The newlyweds, Shantel and Jamison Espaillat.
Most brides would agree that it takes time and a crew of friends or family to pull off a flawless wedding. But the wedding of Shantel and Jamison Espaillat, in a hallway at The Mount Sinai Hospital, was planned and executed in a matter of hours.
The couple had planned their wedding for Monday, June 24, at City Hall, well in advance of a September due date for their first child. However, a uterine infection landed Shantel at Mount Sinai the weekend before, and physicians found that the baby needed to be delivered quickly, at 29 weeks.
Shantel and Jamison were determined to be wed before having a child, so early Monday morning, Shantel asked Shaelyn O’Hara, MD, a maternal fetal medicine fellow and someone with whom she had bonded, if getting married at the hospital was a possibility.
Shaelyn immediately contacted Carrie Gerber, MSN, RN, Labor and Delivery Nurse Manager, who in turn called the Rev. Amy Strano, MDiv, BCC, Director of Spiritual Care at The Mount Sinai Hospital. All agreed that as a team, they could marry the couple and ensure them a memorable wedding.
The Rev. Amy Strano leads the couple in their vows.
Jamison went home to get the wedding license and rings, and in the meantime, the team worked together to buy a bouquet and boutonniere and fashioned a headpiece from surgical masks and flowers from the unit. By lunchtime, every item was in place.
With “Here Comes the Bride” playing in the background, Dr. O’Hara serving as a bridesmaid, and a cadre of physicians, nurses, and staff standing in as guests, the ceremony went off without a hitch, and Rev. Strano pronounced the couple husband and wife. There were just a few moments to celebrate before Shantel was wheeled into the operating room and Luciana Vieira, MD, along with Marc Engelbert, MD, took over for what Dr. Vieira called a “happily uncomplicated” delivery of a baby boy.
Even the hospital’s Dietary Department was able to contribute. They delivered a wedding cake the next day, when Shantel felt well enough to eat again.
The newlyweds were ecstatic. “It was like a movie,” Jamison said. Shantel added, “This is 100 percent better than City Hall.”
The Rev. Strano was as moved as the newlyweds, but for a slightly different reason. “This was a true display of teamwork and creativity as I have ever seen. It was beautiful.”