Megan (32) and Ryan (33) live in New York, and have done for the past three years. They got married in Cop Cot this May. Megan is originally from the Netherlands, but has lived in many places, and Ryan is from Portland, Oregon.
They got engaged while on vacation in Cuba. They were watching a sunset from the Malecon when Ryan produced a ring from his pocket and proposed. Marriage was the logical next step in their relationship for both of them, to show their commitment to each other.
They considered other locations for the wedding. They thought about getting married in Seattle, with the ceremony on a ferry followed by a meal on an island in the Puget Sound. This turned out to be quite tough to plan while they were both living and working on the East Coast, and would have been more difficult for Megan’s family who were living in Europe to make it for the wedding. So, they chose New York, being almost in the middle.
They both knew Central Park well, and some of their happiest memories in New York City have been in Central Park with their dog, Clyde, walking and running and chilling out. “We really wanted to do something in a green space,” said Megan.
We had a good weather plan of them getting married in Cop Cot and bad weather plan of them getting married in the Ladies’ Pavilion. In the end it did rain, but they still chose to have their ceremony in Cop Cot. They carried clear umbrellas and Megan wore a shawl and they just accepted that they would get a little wet. They met with their photographer before the ceremony to take some photos, so that they wouldn’t be keeping their guests waiting after the ceremony. They didn’t go too far from Cop Cot for the photos because of the rain.
We kept their ceremony short and sweet, with an introduction where the officiant talked a little about the couple and Megan’s mom doing a short reading. “The ceremony was lovely. We didn’t say much which is what we wanted, we pretty much just said I do,” said Megan. They had their nephews deliver their rings.
Guests came from far and wide for the wedding, and it was an intimate affair of just immediate family and a few select friends. I asked Megan what they had thought about their ceremony location and she said, “I think they were initially surprised but they seemed to be excited about the idea.”
Megan wore a white dress from Banana Republic, and added a navy blue shawl because it was quite chilly along with the rain. Megan had gone to Drybar to have her hair done right before the ceremony. Ryan wore a blue suit from Banana Republic with a white shirt and orange tie. Ryan’s mother is an artist and hand carved and painted a wooden bouquet of tulips. The Netherlands are of course famous for the tulip and orange is their national color. The bouquet really is amazing – it is beautiful and looks so realistic in the photos. “She also hand made a wooden vase for them so I get to keep my bouquet forever!” said Megan.
After the ceremony they took a few group photos in Cop Cot and then they all hopped straight on to the trolley bus they had rented to take them to Chinatown. On the way they did a little tour of New York City for their guests. “One of our favorite things to do in New York is going to Chinatown, especially for dim sum,” said Megan. So, it seemed fitting to do that for their wedding celebration. “We are pretty laid back, informal people so this felt the most like us,” she explained. They took their guests to the Oriental Garden in Chinatown, which they already knew that they would like. The couple are very well-traveled and they went off to Portugal for their honeymoon after the wedding.
The couple had considered an outdoor picnic for lunch for the party after the ceremony, and they are so glad that they had gone for the restaurant option in the end, because of the rain. Megan suggests that brides keep their outfit flexible in case the weather turns bad as it did for them. That day was cold in the rain and she was freezing. She highly recommend clear umbrellas, though, and I agree that they do look so much better in photos.
Megan said that she was glad that I was on board. “I loved having a helping hand when planning everything, made it much less overwhelming,” Megan said. She is local but her job keeps her very, very busy so we did most of the planning in short bursts, when her schedule allowed. For more information to help you with planning your own Central Park wedding, with photos just about anywhere in New York, visit our website, or “like” us on Facebook, follow us on Instagram and follow us on Pinterest where you will find lots of lovely photos and many more inspiring stories of real weddings.
