Let us plan your Central Park Wedding

New York City is well-known for being the city that never sleeps. It's an awesome city for a celebrations with its huge choice of bars, restaurants and clubs and so much to see and do. In the center of all this is the beautiful, tranquil Central Park. A place where tourists and New Yorkers alike can go to get away from it all and almost forget that you are in the busy metropolis of Manhattan.

Central Park was begun in 1858, when the majority of homes in Manhattan were much further downtown than the park, but the city designers realized 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. The park was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1962.

Central Park Conservancy offers permits for couples who want to get married in the park. Wed in Central Park is a new organization set up to help non-New Yorkers get everything they need to get married in Central Park, to leave the bride and groom more time to enjoy themselves and celebrate their union! There are several locations you can choose from around the park. Check out the Wed in Central Park website for more information on their location suggestions http://www.wedincentralpark.com/wedding-locations/. People are getting married in the Park all year round. Although, obviously the park is a much more popular wedding location in the warmer months. Central Park receives approximately thirty-five million visitors each year!

Wed in Central Park was set up at the beginning of 2012 by Claire, who lives on the Upper East Side in Manhattan. She volunteers as a Greensward Guide in Central Park, giving directions and information to tourists, so she knows it very well. She and her husband got married there in July 2011 and she was struck by what a very relaxed day it had been for a wedding.

All the big weddings Claire had been to had been great fun to attend as a guest, but the idea of organizing such a huge party, and all the decisions to be made and the pressure of being the center of attention for a day can be quite daunting for some. Some couples just don't have the cash to throw a big party, and some would rather spend their money on their homes or their children. It's surprising how affordable a wedding in New York can be, with the discounted flight prices being offered at the moment, and choosing a park as your venue greatly reduces your costs. Extended families can be complicated, I know people who have wanted to “elope” to get married to avoid divorced and remarried parents of their own all being together and making what should be a special day, just a very emotionally complex one.

Claire had exhaustively researched the officiants available in the city. She had wanted a non-religious ceremony, but a friend who had got married in the beautiful Shakespeare Garden in Central Park had recommended a multi-faith ordained officiant who would help to write their vows. One of their New Yorker wedding guests knew a few local photographers, so Claire met with several before choosing her favorite. Claire and her husband-to-be spent a while walking around the park, taking photos and considering location options within the park. Their family back in the UK wanted a video of the event so she met with videographers. You can find out more about the team on their page. http://www.wedincentralpark.com/about-us/

Claire realized how daunting it might be for a foreigner to find out all the legal paperwork required to get married in New York, and also for someone not from New York City to have the time to find a reliable and high-quality photographer, or to walk around the park checking out each location individually. After doing all that hard work and gaining all that knowledge she decided she was in a unique position of knowing the park so very well as a guide, and having the time to start a business, so she decided to launch Wed in Central Park.

A wedding in Central Park will certainly stand out as a special memory, your wedding day will be different from all the other weddings you may have attended, and the photos will be incredible! If you fly to New York for your wedding, you can combine your wedding and honeymoon in one, and either stay in New York, or move on to another part of the US, it's a big place, and there's lots to see.

The most important thing about the service Wed in Central Park offers is the assurance that their people are incredibly high-quality and that there will be no hitches on the day and nobody will let you down. The service they offer is a choice of either one of two standard packages. The first is answering any and all questions you may have along with setting up all the paperwork and booking the officiant and photographer. The second is a more hands-on package where you have an organizer on-hand throughout the day to escort you. Their prices are extremely competitive. These are listed with prices on http://www.wedincentralpark.com/customisable-wedding-packages/. They will also organize a wedding completely tailored to the bride and groom's needs. This might involve flowers, cake, makeup, hairdresser, a musician, a fully catered picnic in the park, or anything else they need. Claire is currently involved in planning for a wedding party of twenty people from the UK, and they need advice on a hotel and venue for a meal afterwards, she can easily help with that sort of thing.