Amanda and Adam got married at Wagner Cove in April. Adam is British and Amanda is American and they first contacted me at the end of March, looking to get married in Central Park in mid-April, so we didn’t have time to lose!
The couple had met on the dating app Hinge. Due to the pandemic they weren’t able to meet in person straight away so they had known each other in real life for around five months before they got married. “We are best friends,” Amanda told me.
As is often the case with couple from different countries, if they wanted to be together, they had to be married. They decided to get married at the end of March and contacted me pretty much straight away. “When you have someone that you love being around and you have a passion for who is also your best friend and you get along so well with the same life goals and vision it makes getting married very easy decision,” Amanda said.
They didn’t have long to get their license so they had to get on that straight away. Due to Covid 19, couples need to make an appointment to get their license at the current time, rather than just walk in to City Hall to pick it up as in normal times, so they had to start that process immediately to have their license in time for the date they had in mind.
As it looked difficult to get the license, so they did briefly consider getting married in Las Vegas, Hawaii, or possibly London. “We love New York City and due to Covid it was the best option as we were heading there anyway,” explained Amanda. They had been in Philadelphia when they decided to get married, so moved on to New York for the wedding and decided on Central Park for their wedding ceremony location.
Amanda and Adam didn’t have guests at their wedding. I asked Amanda what she thought of smaller weddings in general. “Definitely elope!” she said. “The smaller the better! Never make the wedding bigger than the man and keep it personal,” was her advice. I asked if she had any regrets about not having a traditional wedding and she said, “absolutely never and no! We did it our way and are so happy!”
The couple were originally planning on getting married in the middle of the park, at Bethesda Terrace. Then they decided that they wanted somewhere a bit more private. So, we changed plans to get married at Wagner Cove, which was close to that middle area where they wanted to take photos, but much more tucked away and private. “We chose Central Park because it’s beautiful,” Amanda told me. “You’re surrounded by nature and beauty in the middle of one of the greatest cities on earth,” she said.
Amanda and Adam wrote their own vows to say to each other. We kept in the traditional “I do” and “I will” parts but then they each read out a pre-prepared piece talking about their relationship to date and their feelings for each other and made promises for the future. The officiant read a passage from The Bridge Across Forever by Richard Bach, which I’ll put at the end of this post.
While they were in town, Amanda and Adam stayed at the Intercontinental Midtown for nearly three weeks. Amanda got her dress from RK Bridal and carried a bouquet of deep pink roses with cala lilies. After the ceremony, they took photos around Central Park and then ate dinner at Il Corso, an Italian restaurant in Midtown.
Thanks so much for sharing your story with us, Amanda and Adam, and I wish you both lots of luck for your future together! If you would like me to help you with planning your own Central Park wedding or elopement, whether you’re from near or far, 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.
A passage from The Bridge Across Forever by Richard Bach
A soul mate is someone who has locks that fit our keys, and keys to fit our locks. When we feel safe enough to open the locks, our truest selves step out and we can be completely and honestly who we are; we can be loved for who we are and not for who we’re pretending to be. Each unveils the best part of the other. No matter what else goes wrong around us, with that one person we’re safe in our own paradise. Our soul mate is someone who shares our deepest longings, our sense of direction. When we’re two balloons, and together our direction is up, chances are we’ve found the right person. Our soul mate is the one who makes life come to life.