Sarah and Howard brought ten of their friends and family from Nottingham in England to get married in the Ladies’ Pavilion in Central Park this May. They were in Paris to celebrate Valentine’s Day this year and they got engaged at the top of the Eiffel Tower on Valentine’s Day. They knew that they did not want a long engagement.
They considered a wedding at home in England, but they also thought about some destination wedding options, such as Las Vegas. They had both always wanted to visit New York City so they decided that a wedding there was a great opportunity for a visit, and they could bring their friends. They wanted an informal and intimate wedding and they felt that Central Park could offer them just that. They had seen photographs of Central Park and could see how beautiful it is, and the many choices of picturesque areas it offered. They particularly like the Ladies’ Pavilion and they thought that it would suit their group size well. “It had a great view over the lake,” said Sarah, “it was also quite private.”
I asked them if they had any concerns about getting married in Central Park and Sarah said that they were a little nervous about getting the license beforehand. This is something that the couple are legally required to do themselves, this is where they must produce their ID to get the license. Check out my blog on how to get your marriage license in New York for more details.
Sarah and Howard stayed at the Empire Hotel, which is right next to Central Park. They were upgraded to a suite which they found very helpful when it came to the time to get ready on their wedding day.
They said that they loved their photographs in Central Park, but with hindsight they wished that they had booked three hours of photography rather than our standard two hours, then they would have had photographs taken in the city with the iconic buildings as backdrop. We can arrange this, and we have many couples going out to various locations, or their reception locations with the photographer. Although many couples feel that two hours is enough of having your photo taken, everyone is different.
Sarah’s wedding dress was purchased from a store in the UK, but she had it altered a little. She knew that she wanted it to be practical for walking around Central Park and New York so she had it shortened a little. I think this is a great idea.
After their wedding they had a meal in a private room at Davios in Midtown. “It was absolutely perfect,” said Sarah. “The service was amazing and they offered a good menu and drinks package for us. Other places we spoke to were not as flexible.” After that they went on to a pre-booked table at the Kimberly rooftop bar. “We wanted somewhere with good views of skyline at night where you are able to dance,” said Sarah.
I asked if they had any other tips that they would like to share with other couples planning a wedding in Central Park. Both Sarah, and the mother of the groom were a little late, and Sarah suggested making sure that you allow enough time to get to Central Park and know where you are going. I agree, and this is something that I can help with. I can suggest the best entrance to go in to the Park from, give you an estimate of how long it will take to get from your hotel to the Park, and give you a map of the route to walk to your ceremony location. This is rarely the problem, though, and brides are often late for weddings all around the world because of the time it takes to get ready. So, we forgive them.
“Claire was amazing; extremely efficient and answered all my queries regardless of what they were concerning. I had contacted a few other wedding planners and she was definitely the best and quite reasonable too,” said Sarah. “She definitely made things easy for us as I did not know where to start and she explained very clearly what we needed to do. She always came back to me very quickly despite the time difference and guided us through the whole thing.” Thank you for sharing your story with us, Sarah and Howard, I wish you the best of luck for your future together. It was great to meet you and your family and friends. For more information on planning your own Central Park wedding, visit our website, or “like” us on Facebook for photos and more inspiring stories.
