Tayla and Hayden eloped from their home in the Midlands of England in early September. They got married underneath Bethesda Terrace because it was an unseasonably hot day. They had a permit for a wedding to take place anywhere within the whole Bethesda Terrace and Fountain area but they decided to choose the exact spot on the day.
Tayla and Hayden had met at school when they were twelve years old. They lost touch when Hayden moved away, and then reconnected three years ago through their parents and social media and quickly became a couple after that. They were both thirty years old when they got married.
The couple have a daughter together so are very much already in a committed relationship. But they only officially got engaged two weeks before the wedding. They planned it all fairly quickly, they first contacted me nine months before they got married. “Getting married is important to us because it’s a sign of coming together as one, we share all our time together and put it into our children. We wanted to take the next step as a family,” said Tayla.
I always ask couples what other options they considered for their wedding. “We only ever considered New York; the vibes, scenery and how much of a unique place it is,” Tayla told me. Of course I think she is completely correct, why would anyone ever consider getting married anywhere else?! She said that they chose Central Park for its beauty and the views. “It just felt so special as soon as we walked into the park itself,” she said.
We wrote quite a personal ceremony with lots of mentions of family members past and present. Tayla said that they felt able to make it so personal because it was just the two of them and they didn’t have to be concerned with friends and family as an audience. She said that it felt as though those family members who have passed on who were included in the ceremony wording were with them in spirit. They also included a poem that they loved, and they felt that it described what love truly meant to them. I’ll put the poem at the end of the post.
I asked Tayla if they had any regrets about not having a big, traditional wedding closer to home. “Nope, not one regret,” she said. “It was amazing from start to finish and with the help of everyone involved including yourself it was made perfect for us,” she added. “I feel eloping is the way forward because you have yourself to concentrate on rather than all the guests. You make it about yourselves; the two people who are actually getting married, I feel other weddings I have been to have been for the guests rather than the couple,” she said.
Tayla wore a white suit with a pearl headband and Hayden wore beige chino shorts with a white linen shirt. Tayla carried silk flowers that she had bought online and she did her own hair and makeup. After the ceremony at Bethesda Terrace, their photographer took them around the area of Bethesda Terrace and Fountain as well as around Bow Bridge and the Lake for further portrait photos. They got married in the morning so they had the whole afternoon to continue their sight-seeing. That evening they had a celebratory dinner at Broadway Lounge in Times Square, which Tayla said they would highly recommend, “the service and food were amazing!” she said.
Tayla and Hayden were visiting New York as a joint gift for their thirtieth birthdays. They stayed at the Blakely Hotel in Midtown, not far from Times Square. I asked Tayla if she had any advice for anyone who might be considering getting married in Central Park themselves. She advised not to have any doubts, “it was amazing and we would do it all over again in a heartbeat,” she said.
I asked how we did. “The service we received from the day I contacted Claire was faultless; the way we were made to feel at ease, the wording of our ceremony, the confidence she built in me with everything was perfect,” she said. “I couldn’t recommend Wed in Central Park enough. You made our dreams come true!” Tayla said. Thank you for your kind words, Tayla, and it was an absolute pleasure to plan your wedding with you. I wish you, Hayden and your girls the best of luck for your future together. If you would like me to help you with planning your own Central Park wedding, either a large affair or a small and intimate one like this one, visit our website. Keep updated with our news and see lots of beautiful photos, “like” us on Facebook, follow us on Instagram and follow us on Pinterest.
Love isn’t always perfect.
It isn’t a fairytale or a storybook.
And it doesn’t always come easy.
Love is overcoming obstacles,
facing challenges, fighting to be together,
holding on and never letting go.
It is a short word, easy to spell,
difficult to define,
and impossible to live without.
Love is work,
but most of all,
Love is realising that every hour,
every minute, and every second
was worth it because you did it together.
