Kim and Rob eloped from their home in Manchester, UK to get married in New York. They got married in the Ladies’ Pavilion in June. The first contacted me in October 2021, just as things were starting to look positive for Brits wanting to travel to the USA.
Their first trip together as a couple had been to New York in March. “It was absolutely freezing,” said Kim. “We always said we would go back in the summer, so when we realised how easy it was to get married in New York, it quickly became was the obvious choice for a June wedding.”
They are 49 and 50 years old and had been together for eight years before they got married. They had met through some mutual friends on a night out to see a band. They got engaged on Christmas day in their home. “Rob popped the ring in the advent calendar and told me there was a chocolate in there, which was guaranteed to get me looking!” said Kim.
Kim said that they were ready to get married because it felt like “cementing” their relationship. “We have no children and getting married just felt right,” she said. They had initially planned to get married locally and to invite friends and family. “Covid meant our plans were delayed and we just decided that we would prefer to get married on our own so the day was just for us,” Kim said.
Kim says that she can see that small weddings aren’t for everyone, since lots of people do want to have their ‘big day’. “Plus it’s difficult to expect friends and family to splash out in a destination wedding which they may not be able to afford,” she added. So, eloping was the right thing for them. I asked if they had any regrets about not having a wedding closer to home. “None whatsoever,” Kim said.
I asked Kim what she would say to other couples considering getting married in Central Park. “Our day was perfect and can’t recommend it enough,” she said. “Be prepared for lots of walking in high heels though!” she added, although I thought she walked more comfortably and quicker in heels than I’ve ever seen a bride do before, so she had that one down!
Kim wore a tea length House of Mooshki bridal dress purchase from Areles Bridal in Darwin. “It was perfect,” she said. Rob wore a more casual t-shirt and jeans with a jacket. Kim’s flowers were from a local shop in Soho and she did her own hair and makeup.
Kim and Rob stayed in New York for seven days at the Hotel Sixty Soho. Our photographer Jakub Redziniak met them there for some photos in their room and in the lobby and he said it was one of his favorite hotels that he had shot photos in, and he’s been in quite a few New York City hotels! Kim said that it was “lacking in service so I wouldn’t recommend it for the price,” so it wasn’t all good, but she does agree that “it did make for some nice photos!”
They had a vintage cab pick them up from their hotel and take them over to the Brooklyn waterfront for photos there, before driving back over to Manhattan and up to Central Park for the ceremony. “The driver was just superb, said Kim. “He really added to our day with it being just the two of us and the car really added to our photos,” she told me. That cab always gets a huge amount of attention. A driver of a passing open-top tour bus actually stopped his bus full of tourists to take a photo of it when it was parked outside Central Park to drop off Kim and Rob.
We held the ceremony in the Ladies’ Pavilion. “We chose it as it had cover and we were worried about it being too hot and needing shade,” Kim said. They were right to, it was a hot day, although the following day was unpleasantly hot so their choice of date worked out well for them. “We love the pictures of us getting married in the Ladies’ Pavilion,” Kim told me. “Our favorite pics of the whole day are those of us down at Dumbo with the vintage cab!” she said.
We kept the ceremony very short, with just a brief introduction before going into traditional vows and then the ring exchange. “The ceremony was short and sweet,” said Kim. “To be honest, I can’t remember most of it as it was such a whirl,” she added. They had felt that there was no need for a long ceremony with it being just the two of them. After a few photos in Central Park they took a subway back to their hotel, had a brief rest, then went back out again to the River Cafe for dinner.
I asked Kim how we did. “The service was just fantastic,” she said. “Everything was sorted for us. Communication in the run up was spot on. We can’t recommend them highly enough. Claire really made our day go without a hitch.” Thank you for your kind words, and for letting me attend the ceremony. It was an absolute pleasure to plan your wedding with you, 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 live locally or are planning on traveling to New York to get married, 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.
