Planning an elopement or destination wedding in Central Park, New York, from Northern Ireland

We have seen destination weddings and elopements rapidly gain popularity in recent years.  This might be partly due to the costs of a traditional wedding rising.  Lots of couples are turning away from the conventional, big wedding close to home.  For some, this may be to cut costs, or rather to focus their spending on just their nearest and dearest, rather than a large group of acquaintances and wider family.  For many, it might be a matter of wanting their wedding day to be unique, and to stand out against what everyone else is doing (and maybe save some money and reduce stress too!).

Claire Ady has been running a business planning weddings for couples who want to get married in New York's iconic Central Park since 2012.  She’s British, and got the idea to start the business after getting married in Central Park in 2011 herself.  She’s planned hundreds of weddings in Central Park since then, mostly for couples who are visitors to New York City, the majority of whom come from the UK and Ireland. 

New York is an awesome city; offering so many iconic sights and attractions for every kind of visitor; it’s genuinely a place that has something for everyone and can appeal to people of all ages.  Therefore, it makes for an excellent option to celebrate your love with a destination wedding, inviting your close friends and family as guests.  It’s also a great for a intimate and romantic elopement for just the two of you with an added honeymoon thrown in if you visit New York for a few days!  There are so many restaurants and bars to choose from, you can be sure that the wedding evening celebrations will be memorable.

Central Park is a peaceful and beautiful place for couples to say “I do”.  Couples that Claire has planned a wedding for always say how thrilled their guests are to explore New York, combining the wedding celebration with a fun vacation, several days of celebrations, and cherished moments with family and friends that you’ll all remember for years to come.  It’s a lovely way for your two families to really get to know each other.  And if that doesn’t appeal, and you prefer to keep your families away from each other, then an elopement can solve a lot of problems!

Whatever your reasons for considering getting married in Central Park, here are Claire’s top tips on getting married in Central Park, even if you will be planning everything from Northern Ireland.

When starting to make a plan to get married in New York, the first two big decisions to make are; who is coming with you (if anyone) and how long you’ll be in New York for. 

You and your partner need to decide whether you would like to invite any guests to come with you to New York, or if you plan to go just the two of you.  Once you have decided between you, then I recommend discussing things with your loved ones in advance.  You may want to involve your guests in the planning if you want them to come along too - share all the wonderful things you have lined up for your time in New York, both leading up to and on the big day.  

If you plan to elope (and here are some reasons why you might want to elope), then you may need to manage the feelings of your loved ones.  An option to consider is to celebrate in NYC style when you get back home.  Some couples have hosted larger welcome-home parties for their extended family and friends after returning from New York.  They have maintained the New York theme with the party invitations and decorations.  This way, you’re including everyone in the celebration, and perhaps getting the best of both worlds if you’d prefer to elope but also want a party.

Booking the flights and accommodation is a big part of making things happen, and this needs to happen pretty much right at the start of your planning.  Sometimes couples get in touch with me after they have booked their trip, and have decided to get married while they’re in town.  Some are looking to elope, are considering NYC, and check in with me before they book the flights.  Either works fine for us, and all couples are different, so we work at the pace of our clients.  Consider what you want to see and do while you’re in town, and what your budget might be.  This will help you to decide how long you want to be in New York for.

There are lots of flights out of Dublin (and Shannon and also Edinburgh) to JFK.  If you have flown from Shannon or Dublin Airports to the United States in recent years, then you will know already that it is about as easy as it could possibly be to travel between Republic of Ireland and the US.  Passengers traveling on nonstop flights to the United States complete their immigration, customs, and agriculture checks in Dublin or Shannon before their departure.  This process is conducted by the US officers stationed at the Irish so passengers flying from Ireland (no matter what nationality they are) will be treated as domestic arrivals once in the US, allowing them to bypass lengthy immigration queues and quickly proceed to their final destination. 

The one thing that a couple absolutely must do themselves is to visit the City Clerk's Office in New York to obtain their marriage license.  This is a legal requirement - you'll need to go together, and show photo ID (ie your passports) to prove your identity.  You will also need to take proof of divorce or death of any previous spouse(s) if you have been married before.  You can get the license as soon as you get to New York, and then you must wait 24 hours after getting the license before you get married.  Some couples just go back to City Hall and have a quick wedding ceremony there.  And you can actually get married pretty much anywhere in NYC, we’ve planned weddings in other locations besides Central Park, but Central Park is our favourite!  So, when making your travel plans, factor in getting the license one day (it should take around an hour for this!), and getting married on another day.

