New York is a huge city. It is home to over eight million people. It’s the biggest city in the USA and is about three hundred square miles in area. Of that, Manhattan is only 23 square miles. As a contrast, for our British visitors, the 32 London boroughs cover six hundred square miles and NYC and London have roughly the same number of inhabitants.
It is quite common for a couple to ask me quite early on in our communications if they can take photos all over the city with the package that includes two hours of photos. And then I explain to them that it’s just not possible to fit it all in. Of course, many of our couples haven’t visited New York before so this post is intended to explain in more depth the logistics and timings of getting around the city for those who would like to take photos in one of the many iconic locations that New York has to offer.
Though I do at the time of writing offer a package that includes one hour of photography I really don’t recommend this one to couples who have traveled a long way to get married in New York. If you have an amazing outfit, professional hair and makeup and a lovely bouquet then spending a few hundred extra dollars on capturing it properly just seems like the best decision. We’re talking about spending a little more time and a few hundred extra dollars after spending goodness knows how much time and money to get to NYC and to stay in the city. In just one hour, a photographer can capture the ceremony and a short portrait session. When you get married, the plan is to do it only once (or at least you hope this will be the last time if it’s not your first time!) so it seems worth the effort to me to have plenty of photos to remember the day when you look back in years to come.
Central Park itself is 843 acres, which is 1.3 square miles. If you walked from the very North end to the very South end, it’s 2.6 miles. But nobody does walk from one end to the other if they’re taking photographs. They meander through the prettiest and most well-known spots, they stop, pose, take a picture and then move on. This takes time. I don’t believe in selling services to people if they’re not needed, it is my experience of planning hundreds of weddings in Central Park that leads me to recommend at least two hours taking photos with a professional in the park.
The package with two hours of photos is overwhelmingly our most popular package. In recent years, though, I’ve seen increasing numbers of couples wanting to take photos in other areas of the city. The most popular locations are the Top of the Rock, Grand Central Terminal, on Brooklyn Bridge itself, and the Brooklyn waterfront area with Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridge in the background. Many couples also might want street photos and photos with whatever mode of transport they have chosen. Pretty much any mode of transport you choose in New York makes for a fabulous photo – even if it’s a standard cab or subway, it’s still an iconic image. But a vintage trolley bus is popular for larger groups and lots of eloping couples hire a gorgeous vintage cab to drive them around for a couple of hours.
Many of our couples are British, so even if they don’t know New York, they may well have an idea of city traffic in the UK. Almost nine million people live in London and in New York too, but as I’ve mentioned above, London sprawls over twice as much area. Those New York skyscrapers fit lots of inhabitants into a smaller area. But the result is lots of traffic, so getting around New York, and Manhattan in particular, isn’t fast. If you have a bus or trolley bus, they’re limited on what turns they can take and which roads or bridges they can use.
I work with many of my couples to make a detailed plan of their day, especially if they have a big group or a long day planned. The photographers I work with feed back to me how a day has gone, and how traffic is behaving lately and I use this information to help me to plan future weddings. It’s just not possible to zip over to the other side of town, and certainly not to cross a river into another borough in a matter of minutes.
I hope all of this goes some way to explaining just why you would need to invest in some time with a photographer if you want to take photos in lots of iconic locations all over the city while you look your absolute best in your wedding gear! Part of the planning process is me asking the couples where they want to get to and discussing how long everything takes and then deciding what to prioritise and eventually coming up with a detailed plan of timings for the day.
If you would like me to help you with planning your own Central Park wedding, visit our website for lots more information. Drop me an email at [email protected] with any questions or to get started with planning your wedding in Central Park. Keep updated with our news and see lots of beautiful photos, follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest.
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