Victoria and Aaron got married beside Bethesda Fountain in May. Victoria was 34 and Aaron was 35 when they got married. They had the ceremony right in front of the fountain. They were able to say “I do” and be pronounced married right before it started to rain! We had hoped to get to some other locations in the park for photos, but the rain stopped that. They’re happy with the lovely photos taken in front of the fountain and on the terrace, and then at the reception location.
They had met on the dating app Bumble soon after Victoria had moved back home to New York from Texas. She told me that they bonded very early over being early risers (and therefore going to bed early!) and also true crime podcasts. They felt that it was cool that they were compatible and also had a lot of the little quirky things in common.
Victoria told me that she didn’t think that getting married was something that they were actively thinking about when they started dating. “We just realized that we enjoyed each other and we fell in love,” she said. They both felt sure that they wanted to continue spending their days together and whenever they talked about future plans, they always included each other. So, it just naturally followed that if they were always to be together, they wanted to be married too!
They contacted me around six months before their date, and they were sure on the date and location for their ceremony straight away. “We hadn’t gotten too deep into scouting venues when a good friend of mine shared the Wed in Central Park website,” Victoria told me. Her sister had been about have a big wedding in April of 2020, but her plans changed (as so many wedding plans changed that year!) and she and her husband had a small wedding ceremony in Central Park instead. “Aaron is OBSESSED with Central Park,” Victoria told me (a sentiment I can of course appreciate!). So when he heard what Victoria’s friend’s sister did, he was immediately on board. They had planned on having a small wedding anyway, and it seemed like a perfect location. In the end, they had around thirty guests, which I’d say is medium-sized for a wedding in Central Park, but of course fairly intimate by traditional measures.
I asked Victoria if she thinks couples are leaning towards more intimate weddings in recent years. “I think that the pandemic has made people focus on the idea of quality over quantity,” she said. “I think that smaller weddings have become more popular because although large weddings are still about the love that a couple shares, smaller weddings allow the couple to really be with all of their guests,” she said. She told me that she loved that they actually had time to walk around and spend time with all of their guests. Also, they were very intentional and selective with their guest list.
We provided Florencia Saavedra photographer for the ceremony in Central Park, who focused on capturing candid photos of the guests, and they also booked their own photographer, Erika Coy, for a longer period to capture the whole day. Victoria and Aaron are local to New York City, so it was easy for their local guests to attend, but they also had guests from out of town. One benefit to get married in New York is that usually, everyone is happy to visit this incredible city! “So, the right guests will make sure that they’re there for you – wherever you are,” Victoria said.
Victoria walked into the ceremony with her dad, who gave her away. They had a cellist playing for the guests before the bride arrived. Their guests were family, local friends, friends from college, and friends from Texas, where Victoria had lived and worked. “They were all very impressed with our Central Park wedding!” said Victoria. They had inadvertently planned the quintessential New York City spring wedding, with sunshine and showers! After the ceremony in Central Park, they had a shuttle bus take the whole group on to the reception location.
I asked Victoria how we did. “I don’t know that we would have been able to have our ceremony be as organized and as beautiful as it was without Wed in Central Park. Claire, thank you again for everything!!” Thank you so much for your kinds words, it was an absolute pleasure to work with you, Victoria and I wish you both lots of luck for your future together. 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, “like” us on Facebook, follow us on Instagram and follow us on Pinterest.
