Sophie and Simon eloped to New York from their home in Cumbria in England in November. We can see all kinds of weather at this time of year, but often it’s not too cold or wet during this month. We had a sunny day for their wedding in Wagner Cove. They were 33 and 34 when they got married.
The couple met at work during the height of the Covid pandemic, about four years ago. Sophie is an occupational therapist, Simon is a pharmacist, and they were working on the same unit in a hospital. They couldn’t go out on a date, so Simon invited Sophie to his home where he cooked a meal in the style of the TV show Dinner Date. He made and printed off a menu with each course being a play on words just like the show. Simon feared it would be a touch on the cringey side, but Sophie saw the joke in it and she still has the printed menu to this day! Since they were working together, and things were going very well, Sophie moved in with Simon quite early on. Covid restrictions meant that it was simpler to live together than to date, and they felt that the situation cemented how serious they were about each other. It made the decision to propose an easy one for Simon. They got engaged after only eight months together.
Simon proposed at a lighthouse on a coastal walk. He had planned to propose on a very specific day due to their work schedules. “When the day came the weather was absolutely terrible, there was nobody outside or on the coastal walk in the village we lived in at the time, but I was determined to propose!” he told me. Sophie later said she thought it was odd that he wanted to go on the walk as usually at the slightest sign of bad weather in the past Simon would suggest staying in!
I asked why getting married was important to them, and Simon said that “we believe it provides a stronger foundation to our relationship and it’s real commitment to spending a lifetime together.” They knew that they wanted a small wedding, “we think that your wedding day should be special,” Simon told me, “and a smaller wedding feels more personal to us, the same way that if you went to see a band in a more personal setting with a smaller crowd,” he explained. Lots of couples feel this way, and lots of couples elope as Sophie and Simon did, to truly make the day about the two of them, and to focus on the person they are marrying for the whole day. “We could enjoy it together without worrying if other people are also enjoying the day,” he said.
Sophie and Simon have recently bought a house together, and they wanted to keep their wedding small because they prefer to spend their money on the house instead of on a big wedding. “We considered a small wedding here in Cumbria with just close relatives, however Sophie stumbled upon Wed in Central Park whilst browsing ideas for a smaller wedding,” Simon told me. Hooray for Google! “We discussed it and looked at pictures on Instagram and we very quickly knew this was perfect for us,” he said. Hooray for our beautiful pictures on Instagram! So, after some discussion between Sophie and I, they booked their flights to New York. They had never visited before, “so we liked the idea of seeing and discovering New York together as a married couple once we were married,” Simon explained. They loved Central Park for their wedding location. “We think Central Park is very picturesque and very striking, we thought it was a little bit different from a standard wedding venue,” he told me.
I asked if they had any concerns about getting married in Central Park. “Sophie’s only concern prior to getting in touch with Claire was the idea that everything comes down to one day, there is no trial run for example,” Simon said. This is a legitimate concern, we can perform a rehearsal in Central Park, but eloping couples don’t tend to have one. “However, these concerns were very much alleviated by Claire as everything is so well planned that you know exactly what the day will look like including any contingency plans if needed,” he said. This is the goal, I try not to overwhelm couples with too much information right at the start, but instead to go through the planning process in stages. We make the larger decisions at the start, smaller decisions as we get closer to the date, and then by the time we’re a month or so from the wedding, I want the couple to be absolutely clear on what to expect on the day.
Simon said that another thing they had wondered about was how New Yorker’s might respond to them in their wedding attire when going around the city on their wedding day. They’re British, and from the North, which is generally far friendlier than London. “London isn’t known for being the friendliest of places and we wondered if New York might be the same,” he said. I had heard that New Yorkers were unfriendly before moving there, too. “However they were the complete opposite to their stereotype, we had lots of people congratulating us on the day, people could not have been nicer. Also, just in general over the five days we were in New York, we were surprised by how friendly and helpful people were,” he said. I agree, New Yorkers are always very lovely and congratulatory to our couples.
Sophie and Simon stayed at the Hard Rock Hotel just off Times Square. They were in town for five nights. When they left New York, the hired a car and drove to Boston and stayed there for five nights. Then they hired another car and drove to Quebec in Canada and stayed there for five nights before returning home.
The ceremony took place at Wagner Cove. I asked them where their favorite photos were taken. “We were blown away by the amount of photos we received and how many of them we liked,” Simon said. “So it is difficult to pick any favourites as we love so many of the photos in each places where we took them,” he explained. They had photos taken at Wagner Cove, Bow Bridge, Cherry Hill and Bethesda Terrace. One great advantage about Wagner Cove is that it’s so close to these main sights, so there’s minimal walking to do. “We really loved Wagner Cove, it was secluded, picturesque and the pictures there are absolutely fantastic.,” Simon told me. We had written an introduction for their ceremony with a recap of their relationship to date and also the officiant read the poem Marriage is Madness. We had just had a couple renew their vows after forty years together a few weeks earlier who had chosen the same poem, “We felt it was a funny and relatable,” said Simon. Well, so did a couple who have been together ten times as long as Sophie and Simon, so I’d say it’s good choice. I’ll put it at the end of this post. “The ceremony was fantastic. Our officiant was incredibly friendly and made us both feel at ease,” Simon told me. Then they exchanged traditional vows before exchanging rings.
