One of the questions that I am asked most frequently is where to go to eat after a wedding in Central Park. It’s such a difficult question to answer in a fabulous city such as New York with so much choice. And of course couples have such a vast range of tastes and budgets and group sizes to cater for! So over the years of writing this blog I’ve written my own list of New York restaurant recommendations, and followed that up with a second list of New York restaurant recommendations.
After that I decided to use my client’s recommendations, so I wrote a post summarising where all the couples who featured on the blog in 2016 ate after their wedding, then one about all the couples who featured on the blog in 2015, then those from 2014 and now I’m summarising the couple’s recommendations who featured on the blog in 2013. I have had to break the posts down year by year, otherwise they would be far too long (for me to write and for you to read!). Later this year I hope to post summaries of the clients who got married in more recent years. Not every couple who I work with wants to be interviewed for the blog (in fact, most don’t), the following are the couples whose weddings featured on the blog in 2013, and where they went to eat and celebrate after their weddings.
Alice and Jim’s Central Park Elopement in the Snow in January
Alice and Jim traveled from Exeter in the UK for their beautiful, snowy Winter Central Park wedding in Wagner Cove. Their post-wedding lunch was at Serendipity 3, because they had been there before and they knew it was great. “They had the best dessert I’ve ever eaten in my life, the Forbidden Broadway; a big sundae made of vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, chocolate brownie and loads of hot fudge sauce.” While they were in New York they also ate in Ellen’s Stardust Diner, which they recommend, the wait staff are all hoping to break into Broadway shows so they spend the whole time taking it in turns to sing show tunes. “It’s definitely a one-of-a-kind experience,” Alice said.
Paula and Alan’s Central Park Elopement
Paula and Alan came from Birmingham in England to get married in Central Park. The night before the wedding they ate at Sparks steak house. Alan swears he did not tell them that they were getting married the next day but Paula is not sure that she believes him because they received such amazing service. After the wedding they ate at the Tavern on the Green, back in 2013, this was the Tavern before its massive refurbishment. They loved the setting with the courtyard strung with lanterns and lights.
Gemma and Paul’s Central Park Wedding in the Ladies’ Pavilion
Gemma and Paul came from Stockton on Tees in the UK to get married in the Ladies’ Pavilion in Central Park. After the ceremony and photos in Central Park they had a limo ride to Uncle Jack’s Steakhouse for a meal, followed by champagne back at their hotel and a trip to the Empire State Building in the evening.
Laura and Iain’s Springtime Central Park Wedding
Laura is from Cheltenham, Gloucestershire and her groom, Iain, is from Ealing, London. They got married in Wagner Cove in March. They stayed in The Roosevelt Hotel and unfortunately they were not impressed with their room. They had their reception meal booked with the hotel so they knew they were there for their wedding, but on arrival they were allocated a really bad room. When they checked in the receptionist even told them that they would not like it! Laura said that the beds were fine, but the bathroom was awful. They did get moved, but this is not a good start to such an important trip. Laura and Ian had arranged a limo to take themselves and their guests back to the hotel for a three course champagne lunch in a private suite with musicians. Then later on they all got changed and went to the revolving restaurant for drinks at the Marriott Hotel in Times Square. They also went to the lounge in the Renaissance Hotel during their trip, where they have fabulous wall to ceiling windows with amazing views of Times Square.
Helen and Owen’s Summer Wedding in the Ladies’ Pavilion
Helen and Owen started dating when they were seventeen and have been together ever since. This June, they brought their close family and friends all the way from their hometown of Liverpool to New York City in order to get married in Central Park. Since Helen and Owen had been to NYC before, they knew exactly where they wanted to eat to celebrate their wedding. After the photos were taken they all went to the Tribeca Grill, where I had made reservations for in advance for them. “The food and service was amazing. They made us a special complimentary chocolate cake which was just fantastic,” Helen said.
Katherine and Richard’s June Wedding in the Ladies’ Pavilion
Katherine and Richard brought their family and friends from Burton upon Trent in Derbyshire to get married in the Ladies’ Pavilion in June. They have two children together; Sam (four years old at the time) and Max (20 months old). They had arranged to have a meal in the private wine cellar at Scotaditto Osteria Toscana. Katherine said that it was beautifully decorated, with fabulous food and service.
