Lauren and Osman traveled to New York from their home in Louisiana to get married in Central Park this January. We discussed various locations when deciding where they wanted to say “I do” – the Ladies’ Pavilion and Bethesda Terrace were seriously considered. In the end they chose to hold the ceremony by the Pond, close to Gapstow Bridge, because they like the backdrop at that end of the park.
Lauren is from Louisiana originally and Osman is from Honduras. They met online, as so many of our couples do, and they had been together for ten months when they got married. I asked why getting married was important to them. “To have your life partner by your side forever and build a family together,” Lauren said.
Osman had proposed on the beach in Lake Charles, Louisiana in early November, and before the end of the month Lauren had reached out to me to start to plan their elopement wedding. They knew they wanted to get married away from home. “I love the idea of a destination wedding or elopements because it allows the event to be more about you and your husband than catering to what everyone else may want. Also, hosting a wedding with hundreds of guests is costly!” I absolutely agree, so many of our couples love that eloping allows them to focus on the promises they are making to each other, and on their new spouse.
They had considered maybe getting married in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, but Lauren really loved New York and Central Park, and she just wanted this to be the place where she and Osman began their married life. “Central Park is an amazing place that is quiet and serene while the city around boasts loud noises and lights. It’s so special,” Lauren explained. Again, she will get no arguments from me about this!
I asked what their friends and family thought about them getting married in Central Park. “They were elated!” said Lauren. “They all said how dreamy it is to have that special place be a part of the memory on your special day,” she added.
Lauren and Osman stayed at the Hyatt Place Times Square. “The staff were so great!” Lauren told me. She got ready along, so she had to ask the front desk clerk to zip up her dress. “She was amazing,” Lauren said. “She showed up to the room with a bottle of wine and two glasses and a plate of refreshments with a card for Osman and I,” she told me. Which is lovely, not all of the hotels do this. “The other staff members were great as well, printing out directions for us and other things, they all went above and beyond for us,” she added.
I always ask our couples if they had any worries or concerns in the run-up to the wedding. Lauren answered as many of our couples do. “Because it’s an outdoor setting, you are inclined to worry about weather on your day,” she said. “But Claire was great in assuring us there were a few options within the park that were covered in the case of unpleasant weather,” she said. We had said that if it rained, they would get married underneath Bethesda Terrace, which provides lots of cover. They didn’t have rain in the end, but it was very cold!
Lauren had told me that they wanted to get married at the South end of the park to be close to the very high buildings that provide that stunning and iconic backdrop of the trees of Central Park with skyscrapers beyond. So, after the ceremony and photos around Gapstow Bridge they stopped off at Cats Rock, which is a great location to capture this backdrop. “We loved Cats Rock because of the skyline behind it, Bow Bridge because it was so adorable and also had a nice skyline view behind it, and the Bethesda Terrace because the tile ceilings and other architecture was beautiful!” she said. So, they loved all of their major photo locations!
Lauren wore a traditional off-white wedding gown without a train that she purchased from a boutique in her home town. She did her own hair and makeup. She also had a fur jacket and sensible shoes, which we’re always pleased to see because we don’t like to see a bride suffer! Lauren and her mom had also made her own bouquet and Osman’s boutonniere with silk flowers from Hobby Lobby. Osman wore a gray suit which he had also purchased from a suit shop in their home town.
For the ceremony, we had a brief introduction with a summary of their story to date and a short reading from Corinthians, which I’ll put at the end of this post. “The ceremony was wonderful,” said Lauren. “We had my parents on FaceTime with us which I loved so much!” she added. They set up their phone on a tripod so that Lauren’s parents could watch from the comfort (and warmth) of their home! They exchanged traditional vows and had also prepared something themselves to read out to each other before exchanging rings. “It was twenty degrees on our big day so we didn’t waste any time getting through the ceremony and moving on to the photo portion of the day,” she said.
After their phot shoot in Central Park, they went straight to the Empire State Building in their wedding attire. They took some photos on the observatory deck. For dinner that night then went to Nitti’s Italian restaurant and shared a bottle of wine and a candlelight dinner. The restaurant was very close to their hotel. “It had perfect ambiance, excellent service, generous portions and reasonable prices!” Lauren told me.
I always ask our couples if they had any regrets about not having a traditional wedding close to home, and she answered the same way all of our couples do, “no regrets.” She answered this despite having issues with their flights into New York as a consequence of very bad weather. We were able to help Lauren and Osman with some changing of plans around getting their marriage license so it all worked out in the end and they remained upbeat throughout the travel disorder.
I asked Lauren how we did. “Claire answered any and all questions we had, taking the stress out of trying to plan a wedding from hundreds of miles away! She was great,” she said. “Our officiant was exceptionally friendly and accommodating and our photographer was fun and knowledgeable,” she added. Thank you for your kind words, Lauren. “We adored our experience and would recommend it to anyone. They helped to make our day the best we could imagine,” she said.
Thank you for sharing your story with us, Lauren and Osman. It was a pleasure to plan your wedding with you Lauren, despite the very short time it took us! I wish you both the best 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’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.
Here’s the ever-popular reading from Corinthians that Lauren and Osman had in their ceremony:
Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.
