Victoria and Sean came over to New York form their home in Glasgow this December to get married in Central Park. They have been together for four years and they have a two year old son together. Having their son was a major reason why they wanted to get married, they wanted to make their union official with a wedding.
They got engaged in November 2015 in Central Park, while taking a horse and carriage ride. Originally the plans for their wedding were a large-scale affair at Walt Disney World in Florida. Victoria started her communications with them but she found that the wedding planners there were adding to her wedding planning stresses, not helping. In the end she cancelled those big plans and reconsidered. “We realized that were marrying for love, not for a big show off day,” said Victoria, so they made the decision to elope to New York. Since they had got engaged there a year previously it was a special place for them. I find it quite common that couples who got engaged somewhere in New York want to get married there too.
I asked them if they had had any worries about getting married in Central Park. Theirs was the same as many couples’ – the weather. They were getting married outdoors in December, there was a risk of rain or indeed snow. They did have rain so they changed their ceremony location. They had originally chosen the lovely Dene Summer House, known as the Treehouse for Dreaming, but this is at the top of a hill that would have been very slippy in the wet, and provided no shelter from the rain. So, they changed their location to underneath Bethesda Terrace. This is a fully covered area and is famous for being the location where Chuck and Blair got married in the TV show Gossip Girl. It has grand arches with a view out to the Bethesda Fountain and often there are musicians under there playing for visitors. It is a lovely spot, but of course the rain affected their chances of getting photos in lots of locations in Central Park. “We didn’t let it ruin our day,” said Victoria, and they got some beautiful photos in the Bethesda Terrace area.
They were in New York for a week, and they stayed in the Paramount Hotel at Times Square. “The hotel was lovely but the location was just too busy,” said Victoria. “It was a fight of the crowds when we were coming and going from the hotel,” she added. I totally agree with this. As someone who has lived in Manhattan and visited as a tourist too I always recommend the Upper West Side as a great area to stay to couples who are getting married in Central Park. I know that Times Square is such a popular place to stay for tourists, but on the few occasions when I have had to walk through it I am always glad that I do not have to do it too often.
Victoria’s makeup was done by Bre Kali and her hair was done by Keila Sone. “Both of them went above and beyond to give me the look I was looking for,” said Victoria. She carried an artificial bouquet that she had brought from home, which stood up very well in the rain.
Their photographer was Gianna Leo Falcon. After their ceremony and their photographs they went back to the hotel and changed their clothes for some dry ones. Then went out for dinner and drinks to celebrate.
Despite the weather Victoria and Sean loved their wedding in Central Park. “I think wherever you get married in Central Park it will be beautiful,” Victoria said. “At first I was upset that we had to change location but we had a magical ceremony and our pictures turned out amazing because all of Central Park is stunning, so regardless of the ceremony location you are guaranteed a magical day.”
Thank you for sharing your story with us, Victoria and Sean, I wish you the best of luck for your futures together with your little family. For more information on planning your own Central Park wedding, visit our website, or “like” us on Facebook for photos and more inspiring stories.