Despite it being a snowy, cold winter in New York City, the day arrived at a balmy 40 degrees as the couple, their families, and Charlotte’s best friend Jay, who would serve as a witness, arrived bright and early to City Hall. The bride carried a bouquet designed by her friend, floral designer Sean Stronger. “I gave him almost no direction—just ‘red, pink, and ribbons’—and he showed up with something that felt less like a bouquet and more like a sculptural object,” she says. “The red ribbons tied back to Lunar New Year in a way that felt subtle but intentional.” Photographer Erin Michele Johnson, who shot Charlotte’s sister’s wedding as well as multiple events for the couple, was also there to document the day. “The only thing that would have made the day better was if our siblings were there, but like most adults, they couldn’t take off on a moment’s notice,” adds the pair.
One major hitch to their plans? The couple was unaware that New York law requires that you get your marriage license 24 hours ahead of the ceremony. “Once the clerk figured out we didn’t have our license, she told us very nonchalantly, ‘You’re not getting married today.’ You can imagine the look on everyone’s face,” shares Maxwell. “After about 60 seconds of silence, somehow our mothers said something that ultimately turned the clerk around. The clerk handed me a Post-it with a note ‘Exception Pls’ written in Crayola marker and with a silent confidence said, ‘Take this to them, they’ll know.’ At this point, what else could we do but find a judge and hope they wouldn’t laugh me out of their chambers for handing them a Post-it note written in Crayola? After a long conversation, swearing an oath, and answering for the umpteenth time why we did not have our wedding license—my initial answer was that ‘it was our first time’ did not get any laughter from the clerk—we had our approval!”
Initially, the family planned to celebrate afterwards with lunch at Lucien, a toast at Charlotte’s gallery space, and finally The Ned for dinner. Instead, plans took a turn and Lucien became their in-between dining spot before heading back to the courthouse. The location was a meaningful choice for the couple. “We’ve both been going there for years, long before we met. It’s where we always end up after gallery openings or long nights, sitting at the bar, running into people, staying longer than we planned,” shares the bride. “We were basically the only ones in the restaurant at 12:15 p.m. on a Tuesday afternoon, which made it feel even more intimate.”
On the way back to the courthouse, the two families made a detour through the Lunar New Year Festival in Chinatown. “There was smoke in the air, confetti covering the streets, constant noise—firecrackers going off in bursts, drums, people shouting. It felt dense and alive,” remembers Charlotte. “We were chasing lion dancers, setting off confetti poppers we had just picked up, and trying not to lose each other or our families in the crowd. At one point, I was holding our paperwork in one hand and a confetti popper in the other, which felt like a pretty accurate representation of the day. No one around us knew what was happening—we were just moving through this larger celebration, and then about to step into something so personal.”
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