Lorraine and Stephen traveled from their home in England to New York to get married. It was just the two of them for their wedding, which took place in early October. It was a second wedding for both of them. They had known each other for twelve years when they got married, and had been a couple for five years.
The date they wanted to get married was special to them, but it happened to fall on a US national holiday, so we were unable to get an event permit for the early afternoon time slot they wanted for their wedding ceremony at Wagner Cove. They had wanted to get married, take photos, and then have a horse and carriage ride.
We were able to secure a permit for later in the afternoon so we shifted things around a little and did everything in a different order than we had originally wanted to. Lorraine and Stephen got to Central Park in the early afternoon and they took a horse and carriage ride around the park. We arranged for our photographer to meet them at Cherry Hill as they got off the carriage, so they took some photos on the carriage before getting out of it.
They had a photo session around Cherry Hill, Bow Bridge and Bethesda Terrace before going over to Wagner Cove for the ceremony. Not everyone is happy to see their future spouse before the wedding. Some couples are choosing to avoid this tradition of not seeing each other until the ceremony in favor of practicalities. If couples have guests and they take their portrait photos before the ceremony then they don’t need to keep their guests waiting until they go on to the reception. In Lorraine and Stephen’s case, they were able to go off to celebrate, just the two of them, straight after they signed the license.
We held the ceremony in Wagner Cove. The officiant talked a little about their relationship to date and mentioned their loved ones back home. They both have kids so we wanted to give them a mention. Then the officiant read the poem ‘You and I Become One’ which I will put at the end of this post. They exchanged traditional vows before exchanging rings. Since they had eloped to New York, just the two of them, their photographer was the legal witness to their wedding.
October is a very popular time of year for weddings in Central Park. We often get the perfect balance of the fall colors and nice weather. The leaves tend to have changed color by October, but many are still on the trees at this point in the year, in November they’re all falling off. Temperatures are usually quite mild in October too, and for Lorraine and Stephen’s wedding day we saw bright sunshine.
It may have been just Lorraine and Stephen for the wedding, but they threw a party on their return home to celebrate with their loved ones, so they got the best of both worlds in many ways. I asked Lorraine how we did. “Everything went according to plan,” she told me. “It was the best day ever!” She said that their officiant and photographer both were lovely and that really helped to make them feel comfortable and at ease.
If you would like me to help you with your own Central Park wedding, whether you’re eloping to New York, or if you live locally, visit our website. Keep updated with our news and see lots of beautiful photos, follow us on Instagram, follow us on Facebook, follow us on TikTok, and follow us on Pinterest.
You and I Become One
Hear my words,
The silence has been broken,
In the air I taste,
The feeling of this moment.
You’re the one that reaches me,
You’re the one that I admire,
Every time we are together,
My soul feels like it’s on fire.
Nothing matters to me,
And there’s nothing I desire,
‘Cept you
No more lies, the feeling is true,
Look into my eyes, and all you’ll see is you.
That’s when you and I become,
You and me as one
Now we make our loving memories,
Living heart to heart,
Walk beside each other,
Until the end of time.
That’s when you and I become,
You and me as one.
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