BY CYNTHIA MAGNUS | City Hall in Lower Manhattan is usually pretty quiet on weekends. That was not the case, however, last Sunday.
Amy Christie and Meg Murray of Hoboken, N.J. were among the numerous jubilant couples and attendants that showed up for a slew of marriages resulting from a citywide lottery. The first marriage for both, the couple met as trainees for Teach for America. They have been together six years.
“It’s heartwarming that New York can acknowledge that our relationship is real,” said Amy.
Meg added, “We’re deeply connected to New York, we fell in love here.”
The couple, resplendent in matching white shirts of their own design with the word “Wifey” in bold pink letters, became engaged three-and-a-half years ago when Meg proposed to Amy on a bridge in Paris with a gem encrusted band.
“She had no idea,” Meg said.
“I was so surprised,” Amy agreed, “It was pretty romantic.” She quipped of Meg, “She was really nervous the whole flight.”
The couple, both 32, entered the lottery for a marriage license and received a congratulatory phone call from City Hall last Thursday. They ran out and bought rings the following day in “a tiny mom and pop shop on 47th Street,” according to Meg.
“We decided to go ahead and put the date,” said Amy about engraving the rings. “Even though we’re registered and things are going to happen, there’s a slight chance that it might not happen today, but then we thought it could be a funny story.”
“We’re ready to go,” said Meg of the judicial waiver that would allow the couple to skip the required 24-hour waiting period. “I have all the paperwork. We are getting married today.”
The couple planned to celebrate on Sunday with ten close friends in New York, with a larger and more formal party planned for October that will include family and friends from out of state.
“We weren’t sure that we would be able to do anything today,” said Meg about the lottery process, “so it was hard to coordinate with family.”
Their three marriage witnesses included two close friends in New York and Amy’s best friend who flew in from Ohio in honor of the special day. The newlyweds will keep their own names, their simple wedding bands engraved with “AC + MM 7-24-2011.”
