Steph and Rob eloped from their home in Yorkshire in England to get married in Central Park in June. We held the ceremony on a boat landing which overlooks Bow Bridge, called Bow Bridge Landing. Rob was 30 and Steph 28 when they got married.
They met ten years ago. Steph was working at a bar in their local town as a glass collector and Rob was a patron of the bar. Steph caught Rob’s eye and when Steph finished her shift they got chatting outside. They hit it off immediately, “from the moment we started talking it was just so easy,” Steph told me. They moved in together after dating for around a year and they bought their first home together in 2022.
Although they’d been together for over ten years, Steph and Rob were only officially engaged for six months. “After a year of living with each other we knew that we wanted to eventually get married,” Steph told me. But she was still in full time education at the time and ideally they both wanted to have bought their our own home before getting married. There never was an official proposal because from so early on was never a question of ‘if’ but ‘when’ for them. Once they had bought their house getting married was naturally the next thing that they turned their attention to!
In early 2024, they started looking at traveling to New York to get married. They first contacted me in January and we started discussing what they needed to make the day go just how they wanted it to. “It’s a running joke that Rob and I had no idea how we came to choose Central Park, it just happened!” Steph told me. Rob had never been to New York but loved seeing Central Park on films and TV, and Steph had been to New York briefly some years before but felt like she’d like to see the place properly.
Steph and Rob had a clear idea that they wanted to make one trip for their wedding ceremony and honeymoon in one. They did consider Greece, because the photos would have been beautiful, “but there isn’t actually much to do there other than lie on the beach,” said Steph. And of course, if there’s one city which is famous for having lots to do, so much in fact that it never sleeps, it’s New York City. You can read about why I think a wedding in Central Park beats a beach wedding here. So New York, and Central Park seemed like they would be the perfect combination of a beautiful setting for their wedding and a fun honeymoon location.
I asked if they knew anyone else who had eloped. They said that they’re not from a hugely wealthy part of England, so “destination weddings and elopements seem quite unusual where we’re from,” Steph said. Although she told me that a lot of people have told her that they would have loved to elope if not for fears of what their friends or family might think. “My say is go for it!” she said. She’ll get no arguments from me, and that’s what so many of our eloping couples say – no regrets about their decision. I asked Steph if they had any regrets or if there was anything they would have done differently. “No regrets whatsoever! But our relationship hasn’t followed a traditional course, so it fits perfectly for us that our wedding wasn’t traditional,” she said.
Steph and Rob’s friends and family were a little sad that they wouldn’t be included in their wedding, “but overall they were happy and excited for us,” Steph told me. “They recognised that this was a once-in-a-lifetime experience and that we were doing the best thing for us,” she said. I asked if they had any worries about getting married in New York and they said that their main concern was the paperwork and making things legal. “With Claire’s help this was actually pretty easy!” Steph said. They were surprised at how quick and efficient it was to get their marriage license from the New York City Clerk. She said it was like a fast food drive-through it was so speedy!
Most of our eloping couples stay for less than a week. Steph and Rob wanted to do this right, so they stayed in New York for two weeks. They stayed at the Sheraton, Times Square. “This was perfect for proximity to Central Park, but for any honeymooners I would advise staying in Midtown for convenience or even Brooklyn for a cheaper hotel rate,” said Steph. “The subway was so easy to use, and there weren’t actually many attractions we wanted to see in the Times Square part of the island,” said Steph.
Their photographer Jakub Redziniak met them from a cab at the West 72nd and Central Park West entrance to the park from their cab. He took some photos of them there with their cab and then on the street before walking in to the park with them. They had particularly liked a boat landing overlooking Bow Bridge for the ceremony, but it’s one of the spots where the Parks Department do not issue an event permit for, so we couldn’t guarantee that it would be available. So, we got a permit for Wagner Cove as a backup. It wasn’t needed because our officiant arrived nice and early and politely asked several groups to move along from the space (while having a general tidy up of the landing of trash and twigs) in advance of Steph and Rob’s arrival to be sure it would be ready for them.
