Requests for weddings in Central Park with very little notice have always been quite frequent for us here at Wed in Central Park. Over the past couple of years, with uncertainty around gatherings, travel and just about everything else due to Covid 19, these requests have increased. I really enjoy helping to plan last-minute weddings, there’s something quite exciting about the short-term planning period that I like. Sometimes I just have to say no – if we don’t have the availability, but usually, we’re able to accommodate wedding bookings even with very short notice.
We have planned weddings in a couple of weeks in the past. I think the shortest notice we ever had was eight days. Ideally, I’d rather have a little longer than that, but it can be possible! I work with several officiants, photographers and other service providers, so this means that I can usually cover almost any date. If you’re considering getting married with very little notice, however, then I’d strongly advise choosing a weekday. Saturdays (followed by Fridays) are the most popular days for weddings, so photographers and officiants tend to be booked for these dates sometimes a couple of years in advance. Sometimes we will have someone free who can perform a weekend wedding at the last minute (especially for couples who can be a little flexible on timing), but sometimes we just can’t do it.
One obstacle to get married in Central Park at very short notice is the permit application process from the Parks Department. They need a permit application at least three weeks in advance of the wedding date. You don’t have to have a permit for an event in Central Park if you have under twenty people there, but I always suggest getting a permit because otherwise you might get to the location where you’ve planned to hold your ceremony and find that someone else is there getting married. Then you’d have to wait until they were done until you can move into the space, which might make a mess of your other plans for that day. If you do want to get married in under three weeks, though, that is just the risk you will have to take!
Many couples will get their event permit several months in advance of their date, so it might be that your first choice of date, time and location is not available if you’re applying for a permit with very little notice. So, you may want to make a first choice of date, time and location but have a second choice, in mind. You could either change the date, time or ceremony location depending on whether you’re really keen on one spot in particular for the ceremony and are willing to change the time or date to get married there, or if you’re stuck on one date but don’t mind where in Central Park that you hold the ceremony.
Over the past couple of years, due to the uncertainty caused by Covid 19, couples have asked me if it’s possible for them to reschedule a wedding if they’re unable to make it due to one of the many obstacles that Covid 19 can put in our path, such as illness or travel restrictions. The simple answer is that I can’t agree to deliver a wedding without the couple committing to a date.
If I take a deposit from a couple for a wedding on a certain date and they sign a contract then we’re both committing to that date for the event. I will pass the deposit on to secure the date with the officiant and photographer and anyone else involved, and also purchase an event permit. So if a couple needs to change the date for any reason at all (Covid or otherwise) I will very likely have to charge a reschedule fee. This is because the service providers often have other jobs (perhaps they have other weddings or completely different work commitments) so they will block out your date in their diary and can’t necessarily make that money back if you change the date. There’s no other way to run a business like this – to secure someone’s time you have to pay them a retainer. If a couple asks if I will agree that they can reschedule a wedding with no fee then what that amounts to is them asking me to deliver their wedding at any possible date in the future, and I just can’t do that.
If you think that you might want to get married in Central Park with very little notice, then I’d advise contacting me to ask some questions in advance. We can have a chat about what’s involved and what you want from your wedding day without you needing to commit to anything. Then, once you’re ready to commit to a date, we can be all set and ready to go. Here’s another blog post on how the wedding planning process usually goes. Of course that might not be possible for many couples who decide to get married at the last minute. I am finding that many couples want to book a wedding with me but are afraid that travel might be disrupted. In these cases, I’d advise asking lots of questions in advance and feeling clear about what you want, and then booking once you feel more certain that you can make it.
If you would like me to help you with planning your own Central Park wedding or elopement, whether you’re from near or far, 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. If you have a clear idea of what you’d like in an ideal world but you’re worried about you plans being disrupted by travel changes or weather (or anything else) you could discuss it all with me in advance and then check in with me when you’re ready to commit to a date.