Emma and Tom’s Central Park Wedding Elopement
Emma and Tom, from the UK, had been together for just over five years when they got married. Eventually Tom moved in with Emma and her son and they got engaged on the Valentine’s Day before their wedding. After the ceremony they had lunch in the Loeb Boathouse, and we ended their special day by going up to the observation deck of the Empire State Building and watching the sunset.
Louise and Antony’s Conservatory Gardens Wedding
Louise and Antony stayed in New York City for four nights, in the boutique hotel Gramercy Park Hotel. The hotel is in a lovely and historical part of East Midtown, created in the 1830s for New York’s very well-to-do families who wanted to move into the quieter part of town. On the day of their wedding Louise and Antony made use of their hotel and held their wedding reception on the Gramercy Park Hotel rooftop terrace.
Jenny and Simon’s Ladies’ Pavilion Wedding
Jenny and Simon brought their friends and family over from the UK at the beginning of August to get married in Central Park. Simon and Jenny took their party, along with their photographer and officiant to the Loeb Boathouse for drinks after the ceremony and then the wedding party went on to the 21 Club for a fantastic meal. Jenny said “the 21 Club is definitely worth a visit. We are so glad we went there!”
Sylvia and Lewis’ Central Park Wedding on Bow Bridge
Lewis and Sylvia came to New York City to get married this August. Sylvia is French and Lewis is British and they live together in the UK. After the ceremony they took photos around Central Park and then at the Top of the Rock. After that, they returned to Central Park for dinner at the Loeb Boathouse.
Atzin and Stevenson’s Bilingual Central Park Wedding
Atzin and Stevenson live together in Manhattan, just a short walk from Central Park. After the photos were finished it was the cocktail hour, so they went over to The Leopard at des Artistes, a restaurant close to Central Park on West 67th Street. Some guests walked over there, but some jumped in pedicabs.
Tammy and John’s Ladies’ Pavilion Wedding in the Fall
Tammy and John traveled from their home town of Cleveland, Ohio in September to get married in Central Park. They had breakfast at the well-known Manhattan bakery and cafe, Sarabeth’s, and their wedding dinner was at the Loeb Boathouse inside Central Park.
Tanya and Greg’s Private Wedding in the Shakespeare Garden
Tanya and Greg kept the day of their wedding laid back and relaxed. They breakfasted at Sarabeth’s, then took their time collecting their cake and choosing their flowers. Then they went back to the hotel to get ready. Following the wedding ceremony and photographs, they returned to the hotel for the lighting of the unity candle, cake, and champagne in private. They wanted to keep the “reception catering” as simple as possible so they went to the well-loved Manhattan bakery Crumbs to order a 6 inch cake and purchased a bottle of champagne from a store nearby. Following that they went to the Calle Ocho restaurant inside the Excelsior Hotel where they were served more complimentary champagne and had a delicious dinner.
Diane and Ian’s late Summer Wedding in Wagner Cove
Diane and Ian came from Scotland to New York to get married in Wagner Cove in August. All the men left SoHo a few hours before the ceremony to have a few beers near to Central Park, leaving the ladies to enjoy champagne in the garden of the James Hotel, where they were staying, before traveling up to Central Park themselves. After that they all headed to Sambuca on West 72nd Street, which they had booked in advance for their reception. Diane said they had a fantastic meal there and the staff made them feel very welcome.
Lauren and Andrew’s Winter Wedding in the Ladies’ Pavilion
Lauren and Andrew came over from Middlesborough in the UK along with their family to get married in the Ladies’ Pavilion in November. They stayed at the newly renovated Novotel Hotel in Times Square for ten days. Lauren said they would recommend the hotel, “the rooms are very modern and the staff were friendly and we had a lovely view of Times Square.” After the ceremony and photographs in Central Park the party returned to the Novotel hotel restaurant for a meal and drinks.
Katie and Reece’s Winter Wedding in the Ladies’ Pavilion
Katie and Reece braved the New York City Winter temperatures and theirs was our final wedding of 2013, held on 30th December. There were twenty people in the wedding party altogether. They went on to Morton’s Steak House on Fifth Avenue for a meal following their wedding. Katie said they provided a fantastic wedding reception dinner in a private room and she would definitely recommend them.
I would love to hear any other suggestions of great New York City restaurants in the comments below – there are so many to choose from! For more information to help you with planning your own Central Park wedding, visit our website, or “like” us on Facebook, follow us on Instagram and follow us on Pinterest where you will find lots of lovely photos and many more inspiring stories of real weddings.
