Charmaine and Lukas eloped from their home in Essex in England to get married in Central Park this March. Lukas was 30 and Charmaine 29 when they got married on their tenth anniversary of being together. We held the small ceremony on Bow Bridge.
Charmaine and Lukas met whilst living on the same street when they were 19 and 20, and had been together for exactly ten years when they got married. Charmaine told me that they didn’t really make a big occasion of getting engaged. They have three daughters together (and a dog!) so are obviously both already very committed to each other. Getting married had already been discussed a few times before Lukas proposed over a nice dinner with a ring he’d bought in advance. Charmaine said that part of being married was so that they’d all have the same last name, which is often quite important to couples once children come along.
Once they were engaged they considered getting married at home in England. They decided against the big, traditional wedding for the same reason as so many of our couples do: it would be too expensive. They felt that a big family affair just wasn’t for them, “a small wedding was perfect for us,” said Charmaine. “A big wedding would be so expensive and could have ended up being about everyone else and not ourselves,” she said. They liked the idea of eloping, just the two of them. With three kids and a dog at home, who can blame them for wanting to take some time for themselves?
So, Charmaine and Lukas started to consider where they might elope to. “It has been a dream for us to visit New York let alone get married there,” said Charmaine. She said that she’s always loved New York and Central Park from images on screen. They found my page on Facebook and contacted me soon after that.
I asked if they had any worries in advance of the wedding. “With it being March the weather is unpredictable,” Charmaine said. Yes, we can see any weather in New York in March. And in the run-up to their wedding day I was worried about the weather too. The forecast was for rain, and the spot where they wanted to get married, Bow Bridge, is right out in the open. We did discuss moving to a sheltered spot under Bethesda Terrace. But in the end, it just about stayed dry for them.
Charmaine said another concern was how busy it might get in the area, with them holding the ceremony in such a public spot. Perhaps the wet weather forecast kept a few people away so it wasn’t too busy! I asked Charmaine if she had any regrets after choosing to elope, rather than have the big affair. “None at all!” she said.
Charmaine and Lukas were in New York for four nights. They stayed at the Aliz Hotel in Times Square. It was just the two of them, so we kept the ceremony fairly short, with traditional vows followed by the ring exchange. As often happens with a wedding ceremony on such a busy and public spot as Bow Bridge, they didn’t really notice the passers-by once the ceremony was underway. “It was a moment where time stood still and I forget everyone else around us,” Charmaine said.
I asked Charmaine where her favorite photos were taken. “It’s so hard to choose my favorite photos, as I loved them all,” she said. Their ceremony location of Bow Bridge is right in the middle of the park, so they were able to get to Wagner Cove and Bethesda Terrace for photos too. After they had finished with the photographer, Charmaine and Lukas had a horse and carriage ride.
I asked Charmaine if she had any thoughts to share with anyone else considering doing what they did and eloping to get married in Central Park. “It was just amazing,” she said. “If you’re considering it, do it! Don’t worry about the public they are so kind,” she added.
I asked how we did. “Wed in Central Park are amazing! And I can’t thank them enough for everything,” she said. Thank you for your kind words, Charmaine, and it was a pleasure to plan your wedding with you. I wish you, Lukas and your girls the best of luck for your future together. If you would like me to help you with planning your own Central Park wedding, either a large affair or a small and intimate one like this one, 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.
