“Beware the Brides of March!” proclaims event organizer Harmony Vehling, but she’s really just threatening everyone with a good time in Manhattan.
The “Brides of March,” not to be confused with an event of a similar name that is dedicated to raising awareness of domestic violence against women, is a bit like a mini Santacon. Participants all wear wedding gowns of some form or another as they roam from one pre-determined destination to the next, and gender is not an issue.
But Brides of March leans more towards camaraderie than alcohol and is somewhat more manageable as the brides numbered at about 75 total; Santacon, if you’re wondering, has hit the 30,000 mark.
“It takes a little more commitment than that,” Vehling notes. “You can’t just buy a sweater and participate.”
Vehling discovered the joy of being part of the celebration in Phoenix in 2011, after hearing about it at Burning Man and continued when she moved to NYC in 2014. At that point, the group was “maybe 15-20 people,” Vehling recalls, as compared to the “100 people that we would have in Arizona.” She took over the management reins from Abby Ehman in 2022 and was determined to keep it fresh every year.
Along with her “partner-in-crime,” co-producer Heather Feather, the pair mapped out a route that started at Madam Mikette’s, moved to the Strangelove bar and then to a public atrium where there was an impromptu dance party. There was a group photo at 53rd Street and Madison Avenue and a ride down to the Flatiron Building on the 6 train (as the Dixie Cups’ “Going to the Chapel” boomed out), then on to Boxers bar and finally a ride on the SeaGlass Carousel in Battery Park, which is the only stop that stays the same each year.
“I have big dreams that I want to accomplish, and each year I kind of check one off,” she says. “When planning this year, I got the idea for next year. So, I know what we’re gonna do — I’ve already got big plans.”
The Brides of March demonstrating that there’s nothing like a good metaphorPhoto by Bob Krasner 
Their special dayPhoto by Bob Krasner 
Selfie time in Strangelove – a “punk rock dive bar” on East 53rd St. That’s Beluca Harivel in the pink dressPhoto by Bob Krasner 
A houseful of Brides at Madam Mikette’sPhoto by Bob Krasner
One thing she can count on each year is the participation of her husband, Joseph Vehling.
“She told me about it, and I just jumped right in,” he says.
“He’d never done drag before, and he wore my dress,” she informs us. “He’s always a big help, he’s been there since day one.”
Feather, a pre-school teacher and a stilt walker (the latter is more fun, she informs us), is on her seventh Brides of March.
“I pick out different decades to represent each year,” she says. “This gown is a little 80s influence. I’ve done a full Victorian gown. I was the stilt walking flower girl at Harmony’s wedding!”
While white gowns were predominantly the choice, people definitely got creative.
There was the goth vision of first timer Beluca Harivel, a poet who wore “a thrift store dress with a curtain from the house” as a veil.
Kristy Magee, also a virgin Bride, loved “how cool and creative everyone’s energy is.”
Ian Roberts, on his second time around, said, “It’s such a spectacle — and a chance to be a bridezilla for the day.”
Stacy Benjamin, having a fabulous time participating in the wedding for the third time in the dress she last wore 30 years ago, noted that “the dress lasted, the marriage did not!”
The “Bride of Frankenstein” was absent this year, but the bride from “Kill Bill” showed up, as did Maggie Gyllenhaal’s ‘The Bride’, as portrayed by artist Carri Skoczek.
“I saw the movie, and I said, ‘I have to do this,’” Skoczek says. “‘The Bride’ is fantastic.”
Still checking each other out….. Brides of March producer Harmony Vehling and her husband Joseph VehlingPhoto by Bob Krasner 
Kristy Magee started the day off right at Madam Mikette’sPhoto by Bob Krasner 
Micah, just another bride waiting for a trainPhoto by Bob Krasner 
Dorian of Dorian’s Gilded Society, in front of Charlotte Colbert’s “Chasing Rainbows”, had their own take on the bridal themePhoto by Bob Krasner 
Brides of March co-producer Heather Feather hanging out at StrangelovePhoto by Bob Krasner 
Bhavana wondering what the future will holdPhoto by Bob Krasner 
“I saw the movie “The Bride!” and said I have to do this”, said artist Carri SkoczekPhoto by Bob Krasner
Jordan Heath was back for a second time because she enjoys “letting go, being ridiculous and doing things that society tells you not to.”
Although their Facebook page describes the day as “part performance art, part bar crawl, all chaos,” it’s more of a bonding experience than an excuse to get drunk.
“I’ve got friends who don’t drink, and I wanted to make it fun for them too,” says Vehling.
Vehling gets a lot of joy out of roaming the streets with her crew, and she has to laugh whenever someone yells “only in New York!” The event, after all, started in San Francisco and happens yearly in New Orleans, Toronto, Austin, San Diego, Boston, Vancouver and London, to name just a few locations.
“You know,” she muses, “society is getting more and more beige and gray. It’s so nice to have this expressive, playful thing that we get to do every year, and it’s really become this amazing community.”
But her favorite part is “definitely seeing when it’s their first year and they show up, and they’re so proud of their gown and how amazing they look. A lot of people are like, ‘oh, I’ve never felt this pretty before’. And I like that they all kind of put their trust in me. I don’t really tell anyone where we’re going. The amount of people that put their trust in me and just show up in this gown and then tag along for the ride! I think that’s my favorite part.”
The Brides of March Facebook page is facebook.com/events/madam-mikettes/brides-of-march-nyc/2402122286879039/ and the Instagram is @bridesofmarchnyc.