Savannah and Patrick got married in Cop Cot in December. Savannah is from Johannesburg in South Africa and Patrick is from Charlottesville, Virginia and they were 29 and 28 when they got married. They had been together for just over four years when they got married. “We joke that we made it through grad school, a pandemic, long distance, and the US visa system, and hope that means we can make it through anything!” said Savannah.
They met at an NYU graduate school orientation mixer in 2018. At that time they were both freshly moved to New York City to study for their master’s degrees. They were in different graduate programs but were both the first people each other had properly met in the city. They immediately got along and so spent a lot of their first few weeks getting to know the city together. When the pandemic hit, they decided to try to see it through together in New York City and not go back to their respective hometowns. They spent eight months together in the city but when Savannah was finally able to get a flight home again, she decided to take it as she had not seen her family for a long time and was struggling to find work. At that time she was on a temporary work visa and travel was still restricted for non-US citizens, so she knew that leaving the US meant it would be hard to get back anytime soon. Savannah and Patrick agreed that for a time they would have to have a long distance relationship.
Eventually, when travel restrictions eased a little, Patrick booked a flight to South Africa. At the time, Savannah was staying with her parents so to avoid exposing them to the risk of Covid after Patrick’s long flight they booked a cottage in a mountainous town called Clarens for the two of them. “We planned to isolate there before going back to Johannesburg,” said Savannah. Patrick proposed to Savannah the morning after he arrived. “We were on the veranda drinking our morning coffee and he pulled out a ring and asked me to marry him,” she told me. Patrick had told Savannah’s parents and sister and they all said that she never makes a decision quickly and so he should expect her to ask if him if she could think about it, but to Patrick’s surprise she said “of course!” straight away.
I always ask couples why getting married is important to them. “The most obvious answer is that being married meant Patrick and I could exist in the same space together indefinitely and that is what we very much wanted,” Savannah explained. “Our relationship has always been governed by my visa status and so it always felt like it was on some type of time limit. Covid and the different restrictions each country put on citizens and visitors showed us that our worlds could be separated pretty easily and we wanted to be able to deal with big things like that and move around in the world together,” she said. Those were the practical reasons. “The more abstract and stronger reason is the desire to build something together, and acknowledge our love, partnership and desire to tackle things as a unit,” she added.
Savannah and Patrick knew they were going to get married in the Winter, but they still loved the idea of holding a ceremony outdoors. “We love being outside and also love the vast amount of public spaces in New York City so a lot of the options we considered were outdoor public spaces,” Savannah said. They considered the Coney Island Boardwalk but thought it might be too far for guests to travel and especially cold near the water. Another idea was Prospect Park as they live in Brooklyn but had she said they had no clue how to go about planning or getting permits for that. They also thought about just going to City Hall, but they felt like they wanted something a little more romantic. Their last idea before settling on Central Park was just doing the ceremony at their apartment because they have a small garden but ended up deciding on holding their reception there and thought it would be too much to have both in the small space.
When deciding where to get married, Savannah and Patrick had their guests in mind. Since their families were traveling for the wedding, they wanted to choose somewhere that their guests would enjoy seeing in the Winter. “We met and fell in love in New York City and so thought it fit quite splendidly to get married amongst the trees and skyscrapers. I don’t care how touristy Central Park is, it is still one of the most enchanting places in New York City. Whenever you visit Central Park, it feels little there is a space for every kind of New Yorker and visitor alike,” said Savannah. Of course I very much agree, having been a tourist in New York myself and also having lived just a few blocks from Central Park.
So, once they had chosen Central Park for their wedding ceremony location, they did have a few concerns. “We were worried about the logistics of having a wedding in the park. We had no clue how to even start thinking about what we would need to do to make it happen, or even if it was a possibility,” said Savannah. So, they took to the internet and it happened to be Savanna’s sister who found Wed in Central Park. “I honestly would have not even thought it was possible to get married in Central Park if my sister hadn’t found the Wed In Central Park website,” she said. “We were talking about how amazing it would be to get married in Central Park but how expensive and hard it would be to get a permit when she decided to look it up for fun and found the website. Something that felt like it would be a logistical nightmare ended up being so simple with Claire’s help and allowed Patrick and I to focus on the important decisions for the day,” she told me.
When they first contacted me, Savannah and Patrick had originally been considering holding the wedding ceremony under Bethesda Terrace, “because we love the drama of the arches and mosaic covered walls,” said Savannah, and they also thought it would be good in case of bad weather. I suggested another, more private spot. Bethesda Terrace is always quite busy, and they had quite a large group. So, in the end, we decided on Cop Cot for their ceremony. “We wanted it to feel like we had a little piece of Central Park to ourselves and guests for the ceremony,” Savannah told me. They were really happy that they had chosen Cop Cot instead. “The light was beautiful in the mid morning in the Winter and the location on top of a small hill on the south side of Central Park gives you a beautiful contrast between the nature in Central Park and the skyscrapers in the skyline,” she said. We did also get a permit for Bethesda Terrace as a plan B backup location in case it did rain, because Cop Cot in the cold rain wouldn’t have been pleasant.
Savannah and Patrick and I worked on the ceremony wording together. They wanted a balanced mix of Catholic and Jewish traditions in the ceremony since Savannah comes from a Jewish background, while Patrick comes for a Catholic one. The officiant introduced the ceremony and then Savannah’s mom read the Jewish seven blessings and Patrick’s mom read the bible verse Corinthians 13: 1-13. “We absolutely loved our ceremony,” Savannah told me. “The intimacy of a small group allowed us to be ourselves, and it felt like we were having more of a conversation with each other, the guests, and the officiant rather than ‘putting on a performance.’ Our officiant also set that tone for the ceremony which we really appreciated” she added. They exchanged the traditional “I do” vows and some more modern vows as they exchanged rings, and they had the Jewish tradition of the breaking of the glass at the end. After the ceremony and congratulations, they took some group photos and drank coffee with the guests at Cop Cot. Savannah and Patrick had ordered Starbucks coffee boxes for their guests before the ceremony to try keep everyone at least a little warm!
