The TOTR will be closing at 10pm on NY Eve - so if you're planning a little quick elopement, book your officiant earlier in the day. As always, avoid sunset (big crowds)and be prepared for the touristas!
Wednesday
Monday
Staten Island Ferry weddings - no permit needed.
Wedding Granny Eileen sends this email from the Staten Island Ferry crew: "We do not provide permits to get married on The Staten Island Ferry, however, people are allowed to get married, if they bring their own officiant & if they can board the vessel and perform the ceremony within the 25 min trip, without being disruptive and obey any directives from the crew". Of course you still have to SIGN THE LICENSE ON LAND.
Labels: locations, staten island ferry
Saturday
Low-cost indoor wedding locations - Condo Party Rooms
We have done several nice weddings, from 30-100 people, in party rooms at condos. We had a particularly nice event on Roosevelt Island on the top floor of a building which is primarily Columbia Student housing - a great view. Catering by - Fresh Direct, supplemented with pot luck and a home-made wedding cake. Simple and fun.
Start asking your friends for party room privileges at their apartment buildings.
Labels: locations
Friday
Wedding lunch for a Central Park wedding
...Is sometimes cheaper than wedding dinner, of course! We married a lovely couple last month who scheduled their Central Park wedding to fit their reservations at JeanGeorges, at the Trump Tower at 1pm. As experienced diners, they knew that the tasting menu was reasonable, and the prices were great for lunch. I've never eaten there, alas, but they were kind enough to share the menu - here's the bride's email:
"...as promised this is what we ate at Jean Georges...
* Yellow fin Tuna Ribbons, Avocado, Spicy radish & ginger marmalade
* Sea Scallops, caramelized cauliflower with a caper raisin emulsion
* Peekytoe Crab, asparagus, mustard and melon juice
* Foie Gras Brulee with slowly roasted strawberries
* Maine lobster and potato gnocchi smoked butter and pickled chillies
* Gently smoked squab, summer peas and mint
* Jean Georges Chocolate Cake with Vanilla bean Ice Cream
* Cocoa noodles, peppermint broth and white chocolate sorbet
"I think the menu pretty much speaks for itself... it was simply magnificent! They also gave us each a free glass on champagne and all of the deserts beautifully presented with congratulations free of charge!"
Labels: restaurants
Thursday
Elderly guests and Central Park
We have had a few requests for accommodating elderly or disabled guests in the Park. If you pick your spot where it is accessible to a paved access road/path, you can transport your guests via Pedicab (they can go places the horse carriages cannot, obviously). Make sure to work out a pickup time after the ceremony. Cop Cot is close to the street, but up a giant hill - hard to walk, and too high to ride up. Choose a fairly level place, close to one of the park roads and paved access paths. Cherry Hill is a good example, from which you can walk to Bow Bridge or Wagner Cove or of course Bethesda. The rustic shelter in the Dene is walkable from 5th, The Mall is good, lots of nice statues and planters. Bring along a lawn chair if there are no benches nearby.
Labels: central park, Disabled guests, pedicabs
Marriage License: You have to get your marriage license IN NEW YORK to get married IN NEW YORK
There have been a rash of emails about this topic - not sure if it's the heat wave, but we'll try to explain again:
You must apply for a marriage license IN THE STATE IN WHICH YOU ARE BEING MARRIED. You cannot bring a Texas or New Jersey license to New York. In other words, if you get married in Barbados, you apply for a Barbados license, and get married by a Barbados officiant. If you're being married in NYC, you can apply for a marriage license ANYWHERE IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK, but you must be married by an officiant who is certified by the CITY OF NEW YORK (the 5 boroughs).
Waiting period: The waiting period for a marriage in New York City is 24 hours. That means if you get through the line and get your license stamped at 2:13pm, you can be married after 2:13pm the next day. Of course City Hall is CLOSED on the weekends, so if you apply on Fridays, you'll have to come back on MONDAY to be married at City Hall, or find a certified officiant to marry you on the weekends.
After the wedding, if you need your official marriage license right away (instead of waiting for it come in the mail), you must go BACK to the Manhattan City Hall the next weekday morning with the license, properly signed by yourself, the witnesses and the officiant, and you can get the official certificate for a small fee. This is only possible if you applied for your license at the MANHATTAN office at 141 Worth Street.
