Big love in Brooklyn at a botanical garden micro wedding

Michael Sami Brooklyn Microwed 7 — *Photography by Kate Alison Photography*

Offbeat Couple: Sami and Michael

Date & Location: 10/08/2022, Brooklyn Botanical Garden, Brooklyn, NY

Tell us about Sami and Michael's micro wedding origin story

Originally, we were going to get married at the New York county clerk’s office, but Covid restrictions meant appointments could only be made a few weeks in advance, and it was important to have Sami’s parents from Michigan here in the city for the tying of knots.

With our courthouse ceremony suddenly out of the picture, we fell head first into an actual wedding with only 10 months from the both of us saying “Yes!” in a joint proposal to saying “I do” before an intimate group of friends and family.

Michael Sami Brooklyn Microwed 25 — *You thought their dress was stellar? Gaze upon those starry nails!*

As professional creatives – Michael a production designer and scenic artist in the film industry, Sami a freelance illustrator and animation artist – thinking outside the box and on a tight schedule is second nature to us.

Tell us about making the micro wedding thrifty but fabulous

If we were going to do the damn thing, it needed to be unique to us and our life and not put us into debt as the first act of our marriage! It was also important to us that despite our straight-passing relationship, our queer identity and the community we have made for ourselves was present in the day.

Furious googling led us to an extremely affordable early morning time slot at the Brooklyn Botanical Garden, where our close friend Dakota officiated a ceremony that blended the new and old traditions and customs important to us both.

Michael Sami Brooklyn Microwed 17 — *The officiant's nails are equally spot-on*

From stomping on glasses in the Jewish tradition of Michael’s family, with Sami absolutely crushing it in high heeled, platform leather boots…

Michael Sami Brooklyn Microwed 30 — *These boots were made for crushin'*

…to writing our own vows, to tapping into our Dungeons & Dragons love by rolling initiative to see who would speak first…

Michael Sami Brooklyn Microwed 13 — *Rolling the dice…*

Michael Sami Brooklyn Microwed 14 — *Michael wins the initiative!*

…it was a ceremony that was emotional, meaningful, and full of laughter!

Michael Sami Brooklyn Microwed 20 — *Love for the win!*

Tell us about the Brooklyn micro wedding reception

After the ceremony, we unleashed our friends and family with a list of recommendations of our favorite spots across Crown Heights, where we’ve built our life together, and 6 hours until the party at a bar we had rented out for the evening with wood fired Neapolitan pizza from a neighborhood favorite and desserts baked by two dear friends.

At the end of the chilly October night, surrounded by friends toting Ikea bags of used decoration and leftover pizza, we stumbled the 7-minute walk to our front door and waiting black car, ready to start the rest of our lives.