Mama Duck, the world’s tallest rubber duck at 18 meters, has inspired a Manhattan couple who wanted to renew their wedding vows in front of Mama on Friday morning. That is when the giant yellow chicken and her offspring Timmy Duck Hike to Playland Beach for the 2nd Annual Duck Days of Summer.

“When I saw that the duck was coming to town, I thought how fun it would be to get married in front of the duck,” said Amy Wadford, a professional makeup artist for television and film who just finished eight seasons with The Blacklist’s James Spader.

She will renew her vows with her husband Leo Lawrence in front of Mama Duck while being witnessed by her mother-in-law, beachgoers and anyone else on the Playland boardwalk around 10:30 a.m. Friday morning. The vow renewal comes just before their 15th wedding anniversary on September 9.

Wadford plans to wear a cute dress and “little duck headbands” to the vow renewal. “I have a little rubber duck in the suit if we could use it as a sort of minister,” Wadford said.

“It really is the cutest thing in the world,” she said of Mama Duck. “And yes, I’m really looking forward to it.”

The Playland Connection

Wadford is from Baltimore, Maryland, where the couple originally married, but her husband Leo Lawrence is a local. Lawrence grew up in Harrison (let’s leave that aside). As a teenager, he worked at Rye Playland. The rides he worked on back then included the Kiddieland boat ride, the Ferris wheel, the Spider and the Scrambler. Life comes full circle so many times…

Before Mama Duck there was Elvis

The fact that these wedding ceremonies have a certain production value is nothing new for Wadford and her husband, the cameraman. David Rubenstein’s interview show (Rubenstein is co-founder and co-chairman of the Carlyle Group.) On the couple’s tenth anniversary, they renewed their wedding vows in front of an Elvis impersonator in Las Vegas.

“I think I’ve been a little down lately and this is really going to make my day and give me something to look forward to. And I hope it does the same for the people who watch it this weekend,” Wadford said.

In a text message, Wadford wrote that she and her husband “consider ourselves a very happy couple in love.”

See you on the promenade.