I advise getting to know New York and Central Park a little bit beforehand.  Some of my clients have visited New York before. Some even got engaged in Central Park. However, others have never been to the city, although we’ve all seen it on TV and in movies, so it feels familiar to us all.  Even if you know Central Park, I recommend giving some thought to where exactly in the park you’d like to hold the ceremony and also which areas you'd like to get to for photos.  Here’s some information on the more popular wedding ceremony locations in Central Park.  If you know which spots in the park you like the most, you can tell us ahead of time.  This will make the photography part of your wedding day run much more smoothly, ensuring you don't miss out on capturing any important moments.

Once a couple has decided on the time and place where they want to say “I do”, then I reserve the spot for them.  I can also book a New York State registered officiant, to make the ceremony legal, and a photographer, videographer, musician, flowers, hair and makeup, cake, transport, and help with many other things.  I guide couples through the decision making process, and they just need to tell me what they want for their special day and I make it all happen.  

When it's time for your wedding ceremony in Central Park, remember to bring the marriage license with you. After the ceremony, you and your officiant will sign the license, which the officiant will then submit to the City Clerk's Office.  City Hall will then send your marriage certificate in the mail to your home address in Northern Ireland within 6-8 weeks.  And that’s it!  You don’t need to do anything in the UK beforehand.  

The UK Government website has a dedicated space for clear guidance on the matter of marriage abroad.  So long as you follow the rules to make a marriage legal in the foreign country and don’t break any UK laws (ie you’re both over sixteen, you’re not already married to anyone else, and you’re not closely related) then you’ll be legally married in the UK.  To get married in many European countries you have to be in the country for some time before you can be legally married there, but this is not the case in the United States, so it’s possible to actually have a legally binding ceremony in the US (and not have to do the legal part at home as many couples having a destination wedding in Europe often need to do).

We see couples usually choosing to get married in fairly traditional wedding attire, even some very spectacular gowns.  It is probably harder to move around Central Park and New York City in a big and long gown than a shorter dress or trousers (and what shoes you wear will make a huge difference too!).  And, you’ll have to bring your wedding clothes on the plane, and also get it all to look ironed when you get to New York!  So, consider all of this when choosing a dress if you plan to wear one.  Keep in mind that you'll be outside for a while, so you'll want to plan accordingly, and that applies to hair and makeup too.

Many couples see a benefit in cutting their guest list from the hundreds that might be expected for a traditional wedding close to home to spend more time and money on who and what is important to them.  With fewer guests present (or with no-one else present, in the case of an elopement) when a couple get married, they might be more comfortable to show their true personalities, and include more unique and personal touches.  I work closely with each couple to write a personalized ceremony just for them.  I ask them a series of questions that allows me to write ceremony wording tailored specifically to the couple.  

I highly recommend hiring a professional photographer to capture the ceremony and to take portrait photos in Central Park, and also possibly around the city.  These photos will be something that you will treasure for years to come.  Some of our couples want to take photos while they are looking amazing in their wedding gear in all the iconic places - such the Top of the Rock, the Brooklyn waterfront with Brooklyn Bridge and Manhattan as backdrop, Grand Central, the Empire State Building, and so on.  I can help couples to make a plan of timings for the day, either with or without a group of guests, to fit in everything that you want to.

New York City offers an incredible variety of exceptional dining and celebration options to suit pretty much any taste or budget.  Whether couples want to book a table at a nice restaurant or opt for a private room if they have guests, the city provides ample opportunities to make wedding festivities truly memorable.  Some couples order a cake to be delivered to the restaurant, or to their ceremony location in Central Park.  And after the wedding party has dined, the city's vibrant bar scene provides endless possibilities to continue the celebration late into the night.

When you return home, you can use the marriage certificate issued by City Hall to change your name if you need to, and for all the legal stuff you might need it for once you’re married.  It’s a legally binding document, in the UK and in Ireland as well as the United States.

For more information on planning your own elopement or destination wedding in Central Park, drop Claire an email at info@wedincentralpark.com with any questions.  You can also visit the Wed in Central Park website, where there’s lots of information, including prices and packages, and also links to Claire’s social media, which you can follow for inspiration.