Yes, we do! City’s marriage office back in love biz again
Love is finally in the air again at the New York City Marriage Bureau.
After a 16-month coronavirus shutdown, the bureau in downtown Manhattan reopened its doors for in-person weddings on Friday, bringing joy to lovebirds who have waited for what feels like forever to tie the knot.
“Everything worked out perfectly,” Serenity Newson, 27, said after getting married to Tyreke Punch, 30, before a throng of reporters on the bureau’s first grand day back.
The newlyweds, who met about a year ago while working at Shake Shack, had planned a wedding this spring, but the pandemic got in the way.
As it happened, Newson got pregnant in the interim, and her due date also was set for Friday.
So, directly after the ceremony, Newson and her new hubby were bound for a hospital for another joyful moment in their budding marriage.
“I’m ready for this new chapter. I’m ready to have this baby. It’s a lot going on, but it’s all good things, all positive things, so overall just happy, good vibes,” Newson beamed.
Dorian Nash and Lazare Ouedraogo of the Bronx were also ecstatic about their wedding day finally arriving after a long pandemic delay.
The wait for their ceremony was long Friday, but Nash didn’t fuss about it.
“I’m a patient person. Once you got love, everything comes in the right place,” Nash said before walking into the bureau with Ouedraogo to make their union official.
Not everything was immediately back to normal at the Marriage Bureau, however.
City Clerk Michael McSweeney, who officiates at the bureau, said staff is for the time being only allowed to do about 50 wedding ceremonies per day, and coronavirus precautions like face masks and social distancing must be maintained at all times. In another reminder of the pandemic, plexiglass divides officiants from newlyweds in the bureau’s chapels. McSweeney said that before the pandemic the bureau conducted upward of 150 wedding ceremonies per day.
Outside the bureau, flower seller George Taxi, 52, said the wedding limitations had a ripple effect on his business. “Fridays are usually super busy here. I’m selling less than half of what I used to,” he said.
But Taxi — who was also having his first day back since the pandemic hit — said he’s optimistic for the future.
“I’m sure it will pick up. We’re all feeling it out,” he said. “I’m happy to be back.”