Initially, the couple preferred Wagner Cove or the area under the Bethesda Terrace for their wedding ceremony location, and Cop Cot was their third choice. After thinking about it for a little while they decide to go for Cop Cot. They were planning to have quite a large group with them, so Wagner Cove might be a bit cramped, and they wanted some privacy, and Bethesda Terrace might be too busy.
Ysabelle and Rudy got married in Cop Cot in October. They met in college and had been together for ten years when they got married. Rudy’s dad is from the Philippines and his mom is a New Yorker, so some family was already in New York. Ysabelle’s family flew in from the Philippines and other parts of the US the weekend before their wedding in Central Park.
Cop Cot will hold forty people nicely and that was Ysabelle and Rudy’s expected guest count. The maximum that we can get a permit for at Cop Cot is fifty, although it will hold more. We are not allowed to use a microphone at weddings in Central Park, so the guest count needs to stay below fifty to ensure that everyone can hear you! Cop Cot is right on top of a hill, so not exactly tucked-away, but having that wooden fencing around the edge does provide privacy and cover.
I wrote a traditional Christian ceremony for Ysabelle and Rudy, with the couple also saying vows to each other that they had written themselves, as well as saying the traditional vows. The officiant read from Corinthians verse 13, chapters 4 to 7, a very popular reading for weddings from the Bible. I’ll put that at the end of the post.
Ysabelle and Rudy wanted to start the ceremony at 3:30, which is about as late in the day as I’d advise starting in late October if you plan on having a photo session afterwards. The light starts to fade quite quickly at this time of year. But this mid-afternoon ceremony time worked well with their plan to take the whole group on to the reception at the hotel where they were also staying, the Marriot Marquis Hotel.
They had a clear idea of all of the group photos they wanted, so they sent me a list of all the formations of photos they wanted to be taken with family. Many of them had traveled a long way to be there, so this made perfect sense! The guests had a color-code for their clothes – blue and dark red – so all the photos look amazing.
If family photos are important to a couple and they know which groups they want in pictures, then it’s really helpful for the photographer to have this list in advance. Then they can easily check off all the formations and we can be sure the couple have captured everyone who is there!
I asked them how we did. “Ysabelle and I are very happy with the patience and professionalism of everyone involved,” said Rudy. “We definitely recommend Wed in Central Park to people we know,” he added. It was a pleasure working with you both to plan your wedding.
If you would like me to help you with planning your own Central Park wedding or elopement, whether you’re from near or far, 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.
Corinthians verse 13, chapters 4 to 7
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
