Rachael and Sean came over from their home in England to get married in Central Park in April. They are originally from Birmingham, now live in Coventry in the Midlands. Rachael was 34 and Sean exactly 40 when they got married – they got married on his birthday.
They met at work, editing websites. “We were best friends for two years before realising we had feelings for each other!” Rachael told me. Their first holiday together was to Venice, “we couldn’t afford to go on a gondola so we promised ourselves that if we ever visited again we would do it,” Rachael said. They returned to the city four years later and this time they could afford a trip in a gondola. It seemed so momentous to their relationship that Sean popped the question in the gondola! “Even though it’s seen as a clichéd way to propose it had a special meaning for us,” said Rachael. The clichés are popular for a reason in my opinion!
Rachael was completely shocks at the proposal, “we’d been living in a van for the previous ten months and we were on a shoe string budget,” she said. Sean had bought Rachael her my dream ring, “four years later I still can’t stop staring at it,” she said. So, they had been together for seven years when they got married, and engaged for three of those years. I asked why being married was important to them. “We really wanted to provide a solid basis for building a family. My parents were never married and I always envied kids with married parents – kind of an old fashioned view but that’s the truth,” Rachael said. I’m told that Sean wasn’t fussed either way about getting married but he warmed to the idea and of course it was his own idea to propose!
Given where they got engaged, Rachael and Sean did consider getting married in Venice. I’m told that Brits who get married in Italy need to do the legally binding part at home, though, and it can’t be done in Italy as it can be done in the US. Rachael said that they decided that they preferred to go somewhere new for their wedding, and she also said that getting married in Venice was very expensive. They also considered eloping to Las Vegas, in the Venetian casino on the strip of course! But they said that the felt if they got married in Vegas it should be done in a tacky style – they suggested Elvis and cowboy boots etc, “and that really wasn’t for us,” Rachael said. So, they went for a classic style in our wonderful city with something for everyone.
Rachael had visited New York with her best friend eight years previously, and Sean had had New York on his vacation bucket list for ages. So, they started to search online for information about elopements in New York and they learnt that it’s possible to get married in Central Park and it’s a great place for an elopement wedding. They chose Wagner Cove for their ceremony location. “Wagner Cove just looked so incredibly beautiful, we didn’t really consider anywhere else after seeing photos of it!” Rachael said.
I asked them if they had had any concerns about getting married in Central Park or New York. “None whatsoever, the only things we worried about was a flight delay (there were no issues) and getting our license the day before (again, that was a doddle),” Rachael said. She does suggest planning to get to New York at least a couple of days before your wedding to give some flexibility in case you do have any issue with these things. Sometimes our couples prefer to choose their own photographer for their wedding, rather than have me book one of the photographers that I work with regularly, and Rachael and Sean chose Adam Freeman from Oak and Bone Photography.
I asked Rachael and Sean if they had any regrets about not having a traditional wedding closer to home. “Absolutely not. We can’t begin to tell you how incredible our day in Central Park was,” Rachael said. “Neither of us felt nervous in the morning, it was incredibly intimate yet we were surrounded by the most bustling city on earth. It didn’t put us in debt and we spent the rest of the day just enjoying each other’s company. It really was just perfect,” she said. Very well put, in my opinion. Rachael also told me that some of their friends who have had big weddings have told them that they regret it and wished instead that they had eloped. “Redefining what a wedding can be is definitely becoming more popular but most people I know have still spent what I’d consider crazy money on the big white wedding,” Rachael added.
Their friend Kunvaldeep, who is Sean’s friend from school, lives in Brooklyn. So, they asked him to come along and be their guest and their legal witness. Sean arrived at Wagner Cove first to set up his phone to a zoom call so that their friends and family could watch, so the officiant met him there at Wagner Cove and Kunvaldeep went to the hotel to meet Rachael. “The ceremony was intimate and lovely,” said Rachael. We had their officiant talk a little about their story to date and told some fun anecdotes about their life together. Then they exchanged traditional vows, and then they each read out something they had prepared in advance before exchanging rings.
They loved the setting for their wedding ceremony. “Wagner Cove is even lovelier in real life than in the photos. Truly breathtaking,” said Rachael. “We chose Wagner Cove because it seemed private and picturesque,” she said. We had the officiant talk a little about their relationship to date, and also to acknowledge those who were watching at home. Rachael and Sean had written their own vows, “and it was our favorite moment of the day,” Rachael said. “We had kept them secret from each other until that moment and we were both very tearful throughout. It really was just a very special moment that we’ll remember forever,” she told me. After that, they exchanged rings and were pronounced married!
Rachael’s dress was purchased from David’s Bridal. Her mom spotted it while Rachael was there trying on bridesmaid dresses for a friend’s wedding. Her mom bought her dress, which helped make it feel like she was a part of the day too. Sean’s suit was purchased from Next, and they chose it together. Rachael bought three roses to carry instead of carrying a bouquet, she got orange and red for her two best friends and white for her sister, because she felt they were the colors they would choose. She tied a blue bead onto the flowers that her friend had given her as her ‘something borrowed and blue’.
After the ceremony their photographer took them to a bar for some photos and a much needed celebratory drink. “After our photographer left we recapped our vows to each other – more tears ensued!” Rachael said. They had a couple more drinks then got changed, since Rachael felt her dress was a nuisance to wear out and about for any longer. They ate a slice at Two Boots Pizza and had a drink at the Scarlet Lounge, both on the Upper West Side. That evening they ate at Keens Steakhouse. “It was beyond fantastic. Best steak of our lives,” said Rachael.
Rachael and Sean stayed at the Hilton Club hotel The Quin, which is in Midtown. “It was absolutely lovely and basically on the edge of Central Park so it was a fabulous location,” Rachael said. The hotel is just two blocks away from the south end of the park. They stayed for five nights, but they both agreed that they could have happily stayed much longer. “We love just wandering the city at our own pace, while everyone bustles around us,” said Rachael. But they had to leave, and they went for a ‘minimoon’ in Washington DC, which they said was lovely.
I asked if they had any thoughts on getting married in Central Park for anyone else considering doing it. “If you’re thinking of doing it, just do it. It was the best decision of our lives. We enjoyed every single moment,” said Rachael. She also suggests if you can, to go to the spot where you’re getting married the day before. “That’s what we did and it gave us chance to really soak it all in. On the day you’re too busy looking at each other and feeling all the emotions to really take in the surroundings,” she said.
I asked how we did. “Wed in Central Park was everything we needed; efficient, lovely, easy to deal with and really competitively priced. You made what could be a stressful occasion incredibly stress free,” Rachael said. Thank you for your kind words and for sharing your story with us, Rachael and Sean. If you would like me to help you with planning your own Central Park wedding or elopement, whether you live locally or are planning on traveling to New York to get married, visit our website. Keep updated with our news and see lots of beautiful photos, follow us on Facebook, follow us on Instagram and follow us on Pinterest.
