Back in October of 2007 (that’s right, October 15, 2007), when David asked us to save the date for his 40th birthday party / going away party (before they move to Scotland), we thought they were planning a bit in advance, but we didn’t think anything of it.  We marked the date on our calendars and knew we’d be in NY that weekend.

A month or so ago, when we were in NY for Suzanne’s birthday, David asked if Frank could bring his camera to the party so we could take some photos of Debi and David in their favorite park before they move to Scotland.  Again, not an unusual request.

So, the morning of the party, we headed up to the park and started taking pictures, all the while unsuspecting that there was something else planned.  We happily decorated the party tree (the location of a FABULOUS party 5 years ago), drank delicious tea and hung around with friends.  When Debi passed out kazoos for us to “sing” happy birthday to David, it seemed normal.  When their friend asked us to take a pinch of charcoal and sage, put all of our good thoughts for Debi and David in it, and burn it, no one blinked.  But when Debi started getting adorned with presents, we started to get confused.  This was David’s birthday, right?  When she got a bouquet we started to figure it out.  And when their friend unrolled a scroll and said “Dearly beloved,” we all screamed and started to cry (tears of joy, of course!).

The ceremony was lovely and they somehow pulled it off — not letting us in on their secret all these months.  In retrospect, there were many clues.  But it was even more fun because none of us had figured it out.

Check out pictures of the party and the ceremony here.  Note that there are 159 photos, and it’s all one slide show.  These individual links will just help you get to different sections more quickly.
If you want to skip to the after-party pictures in the New Leaf Cafe or to pictures of Debi and David walking around in the park, click one of these links.

Congratulations, Debi and David!