By John Torsiello

When Joanne Nurse and Gerald Tuchman married on July 10 at The Mayflower Inn in Washington there was a similar feel to the proceedings. That’s because it was déjà vu all over again for them…sort of.

Nurse and Tuchman were married in August of last year at the Washington home of Tuchman’s dad, Bruce. “The wedding at The Mayflower had always been planned for 2021, but we were staying at Gerald’s dad’s home during the pandemic and we just didn’t want to wait,” says Nurse. “The only people there were myself and Gerald, my sister, Leila, Gerald’s dad and the officiator.”

So there was unfinished business; like a real wedding with a knockout wedding dress, lots of guests, a welcome party, dancing, food and the bubbly, well, you know, all the trappings.

“We had settled on having our wedding at The Mayflower Inn because we had been there often when visiting and staying at Gerald’s dad’s home and we love it,” explains Nurse, a teacher in New York City. Gerald Tuchman is a director at a credit hedge fund dual based in New York and Tel Aviv. “I wanted that experience of a formal wedding.”

As for her emotions during what she termed the “re-wedding,” Nurse says, “It felt different than the first. It was like,`Wow, we were planning this for a year and a half and it finally happened.’ It was like a dream with all our family and friends there, and it was kind of like it was the end of COVID, although it still continues. It was a relief and a celebration.”

“I was very excited that we were making it official, and very nervous about the ceremony. But I actually never got that real `fright feeling.’ It meant a lot to have it in a place that brings us comfort and feels like a home away from home,” says her husband.

Tuchman said the wedding went exactly as planned, “even better” in many ways. “The staff and the wedding team were remarkable throughout. Everyone was extra attentive, detail-focused, high energy, and genuinely sweet. Looking back, I wouldn’t change a thing.”

The couple hired a wedding planner, New York City-based Sara Landon. “Sara and her team did an amazing job and when they arrived Friday for the welcoming party, I relaxed. The staff at The Mayflower was also very helpful during the initial stages of planning and leading up to the event.”

In a moment of poignancy, the couple placed photos of several of their departed loved ones on empty chairs set near them during the outdoor ceremony. “We wished they could have been there but we had photos of my mother, Elena Lee, and Gerald’s grandfather and grandmother, Eli and Estelle Tuchman, on chairs near us, so it was like they were there in spirit.”

For Gerald Tuchman, a “wow” moment was, “Seeing my amazing wife in her dress in the Shakespeare Garden.” But there were others like “hanging out with my groomsmen in our suite, grabbing drinks before the ceremony at the bar with close friends and family, dancing, drinking—really everything. But nothing topped how amazing my wife looked.”

And this was after marrying her once before!