New Yorkers Caryn and Kristopher got married in the Ladies’ Pavilion in October. They seemed to pick the peak time of the middle of the month to see the loveliest Fall colors on the trees. Caryn first contacted me in August – just two month before their date! I do love a last-minute wedding.
Caryn and Kristopher met at work, they were friends and work buddies for about three years before he asked her out. They had been together for almost nine years when they got married and they had two children.
They live in Manhattan so they knew Central Park quite well, so they had a fairly clear idea of what they wanted. They knew that a wedding in Central Park suited them. They were originally interested in getting married in the Dene Summerhouse, but when I told them that is one of the few popular wedding ceremony locations which the Central Park Conservancy do not issue permits for they weren’t so keen. They wanted to feel certain that we had laid claim to a spot so that we would be sure the day would go to plan. If you don’t have a permit for your chosen location you can still get married there with a group of less than twenty, which Caryn and Kristopher intended to have. They had restaurant reservations afterwards, though and we had planned a ceremony start time as well as time in the park taking photos. They knew that if they arrived at the Dene Summerhouse to find another wedding taking place there, then they’d need to wait for that event to finish before their guests could move in. Many couples don’t want to risk that happening.
After a chat on the phone with me, followed by some location scouting (an advantage to living just a few blocks from Central Park when planning a wedding there!) they decided on the Ladies’ Pavilion for their wedding ceremony location. “We visited Ladies’ Pavilion and fell in love!” said Caryn. “That’s the location for us. Love the views!” she said. This spot suited them partly because they had some concerns about rain, and the Ladies’ Pavilion provides good cover for a small group such as theirs.
When it came to timings we worked backwards from when they wanted to start lunch with their guests. Caryn knew that she wanted everyone to be seated by 1pm so we planned back from there. They chose the package with two hours of photography, so we planned for them to have left Central Park in time to get to the restaurant with ease. So, we had a mid-morning ceremony to allow them time to take photos around Central Park before leaving for their lunchtime celebration.
Even though Caryn and Kristopher are locals, they were still a little concerned about their guests getting to the wedding ceremony location without getting lost. I made them a route map to show the simplest and shortest way into the Ladies’ Pavilion from the entrance to the park. I also made them a route map to show where they would need to be walking to capture the photos after the ceremony that we had planned. This is helpful for brides when thinking about their shoes!
The pathway to the Ladies’ Pavilion is a lovely way for a bride to make her entrance. Caryn had considered walking down to the ceremony location with her eldest child but in the end Caryn’s brother walked her “down the aisle” and it made for a striking entrance.
We discussed fresh flowers before the wedding, and Caryn had a clear idea of a lovely Fall arrangement that she liked. In the end she chose to carry silk flowers, and I think they looked amazing, as did her whole outfit. She also decorated the reception table with matching silk flowers.
Caryn and Kristopher wrote unique vows to read out to each other as part of the ceremony. They have two kids and they took bubbles along for the kids to blow after they were pronounced husband and wife. This is a lovely alternative to confetti, which is not permitted in Central Park. After the ceremony, their photographer Jakub Redziniak took them around Central Park to take photos.
I asked Caryn how we did. “It was truly a wonderful day! Everything came together so nicely and the weather held up. I cannot wait to see the photos from Jakub! He was very easy to work with and took us to some beautiful locations in the park. It was truly a memorable and beautiful day.”
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