Jemma and Lee brought their family from Sheffield in England to get married in Central Park this May. They met through Jemma’s mother, who worked with Lee. They had been together for fourteen years before they got married and they have two lovely children, Noah and Elsa.
Before they had Elsa they were on the beach in the moonlight while on vacation in Majorca, Spain in 2011 when Lee told Jemma to close her eyes. When she opened her eyes he had drawn a heart in the sand around her, and got down on one knee with a ring in his hand and their son on his lap. Of course Jemma said yes to his proposal.
They wanted to get married because they felt that it was time for them all to share the same last name. Of course, Jemma and Lee have already made the huge commitment of their children, but they felt that that have grown as a family and now is the time for them to formalize their union.
Originally, they had wanted their ceremony to be held at Wagner Cove, but it has been out for repairs for some time following vandalism last year. Their second choice was Cop Cot, also a rustic wooden structure. In the end they were very pleased that they had chosen Cop Cot, because they felt that it was perfect for their intimate wedding ceremony.
They did have some concerns about the weather, and Cop Cot does not give much shelter in the case of rain, but they did not have any, and in fact it was very sunny. The leaves growing around Cop Cot do give some shade, but in early Summer, they do not give a great deal of coverage. They said that their favorite photographs were taken in and around Cop Cot. It is a lovely area for getting those iconic photos of the Park, with the buildings in the background, because it is on a little hill.
Jemma, Lee and their children stayed for a week in the Hilton Hotel Midtown Manhattan. They liked the location, close to Central Park, and they were both able to walk from their hotel to Cop Cot, which is just inside the South end of Central Park. They had close family as their guests, they said that they were very excited to be joining them, and they were pleased to have a good excuse to visit New York City.
Jemma had had a few issues with her first wedding dress, she had bought a dress online with the intention of having it altered. The seamstress she had been working with let her down, and as she started to run out of time she looked for a dress she could buy off the peg and she found the British classic clothes store BHS range, where she got her dress from. Her bouquet was from Artsy Flora and contained pink hydrangeas, white roses, white lisianthus and eucalyptus.
The ladies in the party had their hair styled at the Dry Bar. Luckily Jemma’s aunt is a makeup artist so she did Jemma’s makeup for her. They had plenty of photos taken as they walked North through Central Park from Cop Cot at 59th Street, and they left the Park at West 72nd Street. They hailed cabs to Carmine’s on 91st Street for a family-style Italian meal.
“Claire was brilliant from start to finish,” said Jemma. “I felt that my wedding plans were in good hands and nothing was too much to ask. Our photographer, Ande, was really lovely and let me have some creative input with some of the shots, and we have ended up with over 200 excellent photos. Also Dany, the officiant, was lovely too, her and Ande made a fab team.” I asked if they had any advice for anyone considering a wedding in Central Park and Jemma said “do it! We are so glad that we did, it was the perfect place.”
Thank you for sharing your story with us, Jemma and Lee, I wish you the best of luck for your future together. It was great to meet you and your lovely family. For more information on planning your own Central Park wedding, visit our website, or “like” us on Facebook for photos and more inspiring stories.
