I want to get married in New York

Question

I am from the UK and planning to get married (second time) next year. My partner proposed on Christmas Day at the top of the Rockerfeller Centre, and we'd like to go back there to get married. Can anybody suggest anywhere unusual and nice? The first time I got married in an Elvis Chapel in Las Vegas so I don't want anything too tackly and kitsch this time. Thanks.

Answer 1

You can actually get married at the Top of the Rock if you wish, as long as it's a small party. You simply meet your officiant and ride up in the elevator :-). If you have a family group (some people bring their families over for the party), you can rent one of the "rainbow rooms" which are the floor UNDER the Rainbow room at Rockefeller center - we do the wedding in the reception room, and then they set up the cocktails or buffet in an adjoining room.  It really depends upon the time of year, what you decide to do and how big your wedding party is.  

If it's just you, Central Park (or Fort Tryon park, or Prospect Park, or the Brooklyn Promenade, or Battery Park, or Carl Schurtz park) are always good ideas. You can even be married in City Hall Park, by the gas lanterns and the fountain. But this has been a wet summer for weddings in Central Park -- so it's always important to have a backup plan.  

That can be your hotel, with a view, a restaurant with a view, a terrace top hotel, etc.  You can be married in a carriage in Central Park, (with the roof down if it drizzles), or in one of the little pavilions or gazebos in the park, and then have dinner at Terrace on the Green, I like the Library Hotel, a boutique restaurant south of Grand Central, they have a nice little bar and open terrace and will do a small wedding in the afternoon from 1-4 quite nicely and rather inexpensively, considering the NY costs. Almost ANY little restaurant will let you hold a small wedding ceremony and then provide champs and dinner - look on citysearch.com and menupages for restaurants with gardens and private rooms - or restaurants sometimes will fit in a little wedding reception in the afternoon before evening service.  One of by land, two if by sea (a romantic 18th century townhouse in the village ) is often kind to us, and will let us hold a wedding upstairs by the fireplace before they open for dinner .  

Important: Just assure the location vendor it's a short, 15 minute, small civil wedding, no fuss, no muss - no confetti, no videographer, no chuppah, no tulle, no candles, no rice - and  restaurants are often quite accommodating. We have even been able to hold a short wedding on the balcony in Grand Central, because we bought dinner in the restaurant.  Almost any place that would hold a little wedding RECEPTION will allow you to hold the wedding there as well as long as you buy some food and drinks.  Always ask the concierge in your hotel if you can use a penthouse room or a terrace room for 1/2 hour.  Some are quite helpful, for a gratuity, and will slip you into an open room with a view, and some get really silly and will offer to charge you $1000 extra. It's just the market.

There are very few chapels for rent in the city - but there are a couple of little ones which are pretty - I've put a link to wedding locations from our blog, as well to a discussion of chapels to rent. This is just helpful info, we don't have any connection to any of these places. Congrats!!  Have fun planning!  Cheers