Nicola and Marc brought their friends and family over from Scotland to get married in Central Park this April. With a head count of thirty-seven guests, this was a large wedding by my standards. “We were thrilled so many people chose to come to our wedding and this made it even more special to spend this day with the people we love. Our guests loved our wedding as it unlike any or other wedding they had attended,” said Nicola.
Before getting married, they had been together for six years and living together for two years. They got engaged on Christmas Day 2013, Marc surprised Nicola with a ring hidden inside a Vivienne Westwood bag! By the following day they had already discussed New York as a possibly wedding location. “We looked online and found Wed In Central Park and sent off an email to inquire about it and very shortly our plan was in motion. Claire was very informative and made the whole process very easy,” said Nicola.
Nicola and Marc both come from happily married parents who they feel have set a great example to them of how to make a marriage work. Getting married has always been important to them because it is a symbol of life long commitment.
Like many people, they had watched Chuck and Blair in the TV show Gossip Girl get married under Bethesda Terrace and they had been struck by the beautiful architecture. They felt sure that this would be the perfect place for their own wedding.
I asked them if they had had any concerns about getting married in Central Park, and they said yes. Like every single couple I work with, they were worried about the weather, an unavoidable one when getting married outdoors. They had lots of little details that they wanted to get right, after all, their guests were traveling such a long way to be with them, they wanted everything to run smoothly. “Much of this was discussed with Claire, who was very quick to put our minds at ease and came forward with ideas to improve our wedding day and ensure it ran as smoothly as possible,” said Nicola.
Nicola and Marc stayed at The Ritz Carlton in Battery Park. They chose this hotel in Downtown Manhattan because it is quiet, and has beautiful views of the Satue of Liberty. The hotel were aware that they were getting married and were very accommodating. “They added some special touches by sending us a nice card and strawberries once we had checked in,” said Nicola.
Following their ceremony in front of the arches at Bethesda Terrace, their photographer was able to take some beautiful group shots at the Terrace and Fountain. Then, to avoid having them wait around in Central Park, most of their guests left on a vintage school bus to the reception location while Nicola and Marc stayed in Central Park for more photographs. “Our favorite photographs are at the John Lennon memorial in Strawberry Fields and on Bow Bridge. Chao, our photographer was very easy to work with and was very quick at sending our photographs onto us,” said Nicola.
Nicola wore a vintage style champagne satin dress, with a beaded lace overlay. This was designed by Flossy and Dossy, an independent dress designer in her home town of Glasgow. “Wendy at Flossy and Dossy helped me to create a unique dress which was exactly as she had dreamed of,’ said Nicola. Marc opted for a navy suit with County Fermanagh tartan trousers instead of the traditional Scottish kilt.. The flowers and buttonhole were artificial flowers which they brought to New York with them. These were made to order by Silk Blooms in Glasgow.
Nicola and her bridesmaids had their hair done in the hotel on the day of the wedding. Her sister-in-law is a hairdresser and specializes in putting hair up so they were able to have a trial at home, and then could relax and get their hair done on the day without any stress. The make-up was done by Metro Look who I always recommend to brides. Two make-up artists came to their hotel on the day of the wedding, and did the bride’s, bridesmaids’ and mother of the bride’s make-up. “The girls were very friendly and the make up was beautiful. It was a nice surprise to find out one of the make up artists was from Glasgow!” said Nicola.
The wedding reception was held on board World Yacht at Pier 81. This was a dinner cruise which took us on the Hudson to view the landmarks of Manhattan lit up at night. Their guests were wowed by the statue of liberty as they stopped right in front of it, and it gave them some excellent photo opportunities. They said that they had a lovely meal and drinks on board, and the DJ kept the dance floor busy all night.
“I would like to say a huge thanks to Claire for helping to organize our wedding day. Working with Claire took much of the stress out of planning our day, and being able to run ideas past her was excellent. Our wedding day went exactly to plan, and exceeded not only our expectations but the expectations of our guests too!” said Nicola. Thank you for sharing your story with us, Nicola and Marc, I wish you the best of luck for your futures together. For more information on planning your own Central Park wedding, visit our website, or “like” us on Facebook for photos and more inspiring stories.
