Married During the 2003 Blackout

“On one hand, it’s very frustrating,” said Ms. Hasson, a 43-year-old associate director of development at SAR Academy and High School. “I look at my wedding pictures, and my hair is not done the way I wanted it to be done. It was in the process of being straightened.” Half of her hair was poofy, half of it was straight. “But it’s small things at the end of the day,” she said.

For many couples, including the Landmans, getting home after their weddings was a herculean task. The Landmans had planned to stay at a hotel in Great Neck, N.Y., but the hotel closed its doors because of the power outage and canceled their booking. The couple and their parents were perched on the curb, with flip phones and phone books, outside the wedding venue at 1 a.m., dialing numbers in search of a hotel that had power. One family member found a “rundown” motel in upstate New York near Monsey, about two hours away from the Bronx, Ms. Landman said.

The caterer, who lived near the area, volunteered to guide the couple to the motel. When they showed up to the lobby, Ms. Landman, wearing her wedding gown, asked the clerk, “Can we have a room for two?” The newlyweds spent their wedding night in a room where the carpet smelled like smoke.

“It was memorable in a different kind of way,” said Ms. Landman, 43, an English schoolteacher.

For Dr. Stollman, her blackout wedding served as a life lesson as she entered her marriage. “You’re going to have bumps along the road throughout marriage and throughout life,” she said, “and you have to figure out a way to make the best of it.”

Her father gave a speech during their celebration. “Many people think that this was a power outage,” he said, shining a flashlight over his face. “But it was really a power surge.” He talked about the couple and said, “Look at what they could do — they made this all happen around them.”