Lianne and Stuart got married in the Ladies’ Pavilion in early December. Lianne is from Liverpool in England and Stuart is from Kilmarnock in Scotland where they now both live. Lianne was 37 and Stuart 49 when they got married. “Although it does sometimes feel like the other way around!” Lianne said.
The couple met through their work nine years ago. The company that Lianne worked for made office furniture which the company that Stuart worked for used to deliver and install on their behalf. “We used to talk on the phone every day,” Lianne told me. Eventually their friendship developed into something more, although the timing wasn’t great, they got together the week before Lianne was due to leave the UK. to move to Toronto! “I still went to Canada but a year later I moved to Scotland to be with Stuart,” Lianne said. Seven years later they got married!
Lianne and Stuart’s engagement began in New York City and it also ended there when they got married! They got engaged two years previously by the Christmas tree at the Rockefeller Center, so they had wanted to take some photos by the tree on their wedding day. Stuart hadn’t been prepared with a ring, “instead he used a tree ornament of the Christmas tree which he’d bought from the Rockefeller Center gift shop the day before,” Lianne said. She also told me that the ornament goes on their tree every year as a memento. They were ready to get married because it feels like the next step in their relationship. “We wanted to stand up in front of each other and the people we care about and make a commitment to one another for the rest of our lives,” Lianne told me.
They originally considered getting married in the UK; they considered either Lianne’s hometown or Stuart’s. “Both of our sets of parents don’t keep in the best of health, so it wouldn’t really have been fair to pick one location and family over the other, and expect the other side to travel” Lianne said. “Plus when we added up the cost of a wedding in the UK, it was all quickly becoming very expensive,” she explained. Lianne also told me of attending a wedding recently and the bride said that she had been so busy making sure that everyone else was having a good time that she was only settling and having a drink at 8pm that night. The costs were rapidly starting to outweigh the benefits of getting married in the UK.
“We love to travel so decided to start looking at weddings abroad to cut down on costs and also have a memorable trip!” Lianne said. Lianne and Stuart talked about it and agreed that having a smaller wedding would help to give them more focus on making it all feel just right for them as a couple, “instead of arranging a big day to be perfect for everyone else,” as she put it so well. And so, eventually they found me at Wed in Central Park and they first contacted me around a year before they got married. They chose to get married in Central Park because “it’s such an iconic area of New York. Every time you watch a movie or TV show set in New York, Central Park is no doubt shown at some point,” Lianne said. She added that it was so nice to be able to pick somewhere outdoors with a beautiful backdrop. “Who doesn’t want to get married with the New York skyline behind them?!” she asked. I can’t answer that, surely everyone does!
I asked if they had any worried about getting married in New York. “When we first decided to do it, the main issue was how would we ever get everything arranged in another country. I wouldn’t have even known where to start,” Lianne said. “Finding Claire was a godsend, all of the stress was just taken right out of hands and the day came together beautifully,” she added. She also told me that the weather was a concern since they were getting married in the winter, “but there’s not much we could do about that apart from being prepared as best as we could!” she said.
Lianne and Stuart stayed in New York for eight nights. They stayed at the Staypineapple Hotel on West 36th Street. “It was close to a subway station which made getting around fairly easy,” Lianne said. Their parents were unable to make the trip as we talked about previously so they were visiting with friends. “The guests all said that it was amazing what we were doing and what an iconic city to be getting married in!” Lianne told me.
When Lianne and Stuart picked up their marriage license from City Hall (read my blog to learn what you need to know about getting your license from City Hall). Lianne was legal witness for a couple who were getting married that day. They met them at the entrance to Central Park as they were coming in and wished them well. We held the ceremony in the Ladies’ Pavilion. “We chose this location as it not only had a roof but offered a lovely view of the skyline which I love, and it was near water which is what Stuart wanted,” Lianne said. She told me that their favorite photos from Central Park were taken on the rocks next to the Pavilion overlooking the Lake. “The sun had just come out and the photographer just captured the moment beautifully,” she said. “Although I don’t think it would be possible to take a bad photo anywhere in the park,” Lianne added. They told me that they loved their ceremony. “The ceremony was amazing, our officiant had everyone laughing throughout,” she said. We had an introduction where the officiant talked about their relationship to date, and all the people there in person acknowledged those watching on the livestream at home. “We also had a reading from one of my favorite books, the Notebook, which was lovely,” Lianne said. They exchanged traditional vows before exchanging rings.
Lianne wore a tea length wedding dress which she had purchased from Wed2B in Glasgow. “I didn’t want anything long as I was conscious of the park being muddy, plus I stayed in the dress all day so didn’t want it getting trampled on when we went into pubs later on,” Lianne explained. This is excellent planning. “I bought a new white tailored coat from River Island and finished the look off with some sparkly gold cowboy booties which I bought from Amazon! Everyone was obsessed with the boots!!” she said. Lianne carried a white bouquet with roses and winter accents which I had arranged to be delivered to her hotel room that morning. “It was beautiful and the fern branches smelt absolutely amazing all day. Definitely made me feel Christmassy!” Lianne said. We had arranged for Metro Look to go to her hotel room that morning to do her hair and make up, “and I couldn’t fault either. I received so many compliments on both,” Lianne said. “I went for traditional bridal make up and my hair was braided across my head and then curled and pinned up at the back. Absolutely loved it!!” she said.
I asked if they had any regrets about their decision not to get married close to home. “The one regret I have is that my dad didn’t walk me down the aisle,” Lianne said. She feels that she missed out on the traditional father/daughter portion of the day. “But my parents were able to watch via livestream so it wasn’t all that bad,” she said. The Ladies’ Pavilion has a nice pathway that goes down to it, that makes for a really nice entrance for a bride (or groom, or couple) to make. We had arranged for a guitarist to be there for them, and she walked in to A Groovy Kind of Love by Phil Collins, which her mom and dad had played at their wedding. Lianne’s dad also wrote a father of the bride speech which now sits in a frame in their house which I think is a lovely way to still be included if you are unable to travel.
I asked if they had any advice for anyone else considering getting married in Central Park. “Do it! It’s the perfect location for a wedding,” Lianne said. “The park was quite busy considering the weather and everyone was so nice to us as we were walking by. So many people shouting congratulations to us,” she added. After the ceremony their photographer Jakub Redziniak took Lianne and Stuart around the park taking some portrait photos. While they did that, their guests went on to Malachy’s Irish Pub to escape the cold and have some drinks. Our newlyweds went on to meet them there and after that, they all went to Darbar Grill in Midtown East for an Indian meal. “They decorated the table with balloons for us too,” Lianne said. In the evening, they went to the Mean Fiddler pub in Times Square, “which was so much fun,” Lianne said. “They couldn’t have done enough for us- sparklers, free drinks, mentions from the DJ. The owner even had me on the bar giving out free shots to everyone. It was a lot fun and definitely something we’ll always remember,” she said.
I asked how we did. “I can’t thank Wed in Central Park enough for everything they did for us. From the first email I sent to Claire, nothing was ever too much trouble. No question was ever too silly to ask. I would recommend her services to anyone I know who is thinking of getting married in Central Park!” Lianne said.
Thank you for your kind words and for sharing your story with us, Lianne and Stuart. It was a pleasure to plan your wedding with you! I wish you both the best of luck for your future! If you would like me to help you with planning your own Central Park wedding, whether you or are visiting New York as this couple did, or if you’re local, visit our website. Keep updated with our news and see lots of beautiful photos follow this blog directly, or follow us on Instagram, follow us on Facebook, follow us on TikTok, and follow us on Pinterest.
