March is a pretty quiet month for weddings in Central Park. I’m not sure why, because October is one of the busiest months and March and October tend to see similar temperatures. Anything can happen in March, in terms of weather. It can still be pretty cold, and maybe even see a touch of snow at the beginning of the month, or the temperatures can start to warm up in March, and sometimes we may even see a touch of blossom on the trees at the end of the month.
New York can get very hot in the Summer, and very cold in the Winter. March is right at the start of Spring, so can be a lovely time of year to get married. In early Spring in Central Park, there are some blossoms and flowers that are just starting to come out. Trees may still be quite bare, or buds may be starting to show.
The sun will be starting to set a little later than it does during the Winter months by the time March comes around, but keep in mind the clock change effect of daylight savings time from early March. The sun will be up between around 6:30am and 6:30pm during March. Some couples may want to make the most of that and take photos as the sun goes down. Some couples may want to make the most of the light (and March will see some crisp, bright days) and get married in the middle of the day.
A big event each year in New York that takes place in March is St Patrick’s Day. This is the day when the whole city becomes Irish! One year, we performed a wedding on St Patrick’s Day for an Irish couple who had come over to be in the parade. They got married in Central Park very early, then got changed and took part in the St Patrick’s Day parade.
It’s quite likely that you will need a jacket for a wedding outdoors in New York in March. Some brides keep their coat on for the ceremony and take it off for photos, some take it off for the ceremony – everyone is different. There’s also a good chance of the ground being wet in March, so think about that when choosing shoes – brides may want some outdoor shoes and indoor shoes for their day.
Central Park is a busy place, and the colder the weather the quieter it will be, although March won’t be as quiet as the Winter months you will still get some lovely photos. That said, there’s always a chance of rain in March, so you might want to plan some time indoors for the day. I usually make a plan of timings with couples for their day and if it’s quite cold or wet, then it might be better to take some photos outdoors in Central Park, then go indoors for some more photos – then you can show of your wedding gown and be relaxed inside. There are many reasons to get married in Central Park in the Spring!
