Couple to Renew Marriage Vows in Front of World’s Largest Rubber Duck
Mama Duck, the world’s largest rubber duck at 61 feet tall, has inspired a Manhattan couple planning to renew their marriage vows in front of Mama on Friday morning. That’s when the giant yellow fowl and her offspring Timmy Duck migrate to Playland Beach for the 2nd Annual Duck Days of Summer.
“When I saw that the duck was going to be in town, I thought how fun it would be to get married in front of the duck,” said Amy Wadford, a professional makeup artist for TV and film who just finished eight seasons with James Spader on The Blacklist.
She will renew her marriage vows with her husband Leo Lawrence in front of Mama Duck while her mother-in-law, beachgoers and anyone else who happens to be enjoying the Playland boardwalk around 10:30 am Friday morning will bear witness. The vow renewal is just before their 15th wedding anniversary on September 9th.
Wadford plans to wear a cute dress and some “little duck headbands” for the vow renewal ceremony. “I do have a tiny rubber duck in a suit, if we were able to set him up as kind of like an officiant,” said Wadford.
“It’s really the cutest thing in the world,” she said about Mama Duck. “And, yeah, I’m really looking forward to it.”
The Playland Connection
Wadford hails from Baltimore, Maryland, where the couple was originally married, but her husband Leo Lawrence is a local. Lawrence grew up in Harrison (we will let that slide). When he was a teen, he worked at Rye Playland. The rides he worked on back in the day included the Kiddieland boat ride, the ferris wheel, the Spider and the Scrambler. In life, so many things come full circle …
Before Mama Duck, There was Elvis
Adding some production value to these marriage ceremonies is not new to Wadford or her photography director husband, who records David Rubenstein’s interview show (Rubenstein is the co-founder and co-chairman of The Carlyle Group). For the couple’s 10th anniversary, they renewed their vows in front of an Elvis impersonator in Las Vegas.
“I’ve been a little down lately, I guess, and this is something that is really going to make my day, and it’s given me something to look forward to, and I’m hoping that it does the same for people that will see it this weekend,” said Wadford.
In a text message, Wadford said she and her husband “consider ourselves very lucky “duck” in love”.
See you on the boardwalk.
