For quite a while now I have offered three wedding packages on my website. The first was “just the ceremony” which was all the help and guidance from me, a ceremony written for you by me, an officiant and a permit for your chosen location. There was a package 1, which was all that plus two hours of photography, which is what I recommend for a wedding in Central Park – to capture the ceremony and the major sights of Central Park. This was our most popular package. Then there was a package 2, which was all of the above plus a musician to play at your ceremony, a videographer to record the ceremony and a bouquet and boutonniere delivered to your hotel. I also offered some additional bits and bobs – a rehearsal, extra photography time, extra flowers, a live stream of your ceremony, and so on, that could be added to any of the above.
That system has been working well for several years, but I’m finding that I’m asked for something different more frequently now. Many couples want something a little less than what I was calling package 1 – many couples still want some photography, but wanted to pay less. And on the other hand, some couples wanted waaaay more photography than package 1 – they wanted a photographer for most of the day.
So, for the first time since starting my business at the end of 2011, I’ve had a rethink on what I’m offering couples. Initially, the idea was to keep things simple and only have three options but with the chance to add things in. But I’m responding to clients’ requests to have either a little less or a lot more photography as an option. I’d be interested to read any views or suggestions on this in the comments below.
Here’s the run-down on the FIVE options clients now have to choose from (and they can still add in services from the list of extras!)
1 Just the Ceremony
This hasn’t changed. Help, advice and guidance from myself about your wedding day, which results in a detailed plan of your wedding with locations, maps and timings by the end of the process. You also get a unique ceremony written for you, a New York State registered officiant to perform it, and a permit for your chosen location in Central Park.
2 Wedding Ceremony with Photography in Central Park
This is what I was calling package 1 with the original offering. It’s our most popular package and is all of the above, plus two hours of photography. That’s the optimal time for taking photos in Central Park, in my opinion. You can capture your ceremony and then take some candid and posed photos around Central Park in this time. It usually yields 100-120 high-resolution digital photos.
3 Central Park Elopement Package
I launched this package in March, aimed at eloping couples and those who want to renew their marriage vows and I’ve had quite the response already. I wrote a blog post when I launched the elopement and vow renewal package. This offer is only available Monday to Thursday, for event with no guests – just the couple.
Lots of couples contact me about eloping, or renewing their marriage vows, and they don’t feel that they need two hours of photos, or they just don’t want to pay the fee I’m asking. I’ve found it difficult to help them, because most photographers will take jobs that less than two hours, because they might be turning down a full day’s work to shoot a wedding. But if couples are prepared to get married or renew their vows Monday to Thursday, then I can help to reach a compromise between the couples who want a shorter amount of photography time, and the photographers who don’t want to give up the chance of earning far more by being contracted for longer elsewhere.
So, this is basically everything offering in the previously listen most popular package, but with one one hour of photography (which should yield 50-60 photos), and on restricted days, when it’s just the couple in attendance.
4 – Wedding Ceremony with Flowers, Video, Music and Photography in Central Park
This is quite a popular package for larger groups. It’s everything in that first basic package, with two hours of photography, a videographer to create a fully edited video of your ceremony, an acoustic musician to play at your ceremony and a rose bouquet and boutonniere delivered to your hotel on the day of your wedding (if you have different blooms in mind, or need extra bouquets and boutonnieres, let me know and I can give you a quote to add those in). This covers most of the services that a couple needs, but we can add in extra service or extra photography time if the couple wish to do so.
5 – Wedding Ceremony with Full Day of Photography in New York City
This is a new addition to the set. Lots of couples contact me asking for the first package with just the ceremony, and then they book their own photographer for the full day. I think things will run more smoothly if I can be involved with the whole day’s planning and have the people I know and trust involved for the whole day, so I’d like to fulfill this requirement if couples want it. So, this is the basic package with ten hours of photography, wherever the couple want to go. I will work with the couple to create a detailed plan of the day with photograph locations and timings and then pass this on to one of the fabulous photographers that I work with. I’ve already taken a couple of bookings for this for next year, so I hope that it will prove popular.
All of these packages can be tweaked a little to suit what the couple needs. We can add in more than one musician, we can have the officiant meet you the day before your wedding for a rehearsal, we can live stream the wedding for friends and family back home. A very common request is to add on an hour here and there of extra photography, we can easily do that too. I specialize in weddings in Central Park, but I also plan weddings in other public parks and spaces all over New York City. To check current prices, here’s the link to the website.
If you would like me to help you with planning your own Central Park wedding, or if you have any questions about what we do, visit our website, where there’s lots more information, and my contact details. You can also follow us on Pinterest, “like” us on Facebook, and follow us on Instagram for lots photos of newlywed couples in New York.
