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Planning Your Wedding in Central Park, New York? The Rules, Tips, What You Need to Know
With the cost of a large, traditional weddings getting higher and higher these days, destination weddings and elopements have seen a fast increase in popularity in recent years. Many couples are rejecting the big, traditional wedding close to home. In some cases, this might be to save money, and in many cases, couples want their weddings to be unique, and stand out against what everyone else is doing.
Today, as part of our wedding planning tips, we’re diving into New York City, with a spotlight on planning a wedding in Central Park. To guide us, we’ve partnered with Claire Ady, a seasoned wedding planner who’s been living on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. Originally from the UK, Claire’s connection to Central Park runs deep—she’s volunteered as a guide, spent countless hours walking her dog there, and even tied the knot in the park herself. Since launching her wedding planning business in 2012, she’s successfully orchestrated hundreds of weddings. Let’s explore her insights!
Courtesy of Wed in Central Park
Why Choose New York for Your Wedding
New York is truly a city that has something for everyone, and it’s a great place to celebrate your love, whether you elope just the two of you, or if you bring a small group of friends and family with you from home. Many couples see a benefit in cutting their guest lists to spend more time and money on who and what is important to them. With fewer guests present when a couple get married, they might be more comfortable to show their true personalities, and include more unique and personal touches.
Wedding in Central Park: A Magical Location
Central Park is a beautiful and peaceful place in the heart of the busy and hectic island of Manhattan. As mentioned, Claire has been planning weddings in Central Park since 2012. There aren’t many questions about getting married in Central Park that she hasn’t been asked before! If a wedding in Central Park is appealing to you, what are the things you should think about first?
It’s a magical place. Courtesy of Wed in Central Park
Courtesy of Wed in Central Park
Key Considerations for Planning Your Wedding in Central Park
Claire suggests that the first thing to do when considering a wedding ceremony in Central Park is to decide on what time of year the wedding will take place and who, if anyone, you are bringing with you.
A lot of the subsequent choices you make will depend on these things, due to the weather and the options you have either with or without guests. If you elope, then all you need to think about is what the two of you want to do.
Courtesy of Wed in Central Park
If you bring a group with you, then things become more complicated, because you have to think of their needs. If you bring a group, you may want to have your bachelorette and/or bachelor parties while you’re in the city.
The answers to these questions about the time of year and who attends will help a couple get to the answer to the most important question of all for many: what is this going to cost us? It is possible to have a wedding in Central Park on a fairly frugal budget, and of course it is very easy to have a big, lavish and expensive wedding, New York offers endless choices.
An experienced planner can answer couples’ questions much more quickly and more thoroughly than online searches or word of mouth, and they can tailor their advice and suggestions for each couple, since everyone is different. And, more specifically, Claire says that there are lots of reasons why she is the person to help you to plan your wedding in Central Park. Not least the five star reviews she consistently receives.
Courtesy of Wed in Central Park
Legal Requirements and Documentation
All couples who marry in New York must go to City Hall at least 24 hours in advance of their ceremony to get a marriage license. This is where the couple proves to an official that they are who they say they are. There’s one marriage bureau in each borough of New York City. Currently, couples need to make an appointment to get their license.
They need to take along a passport and if they’ve been married before, proof of death or divorce of previous spouse(s). Then couples need to wait at least 24 hours between the issue of the license and holding the ceremony.
Bring your license along to the ceremony, and then sign it afterwards, along with the officiant and at least one witness. Then you can leave it with your officiant who will send it back to City Hall for you. They will register your marriage and then mail your marriage certificate to you, no matter where in the world you live.
Courtesy of Wed in Central Park
Selecting the Perfect Central Park Spot
There are several locations in Central Park that are popular for wedding ceremonies. Some spaces are bigger than others, so the size of your group may dictate which spot you say “I do” in. Some have a roof, some have seating, some are more private than others, and some provide a beautiful view. They all have their pros and cons.
Courtesy of Wed in Central Park
Claire advises that you consider the place where you get married carefully. Don’t just think about how it looks in a photo, think about how it will feel as you make these special promises to each other. You can take photos in beautiful places once you’re married! If you want your Central Park wedding to be legally binding, the officiant must be New York State registered.
Courtesy of Wed in Central Park
Claire writes the ceremonies for each couple individually, so each one is unique. She asks everyone a series of questions about their relationship and the guests and what they want from the ceremony, then writes the wording with their needs in mind. Besides the ceremony itself, there are lots of other things to consider – a photographer, video, flowers, musician, hair and makeup, transport, and so on.
Courtesy of Wed in Central Park
Some couples go big and want all of this, some couples keep it simple and avoid all these extra people being involved. If you’re planning to have fresh flowers, keep the season in mind. To hold a wedding ceremony in Central Park, you should apply for an event permit. If you elope, you don’t have to have a permit, but Claire always recommends having a permit if you can.
This means that you can be confident that if you get to the location at the time when you’re planned to be there, the spot is yours. The permit dictates that the area must be a right of way to the public, and we cannot fence the area off, but with that piece of paper we can politely ask people to move out of the space.
Capturing Iconic Wedding Photos
It is traditional to take wedding portrait photos after the wedding ceremony, but one good thing about getting married in a park is that you don’t have to follow every tradition if you don’t want to. Some couples have their portrait photos session before the wedding and then they won’t keep their guests waiting around afterwards, they can go off and enjoy the city.
Central Park is an incredibly beautiful and iconic place for wedding photos – with the Manhattan skyline in the background above the trees. Visiting couples often go and take photos at Times Square, or Grand Central, or from the Top of the Rock or the Empire State Building, or from Brooklyn Bridge Park with Manhattan in the background. These couples’ wedding photos will really stand out as unique and their wedding will be a happy memory for years to come for the couple and all their guests.
Post-Wedding Celebrations
Many couples take their guests somewhere to eat, drink and celebrate the wedding. It might be a restaurant, a show, a tour of the city by road, and some couples choose a dinner cruise on the Hudson – sightseeing while eating and drinking at the same time!
New York has a truly vast choice of restaurants to suit all tastes and budgets. Be sure that you have a good plan of timings for your day before booking any evening celebrations, Claire can help you with that. She advises not to try to fit too much in to the day, try to leave some time for some rest! For more information to help you with planning your own Central Park wedding, visit Wed in Central Park’s website, or follow her on Instagram to see lots of beautiful photos of newlyweds in Central Park and around New York.
