When New York legalized same-sex marriages in June of last year there began a stampede of same-sex couples rushing to New York City, finally exercising their right to legalize their union. Every wedding celebrant I have spoken to was exhilarated to be a part of this momentous time in the state’s history. It has been an incredible and exciting few months for the New York wedding community but now that stampede has somewhat lessened.
New York City is famous the whole world over for being the best city in the world for a celebration. There is an unending choice of restaurants, bars and clubs, with so many of them gay-friendly. There are the classic, iconic bars of old, mixed in with the new hip and trendy clubs opened within the year. The City is a great place for a party, and what a memorable wedding celebration you could have here.
Your guest blogger, Claire, moved to New York from the UK in January 2011, and instantly fell in love with the city, who wouldn’t? She didn’t have a US work permit, so decided to spend some time volunteering in Central Park. So, after a few training sessions she was accepted onto the Greensward Guide program. It’s their job to greet people in the park, and give them information and directions. When she and her boyfriend at the time decided to get married it was an easy decision to choose to marry in Central Park.
A wedding in Central Park is such a free-and-easy way to tie the knot. There is no pressure to conform to a traditional wedding format because you have already thrown tradition out of the window by getting married in a public park!
Manhattan is incredible, there is so much going on there, so many people and so much artistic and cultural stimulation. But it’s so busy and so noisy, and the park allows you to truly get away from it all. The park was begun in 1858, when the majority of homes in Manhattan were much further downtown than the park, but the city designers had the foresight to realize that the residential part of the city would rapidly grow further north. Although it looks very natural, a lot of excavation had to take place to get it looking like that. The park was constructed throughout the American Civil war and completed in 1873. Once the park was completed, large mansions were built along the Avenues running up either side of it. You can still see a lot of those beautiful buildings now, they’re mostly embassies or museums now.
To get married in New York City you must get your license from City Hall at least 24 hours before your ceremony. City Hall is downtown, amongst all the oldest New York legal buildings, and it can take a while to get the license. Take photo ID, such as a passport, and we would advise going in just before lunchtime, getting your place in line with a numbered ticket, then going to the cafe a few doors down for lunch, which you can eat in the lovely nearby park, to kill the time waiting for your number to come up. Discuss whether you will be changing your name prior to getting the license, because you will have to declare it on the form.
In the current economic climate, some people just don’t have the cash to throw a big party in an expensive venue, if you’re thinking of keeping your costs down, where better than outdoors? The small permit fee goes straight to the Central Park Conservancy, a charity in charge of running the park. Increasingly, people have wanted to “elope” to get married, just the two of them, to avoid divorced and remarried parents of their own or otherwise hostile or unsupportive family members making what should be a special day, just an emotionally complex one. Many couples will arrive at the Park together. This avoids any disagreements you maybe having about which one of you gets to walk down the aisle!
Claire had enjoyed the freedom of the Central Park wedding so much, she decided to launch a business to help foreigners, such as herself, and out-of-state people get married in the park. She called it Wed in Central Park. She had found a photographer and officiant through word-of-mouth but people from out of town are not in a position to meet people in this way. The regular photographer and videographer team Wed in Central Park use are a lesbian couple who have lived together in Manhattan’s East Village since the 80s. They specialize in weddings and East Village gay club parties and events. For more information on the packages they offer, see their website http://www.wedincentralpark.com/customisable-wedding-packages/
Wed in Central Park will help you write your own vows. Couples may feel that the traditional wedding vows do not apply to them, and want something completely different, or want to add their own twist to the traditional. Either way, they can help with ideas and editing.
There are lots of lovely spots in Central Park that are appropriate for weddings. There are some suggestions on the Wed in Central Park website http://www.wedincentralpark.com/wedding-locations/. Locations can range from the very public, such as Bow Bridge, to the quiet, sedate and private, such as the Great Hill, and other areas in the not-so-touristy North of the Park. Wed in Central Park will discuss the location options with clients and secure a permit for the chosen location.
New York is a wonderfully busy and exciting city, and Central Park is the perfectly tranquil oasis within it, why not choose Central Park for your wedding location and combine a tranquil ceremony with an incredible celebration in the city?
Contact Claire at info@wedincentralpark.com
Christine Quinn, a leading mayoral candidate for 2013, and Catullo, an attorney, married in an evening ceremony at the Highline Stages in Chelsea attended by family members, friends and the city and state’s political elite.