More details here:
Labels: City Clerk, City Hall, marriage license
Wednesday
Plough wind: Central Park trees get hit
“It seems like Central Park was essentially the ground zero,” said David Wally, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service’s office in Upton, N.Y., on Long Island. “Manhattan, the Bronx and the northern part of Queens were the primary recipients of the severe weather.” At the height of the storm, shortly after 10 p.m., the city’s Office of Emergency Management reported that more than 100 trees had been felled, with the damage concentrated on the west side of the park near streets in the 90s.
I think it's mostly elms on the Great Hill -- sigh.
Labels: central park
Tuesday
Surprise wedding: Engagement party and Wedding in One
We're having a nice surprise party wedding next week. The couple have asked their friends and family to dinner to celebrate their engagement, and then I'm going to make an appearance after the cocktails, and ask the couple to come forward -- and we'll have a wedding, instead of just a party. Only two people are in on the plan, and it should be a wonderful family event. The ceremony will be simple, they have bought a simple pair of rings, and we'll be sure to have a camera ready.
We've done this before, and it's always wonderful. Get your license a few days ahead, have a plan for pictures, a special dessert, glasses for toasting, and lots of hugs. They are going to ask their mothers to hold their rings, after they announce the plan, and their sibling/dad will sign the license. I think it will be memorable.
Labels: surprise wedding, wedding ceremony
Wednesday
Weddings on Red Hook Pier in Brooklyn
When you're filling out the Parks permit, the NAME of the park on the pier in Red Hook is: Valentino Pier, named in honor of firefighter and Parks lifeguard Louis J. Valentino, Jr. (1958 – 1996). Valentino lost his life while searching for wounded firefighters in a three-alarm blaze in an illegal Flatlands garage.
Labels: brooklyn, locations, Red Hook Pier
Monday
Weddings in the Rain - Central park
Yes, it's been a rainy spring. We've moved a couple of weddings inside - but it's still a beautiful location, if misty and drippy. The good news - less tourists! But be prepared for soggy grass, soppy riverbanks - and very few places for shelter. In a pinch (Ladies Pavilion probably occupied) try under the Minton Terrace at the Bethesda, Dene and Cop Cot shelters, with umbrellas, the Pavilion at the Bethesda (may be occupied), or one of the stone bridges with a nice view to the other end. We had two small weddings under the Dairy canopy, lovely and dry. Or have a brief ceremony in your hotel room, get a nice Chinese paper umbrella and take a romantic carriage ride through a misty park.
Labels: central park, locations, rain, wet weather
Sunday
Soundscapes, Park and Urban weddings
It's inevitable: unless you book a very private room somewhere, the sounds of the city will intrude somewhat on your wedding ("the rumble of the subway train, the rattle of the taxis" - the lullabies of broadway, of course). If you enjoy the ambient noise of the city, it's just part of effect. But just remember that you are outside in a city of millions of people - not sealed away in a chapel or hotel room.
Central Park on a Saturday evening is usually LOUD. Concerts, impromptu musicians, amplified music at Wollman Rink, inline skaters with boom boxes by the Mall, the guy who busks by the Ladies Pavilion with the endless John Denver songs, the Tango dancers, SummerStage, and last night, a really loud concert in the Bandshell, which could be heard all the way to Strawberry Fields (where there was the usual Saturday evening jam). And I was at a wedding at the Boathouse with a 12 piece band that rocked the lake. So if you want a quiet wedding in the park, go north, go waaay east, or don't get married Saturday night in the summer in the usual places unless you're prepared for the city at play soundscape. Though, of course, you can find nice quiet spots at any time -- just be prepared to walk a bit further away..
Grand Central is noisy. Battery Park is noisy. Water taxis disturb weddings at the Brooklyn bridge parks and at Fulton landing, and Red Hook. The subways crossing over in DUMBO (DOWN UNDER MANHATTAN BRIDGE OVERPASS)are going to interrupt your wedding every 6 minutes.
