Summer Central Park Elopement

How to Plan an elopement in Central Park

1. Find a Location. Where to Elope in Central Park

When choosing a location for you and your fiance to exchange your vows in Central Park, you’ll have so many options. From the beautiful Bethesda Fountain to the Belevedere Castle the options are endless. You’ll have to ask yourself what is more important to you? You can decide on having the most intimate ceremony in one of Central Park areas or pick one of the famous locations in the Park. Whichever you decide on going to, remember that you cal always explore the park before or after your ceremony and still get all the beautiful locations for your wedding photos.

Here are some of my favorite locations in Central Park for your elopement:

Each location has its own vibe and feeling. You can go from very romantic to a city vibe. From the very popular to very intimate. The choice is yours.

• Cop Cot
• The Pond and The Gapstow Bridge
• The rock by the Wollman Rink
• A Tree House for Dreaming
• The Bethesda Terrace and Fountain
• The Bow Bridge
• Wagner Cove
• The Lake View
• Ladies Pavillon
• Shakespeare Garden
• Belvedere Castle and Turtle Pond
• The Conservatory Garden

2. The legal documentation for your Central Park elopement

• Permits

Depending on the location you’ll choose permit may be required in order for you to have your ceremony. Another point to take into consideration is the number of guests you’ll have with you for your Central Park elopement.

You’ll have to apply for a special wedding permit if you are planning on having more than 20 guests. An application fee of $25 is required in order to have your event in Central Park. Additional fees may apply when choosing a specific location or having more than 20 guests. Here is where to apply for your elopement permit in Central Park.

Here is the guideline for your ceremony in Central Park. Make sure to respect the Park regulations. Special permits may take up to 30 days to be accepted. Make sure to apply at least a month prior to your wedding ceremony.

• Officiants

The first step to make your wedding legal in New York City, you’ll have to apply for a marriage license. The marriage license is issued 24hrs after you apply online or apply at the city hall. Click here to apply for your marriage license.

Once you’ve applied for your marriage license you’ll have to find an officiant for your ceremony. Either you decide on going with a professional or a member of your family or friend, you’ll need to have an officiant to make your marriage legal.

Here are the list of officiant I recommend for your elopement in New York City:

1. Revannie Lawrence
2. OfficiantPeterB
3. Perfect Union NY
4. Once Upon a Vow

3. How to plan your elopement day in New York City

Are you flying all the way to New York City to elope? New York City is such an exciting place to have your elopement in. There are so many ways to celebrate your special day. If you want my advice, you should always make the most of your day wherever you decide on having your elopement in NYC. Eloping is not just about exchanging your vows in a pretty location. It’s also about the experience you’ll have on your day. starting on with where you’ll stay in the city to make your stay memorable or even the restaurant you’ll pick to celebrate. Whatever you decide on doing make sure it represents who you are and why you came to NYC in the first place to elope.

Depending on when you’d decide to have your ceremony and where you can start choosing what time of the day makes the most sense to plan your elopement. If you want to start on a relaxing day you can plan on having a nice brunch in your hotel room or your favorite little restaurant in the corner of your hotel. If you are an early riser and want to avoid the crowd in the city you’ll have to be up for sunrise and then plan all of your activities after.

Here is a list of things you could do on your elopement day:

• Have a nice brunch at your Airbnb / hotel or favorite brunch restaurant.
• Get your hair and makeup done by a professional.
• Get dressed with your fiance or separately.
• Head to your ceremony location together or have a first look if you want to keep the surprise.
• Exchange your vows in Central Park
• Plan more wedding portraits around Central Park
• Head to your next activities. (Seeing a different part of the city, heading to your favorite museum, have an epic helicopter tour, take a ferry tour..)
• Take a break and enjoy your time together as newlywed
• Head out to a restaurant to celebrate just the two of you or with your friends and family.

4. Book your wedding vendors

Elopements can be everything and anything. This is the beauty of eloping. You get to choose how your day will be filled and how you want the day to look like. To make things easier you can hire a team of wedding professionals that will guide you in the right direction and make your vision come to life. Here is my New York City wedding vendor recommendation for you.

• Makeup artists and Hairstylist: 

1. Andria Tobey
2. Beauty Icon NYC
3. Makeup by Iren
4. Christina Delfino

• Florists

1. Mimosa Floral
2. Adore Floral
3. Fox Fodder Farm
4. Rosehip Social

About Hahn and John’s Elopement

I don’t want to sound too cheesy but their elopement in Central Park was absolutely perfect! Summertime in the city can be very challenging. And we were so lucky to walk around on a day where the heat stayed away. Central Park is extremely popular in the summer. This is why we planned their wedding in the morning. You’ll be able to see that we hit a few iconic locations from the Park and were lucky to have most of them for ourselves.

From the Belvedere Castle to the Bethesda Fountain and Gapstow Bridge, we were able to just enjoy some of the best views of the city. I have to say my favorite part was probably when walking under the Bethesda Terrace. Some musicians were already here and played some perfect songs for Hanh and John to have a quick first dance. I don’t think you can do more romantic than this.

If you are able to go back to where you first met on your wedding day don’t hesitate to do it. Hanh and John had their first date in one of the coolest burgers restaurants I ever walked in:  the JG Melon. We were able to walk back in together and let them have a throwback to when they first met. Seeing the happiness on their faces as soon as we walked in just meant everything.

See more photos from Central Park with this Bethesda Fountain Elopement.