where to get the dress tailored, etc. Nothing was a surprise when it came down to the day (save the traffic! as I mentioned above). Amber was fantastic at communicating was she wanted and what she didn’t want. We were always able to find a solution that made us both happy without compromising what was important. On our wedding day we were so tired after lunch that a nap was what we both needed and it was great to be on the same page about everything.
I mean, this is what love is all about. Cheers to Samantha and Amber, Rhys and Michael, and one rainy day in NYC.