Remember that planes change their flight plans at dusk - and often fly over the lake and ponds. We had a wedding on Gapstow Bridge interrupted by a big gas lawnmower on Saturday. School and tour groups suddenly appear anywhere - squealing loudly - at Strawberry Fields, the Top of the Rock (we married a couple there on Wed. and had to wait till 120 kids decided to go to another level), and of course Times Square is what it is -- at least they aren't yelling outside the MTV window these days. Always check park events - even Fort Tryon Park gets festivals and events. But it might be fun to get married during the Renaissance Festival!
Thursday
Construction Alert: Ladies Pavilion
UPDATE:
They've boxed the trees and are repairing fences to the South, and will move around over to Cherry Hill and work on the shoreline. The small rustic pavilion is inaccessible, but the LP is still open.
UPDATE: The fence is up to the LP, and they've closed off the bridge and walkway by the Ramble, too. In talking to the work crews, they indicate that the work is on the southern shoreline first. But the permit office is still indicating that work will actually be done around the pavilion, so they have stopped issuing permits. We're going ahead with our booked weddings, but have alternative plans just in case.
If you have a permit for a wedding already, and your group is smallish, all may be well, or you may wish to call the permit office and try to rebook. We don't know how long this will last, so I'm not sure about Fall. Consider some of the other little rustic shelters around the lake for small weddings, or of course Cop Cot, the Belvedere (castle) terrace with the gazebos - here's a picture looking up from the Shakespeare garden, or even the Dene, on the East Side. Be creative - go NORTH to the lovely spots around the Mere and the pool - or try to book the terrace in front of King Jagiello which looks at the castle and the turtle pond. Explore the park!
Labels: central park, Ladies Pavilion, locations
Dropping the Ring through Brooklyn Bridge (Don't Do This!)
\"Sure, proposing on the bustling pedestrian walkway of the Brooklyn Bridge seems picturesque, but perhaps being up there holding on to a tiny ring with your nervous, sweaty, about-to-propose hands isn't actually the best idea. One would-be-groom has learned that the hard way, and he showed up on the Today show earlier to tell his harrowing tale.
Don Walling got down on one knee in front of his fiancee-to-be, Gina Pellicani, but "then the ring flew out of the box and fell to the roadway below." Whoops-a-daisy! Acting fast (and not so sensibly) he climbed down the bridge to get to the roadway, triggering a suicide jumper alert! Once he convinced the NYPD he wasn't looking to take the big dive, they helped stop traffic and he was actually able to retrieve the ring as his would-be-fiance and her family were watching all along through the giant gaps in the walkway planks"
Labels: Brooklyn Bridge
Sunday
May weddings in Central Park - book your spot
May is turning out to be a very popular month for weddings this year. Even if your wedding or elopement is SMALL, (under 20 people) consider booking a spot in the park with a $25 permit from the Parks Department (see the link at the top of the page, and If you don't live in the US, you can ask your officiant to apply for the permit, as they need a zip code to mail the paper copy. Write us with questions, we'll be happy to share our hints on park weddings.
Labels: central park, Permits
Feb 2 is St. Bride's Day
Feb 2, Groundhog Day or Candlemas, is the Feast of St. Brigid (Secondary Patron of Ireland) and Lá Feabhra - the first day of Spring. Brigit, seen here as a female smith, is called Bride in Scotland. Brigid aids any woman about to be married, and the woman is called “bride” in her honor. See more here.
Labels: St. Brigit
Wednesday
Valentine's Day Weddings
Biggest Day of the Year. Weddings, Proposals AND wedding photographers all over the place. Fri. Feb 13 will be CRAZY at City Hall. Consider scheduling your wedding for earlier or later in the week - flowers and champagne will be a silly price on V Day, and restaurants will be trying to think of some way to turn tables when couples want to sit and hold hands... it's New York, after all.
Advice: Avoid the Empire State Building, Top of the Rock (lines will be TERRIBLE), and popular parts of the park (Strawberry Fields, Ladies Pavilion, Bow Bridge). Look up "Romantic Restaurants" on menupages - then don't go there. Or best of all - have your last 'single person' date on VDay, and get married February 15. You can repeat that 'last date' every year on Feb. 14!
Update: Of course we DID marry people on Feb 14: we had some very nice weddings today - but the subways were HORRIBLE. Hope your VDay was cheery - it's cold in NY this week...
Labels: Valentine's Day, Wedding