On Saturday evening at Lincoln Center, 500 couples came together to get married for the first time, renew their vows, or celebrate their love for New York City.
Archley Prudent and Hugh Gallagher-Prudent stood under rows of hanging pink flowers that were topped with toy flamingos. They had been together for 19 years, but got married 12 years ago when gay marriage was legalized in New York City.
In 2011, “we literally ran to City Hall to make sure people were not changing their mind. It’s been an amazing life,” said Prudent, who was dressed in a blue kilt and a flowy white top that he said he bought from Amazon for the occasion.
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The two first met in 2003 on the streets of New York City, where Prudent said he approached Gallagher-Prudent and asked him out for a drink. Three months later, Gallagher-Prudent was cooking dinner in their apartment when Prudent pulled out a ring and proposed.
“We wanted to renew our vows and be around people who are doing exactly the same thing. People are happy and smiling and we are just sharing one thing tonight: love,” said Prudent. He added that they will renew their vows again next year in Ireland, where Gallagher-Prudent is from.
Lincoln Center hosted “The Wedding” for the first time last year, inspired by couples across the world whose weddings were canceled due to the pandemic.
This year, it has become something more than that, as couples lacking the resources to throw a big wedding themselves and couples renewing their vows have joined in.
“I think the beauty of this particular celebration is the diversity of New York and so you see every kind of couple coming together and celebrating not just their own love, but each other’s love and love for the city,” said Shanta Thake, Lincoln Center’s chief artistic officer.
Since the pandemic, Lincoln Center has focused on becoming a “civic cultural center,” where its space not only hosts live performances but also has deep relationships with the community.
“These rituals of what it means to be in civic life and what it means to come together…a lot of that was broken during the pandemic. So it was a time to also create new rituals and new celebrations for people,” Thake said.
Margaret Batiuchok, a ballroom dance teacher, and George Candler, an architect, were in line to get their photo taken before the wedding ceremony began. They have been married for 20 years and decided to come back a second year to renew their vows. “It brings us together in a special way and to focus on one another because we’re so busy,” said Batiuchok.
