A Private Wedding in the Shakespeare Garden, Central Park

Tanya and Greg got married in Central Park towards the end of September. They are both from Kentucky. They met while working together in early 2012 and it was love at first sight.... sort of. They quickly became friends and hung out for several months before properly getting together as a couple. Tanya had to work far away for eight months but they persevered and she moved back home just prior to the wedding.

They had got engaged in June of this year at Don's Lighthouse in Cleveland, Ohio. Although the timing of the proposal was a surprise to Tanya they had traveled to New York the previous month and had purchased the rings from Tiffany's.

Tanya and Greg thought for a short while about getting married close to home, but in the end they decided that Central Park felt right to them. They said that initially they had worried a little about having their event permit approved for their chosen location of the Shakespeare Garden, but it was no problem in the end. They said that it was an ideal setting, and they got the privacy and weather they had hoped for.

Since this couple live relatively close to New York City, compared to many of the couples I work with, who are often from overseas, they were able to visit three times in the run-up their wedding for the preparations. They stayed in a different hotel each time. On the trip over for the rings they stayed in the Waldorf. On the second trip, where they had a look around the Park and chose their ceremony location and obtain their marriage license they stayed at Park 79, close to Central Park. For the wedding trip itself they stayed in a suite at the Excelsior Hotel. They said that they would recommend all three.

They had chosen the Shakespeare Garden after we had talked through what they wanted from a ceremony location and I suggested it to them. They both love the Fall and wanted lots of foliage in the pictures. There are still flowers in the Garden at this time of year. Though the colors had not yet changed, it is a beautiful area any time of the year.

They wanted to keep the “reception catering” as simple as possible so they went to the well-loved Manhattan bakery Crumbs to order a 6” cake and purchased a bottle of champagne from a store nearby. They picked out their flowers from a nearby street vendor on the morning of the wedding, and simply bundled them together, trimmed them and wrapped them in a ribbon.

Greg described the ceremony by saying “it could not have been more perfect. It was intimate with just the two of us, the officiant, and the photographer..and a few squirrels. Due to a concert in the park, that area had been sealed off and no one was allowed to enter. Because of our permit, we were permitted entry. It was magical to be alone in this beautiful area of Central Park.”

They kept the day of their wedding laid back and relaxed. They breakfasted at Sarabeth's then took their time collecting their cake and choosing their flowers. Then they went back to the hotel to get ready. Following the wedding ceremony and photographs, they returned to the hotel for the lighting of the unity candle, cake, and champagne in private. Following that they went to the Calle Ocho restaurant inside the Excelsior hotel where they were served more complimentary champagne and had a delicious dinner. The night ended early because they flew out the next morning to Turks and Caicos for what turned out to be an amazing honeymoon.

When I asked them to summarize their experience Greg said “the day was beautiful and exactly what we wanted; relaxed, enchanting, and about our lives coming together as one. Thanks to Claire, Aida, and Andy for helping create what we envisioned and making it effortless.” Thank you, Tanya and Greg, for sharing your story and your lovely photographs.

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