Savannah got ready with her mom and sister, and her sister did her hair and makeup. Before leaving for Central Park she was able to do a toast over Zoom with two of her best friends who weren’t able to make it in person, which was something that felt very special to her. Patrick got ready with a couple of his friends who all got together to make breakfast before the ceremony. Their group numbered around twenty-five guests. Many loved ones from South Africa couldn’t make it in person, so these guests were able to witness the ceremony on Zoom. Savannah said that this worked out great because they could not only witness the ceremony but also see Central Park in the background so got a taste of what we had in person. “I think some family members were skeptical at first about a Central Park wedding, mostly because they didn’t know it was even allowed,” Savannah said. “Everyone who attended the wedding has since told us how beautiful it was and how much they felt it suited and felt right for Patrick and I,” she added.
Savannah and Patrick live in Bushwick but a lot of their extended family stayed at The Shoreham on West 55th Street. Savannah’s parents and sister stayed in an AirBnB in Bushwick for the whole of December, since they had come such a long way and Patrick’s parents stayed at The Shoreham for the wedding weekend and then Savannah and Patrick’s apartment for Christmas afterward.
Savannah wore an oyster-colored wedding dress covered in pearls by a South African designer Elli-Nicole. She wore Dr Marten boots on her feet, “it felt important to wear comfortable and warm shoes,” she said. Regular readers of this blog will know that I do love a bride in sensible shoes, especially in colder months! She wore a beige coat to warm up here and there but took it off for the ceremony, even though it was very cold! “I froze but had to give my dress a moment to shine” she said! Patrick wore a navy blue three-piece suit made by Alton Lane with a dusty pink floral tie. The boutonnieres were made from dried flowers purchased from Etsy. Savannah had also planned to use the dried flowers for a bouquet but made a last-minute decision to hold blue hydrangeas because she realized otherwise she wouldn’t have had her ‘something blue’. “This was a mistake,” she said, “the poor flowers did not like the cold from my short walk to Cop Cot and were drooping by the time I got there.”
They had booked their own photographer, Leonard Okpor for the morning. They took some photos at Cop Cot and outside the structure in front of the skyscrapers. Then they walked up the Mall to Bethesda Terrace so we could take photos in that spot which they knew they loved so much. “We had shots in front of the walls and in between the arches, these turned out beautifully,” said Savannah. Keep in mind that there might be some locations that you really want to take photographs in, but those locations might not be appropriate for what you need from a ceremony location. If you have the time to walk around the park, then you don’t have to choose! After photos in Central Park, they also took photos in the subway and around Bryant Park, “we wanted some urban/city photos and these were great locations for these!” Savannah said.
Savannah and Patrick finished up taking photos at the Algonquin Hotel. Then they met for a champagne toast and a quiet moment to acknowledge the ceremony and debrief on the morning with close family. “I highly recommend doing this or something that allows you a quiet moment to sit and chat with the people very close to you,” said Savannah. “I think it was one of my favorite moments of the day.” The evening of their wedding day, Savannah and Patrick had everyone from the ceremony over to their flat in Bushwick for a very low-key reception. They got Yiah Yiah’s to cater for them, and a cake made by Ovenly. Since it was quite close to Christmas, Patrick’s mom and her friends had made them Christmas candy for dessert. “Having a party at our house was great, everyone felt really relaxed and we were able to enjoy ourselves, we got to dance and celebrate all through the night!” Savannah told me.
I asked Savannah if she thinks this more low-key, smaller and more intimate weddings are become more popular. “I think since Covid, smaller weddings are definitely more popular and I love to see it!” said Savannah. They both liked the idea of a small wedding. “We wanted to be able to be very present on the day and get to talk, and have meaningful interactions with the people who celebrated with us. The intimacy you get at a small wedding was important to us,” she told me. They also streamed the ceremony over Zoom to include the family and friends who were too far away to make it, so they covered as many bases as they could. I asked Savannah what she would say to anyone else considering getting married in Central Park. “I loved getting married in Central Park, I think it would be beautiful in any weather if you are willing to make the most of it,” she said. “There will be other people in the park looking on, but this does not take away the magic of the park and even added to the experience,” she said. Savannah and Patrick actually bumped into a couple after the ceremony who were walking in the park because it was their thirtieth wedding anniversary. That couple were visiting New York to celebrate as they had also gotten married in the city. Savannah said that it felt really fitting and something she hopes they will remember when they reach their thirtieth anniversary. “This is an experience you would only have in a public spot like Central Park” she added.
Savannah had told me that their parents thought it was a wild idea and logistical nightmare to get married in Central Park. “But Wed in Central Park took that aspect stress completely away,” she said. “Claire allowed us to imagine a dream scenario for our wedding and then she made it happen. Even past the logistics of getting married in Central Park, we did not know how to begin to think up a ceremony and incorporate all the things we felt were important but Claire held our hand through that all too. If you know Patrick and I, you know we tend to stress about every little detail of a decision or event, but Claire didn’t give us time to do that; she anticipated our concerns before we had them and gave us options and solutions to combat them.” she said. Thank you for your kind words, Savannah, it was a pleasure to work with you. I wish you both the best of luck for your future together, perhaps a vow renewal in Central Park in thirty years time to celebrate?! If you would like me to help you with planning your own Central Park wedding (or vow renewal), whether you’re local or visiting, visit our website. Keep updated with our news and see lots of beautiful photos, “like” us on Facebook, follow us on Instagram and follow us on Pinterest.