We had written a fairly short and straightforward ceremony, with a little introduction about their relationship to date and then traditional vows before the ring exchange. “Our ceremony was written so beautifully and still brings happy tears to my eyes thinking about it even now because it so perfectly encapsulates our relationship” Steph told me. “Fortunately all of the passers-by were respectful during the ceremony and didn’t interrupt,” Steph said.
Because of where the boat landing is, it’s quite tucked away and private, and any passers-by would only be right up close if they happen to be on the pathway that goes past it from Bow Bridge through the Ramble. “The ceremony was beautiful and intimate,” said Steph. Anyone on the boat landing can be seen, although not heard, from Bow Bridge. So, they attracted a small crowd on the bridge who gave them a big cheer once they saw the ceremony was over. “After being in this wonderful ceremony bubble, what we didn’t expect was cheering and clapping from the onlookers at Bow Bridge and people in rented boats,” Steph said. “Rob and I are shy and we don’t like fuss, but in that moment we felt like heroes! It was such a heartwarming moment,” she said. I agree, I found it quite moving and lovely.
Steph and Rob wanted to capture lots of photos of their time in Central Park, so after the ceremony, they took photos at Bow Bridge, Bethesda Terrace, the Mall, Cats Rock and Gapstow Bridge before shooting a few more street photos for good luck at the south end of the park. “We wanted a mix of traditional photos, but also photos clearly showing that we’re in Central Park – as opposed to any park or a non-descript location,” Steph explained. Yes, I like a mix of both too. Sometimes our eloping couples try to save money by booking their own photographer and get someone cheap with very little experience and it makes me sad when they get nice enough weddings shots of the two of them, but not of the beautiful park the couple have flown many miles to get married in.
“We love all of our photos for different reasons, but I think my favourites were taken under the arches of Bethesda Terrace,” Steph told me. “The lighting and location is stunning, it makes us look like a couple out of a wedding magazine which I didn’t think was possible!” she said. Rob bought his three-price suit from Cavani. Steph bought her dress, petticoat and veil from Wed2Be. Steph said that she had been in two minds whether to buy real or artificial flowers. She decided that some artificial flowers would be a nice keepsake from the day, and after eloping there really wouldn’t be many other things in the running to be keepsakes. So, she plans to display her artificial bouquet in a vase at home. She bought it from Maddison J Floral on Etsy and she said that she was extremely impressed with the quality.
After the wedding ceremony and the photos around Central Park, they ate dinner at the Central Park Boathouse. “The food was delicious and the location was idyllic, it felt like the perfect extension of our wedding day,” Steph said. After that, they went back to their hotel for a drink in the hotel bar. “Everybody clapped and cheered as we walked in, and our server brought us complimentary tequila shots, which reminded us of our early dating days,” she told me. After that they got changed and found a bar nearby with a happy hour that served frozen margaritas. “We were so happy to spend the day in our love bubble and not be pulled from pillar to post like so many of our friends who had big weddings have told us happened to them,” Steph said. If you’re considering eloping, and you take away one thing from this blog, let it be that last sentence.
I am always asked by my couples for restaurant suggestions, and I think the best to make recommendations are previous couples, so I asked if there was anywhere they would recommend. “We’re massive Broadway fans so we went to Ellen’s Stardust Diner which was an unbelievable experience to see such talented people performing as we ate!” Steph told me. “All considered, the food was delicious and great value for the portion,” she added. They said that they also enjoyed Skirt Steak in Midtown which offers unlimited fries as part of its prix-fixe menu! So, what would Steph and Rob say to anyone else considering doing what they did? “Central Park is a beautiful setting and has something for everyone, be it nature or iconic city backdrops,” they told me. “There were plenty of musicians playing music throughout the park which added to the magic. Most importantly, the people around us were all respectful and very complimentary,” they added.
I asked how we did. “Claire provided an excellent service from start to finish and helped us in any way she could. We can’t thank her enough for pulling together our special day!” Steph said. Thank you for your kind words and for sharing your story with us, Steph and Rob. They told me that their marriage symbolises the start of a new chapter where they will hopefully start their own family with a couple of pets, so I wish them the very best of luck with that grand endeavour! 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.