Sophie opted for an ankle length dress for practicality. She bought it from Julia Tasker Bridal Couture near to their home. She neatly packed it up in a bridal box Sophie had purchased so that she could take it on to the flight as hand luggage. They said that the dress needed to be steamed after arriving in New York. Fortunately, the Hard Rock Hotel had their own steamers in each room so Sophie steamed the dress herself! Simon bought his suit from Slaters in Glasgow. He said that he hadn’t been looking forward to the experience, but he said that Slaters made it very easy and enjoyable. He wore Dr Marten boots with his suit. Sophie purchased her flowers from the flower market in the flower district from a shop called Flowers on Essex. They ordered them themselves the day before the wedding, they paid for them in the morning and picked them up later that day. Sophie had her hair and makeup done by professionals. She said that she showed them some ideas that she had saved on Pinterest and they were able to create exactly what she wanted. The hair and makeup lasted all day and was very natural which is exactly what she had asked for.
After they finished up with their photo session in Central Park they went downtown to the Financial District for some drinks before their celebratory meal. They had a bottle of prosecco at Zizi wine bar. “They were great, and we got desserts on the house as a congratulations,” Simon told me. They went on for drinks at Overstory. “The restaurant and the cocktail bar are renowned for their incredible views of New York and it did not disappoint, the cocktails were amazing and it was an amazing experience for our wedding day,” Simon said. They ate at Saga. It is a two Michelin star restaurant, “we wanted somewhere special for our wedding night,” he said. “The meal was more of an experience and it was the perfect ending to such an incredible day,” he told me. I always get asked for restaurant recommendations so I always ask our couples if they have any to pass on. Sophie’s favorite meal during their trip was a pizza they had at Don Antonio. Sophie is Coeliac so they went to Don Antonio after they heard that they do a very good gluten free pizza. “The pizza was incredible,” Simon said. “I had actually tried a couple of the famous slices around New York which Sophie was unfortunately not able to try, but this was also the best pizza I had whilst in New York!” he said. Simon takes his cheeseburgers very seriously, so he had done some cheeseburger research prior to leaving for New York. They had a burger at Hamburger America and it made it to his number one spot on his list of top cheeseburgers. “The way they make them is incredible and they even do a gluten free bun so Sophie could enjoy it also!” Simon told me.
Sophie and Simon had told only their close family that they planned to get married in New York. They said that friends and family were very happy for them when they heard the news. Simon said that lots of people said they wished that they had eloped too! I always ask our visiting couples if they have any regrets about not getting married closer to home. “We had such a great wedding day. The weather was perfect, everything ran so smoothly, the officiant and photographer were so friendly and great at what they do, and the whole day was exactly how we imagined,” said Simon. “It is impossible for us to have any regrets about not having a traditional wedding at home!” he said. That’s what we like to hear!
I asked if they had any thoughts they would like to share with anyone else who might be considering doing something similar to what they did and get married in Central Park. “We would like to emphasize how much the day felt special. As it was small and personal and such a great setting the day just felt so unique and special to us. It’s certainly a day we will never forget,” Simon said. I asked how we did. “It’s impossible to portray with just words how grateful we are to Claire and the service she provides. It’s a day you may only experience once in your lifetime and Claire took all the stress out of it and all that was left was for us to enjoy the day she’d worked hard to organize for us,” Simon said.
Thank you for your kind words and for sharing your story with us, Sophie and Simon, it was a pleasure to plan your wedding with you! I wish you both the very best of luck for your future together! If you would like me to help you with planning your own Central Park wedding, whether you or are eloping to New York as this couple did, or bringing a group with you, visit our website. Keep updated with our news and see lots of beautiful photos, follow us on Instagram, follow us on Facebook, follow us on TikTok, and follow us on Pinterest.
Marriage is Madness
Marriage is about giving and taking
And forgiving and forsaking
Kissing and loving and pushing and shoving
Caring and Sharing and screaming and swearing
About being together whatever the weather
About being driven to the end of your tether
About Sweetness and kindness
And wisdom and blindness
It’s about being strong when you’re feeling quite weak
It’s about saying nothing when you’re dying to speak
It’s about being wrong when you know you are right
It’s about giving in, before there’s a fight
It’s about you two living as cheaply as one
(you can give us a call if you know how that’s done!)
Never heeding advice that was always well meant
Never counting the cost until it’s all spent
And for you two today it’s about to begin
And for all that the two of you had to put in
Some days filled with joy, and some days with sadness
Too late you’ll discover that marriage is madness.
