I am British, but specialize in planning weddings for couples who want to get married in Central Park, New York. People are often surprised when I tell them that is what I do for a living, and even more surprised to learn that I plan around fifty weddings each year. I lived on New York’s Upper East Side for a little while, and during the time I was there I spent a lot of time in Central Park; walking my dog, running and just chilling out and enjoying the beautiful scenery.
So, when my boyfriend at the time and I decided to get married, Central Park seemed like the obvious choice for us. I spent some time learning about the legalities surrounding two Brits getting married in New York, and asking my New Yorker friends for suggestions on where to buy our rings, who to have photograph and video the ceremony, and of course who to perform the ceremony for us. I had been looking for a change of career, so after we got married, it occurred to me that I could start a business helping others to get married in this wonderful, world famous and iconic place.
I set up my website and social media and put the word out that I was hoping to plan some weddings for some other people. Luckily, Central Park is a stunningly beautiful place for a wedding and New York is an incredible place for a celebration, so lots of couples came along fairly quickly. I am now in my sixth year of planning weddings for other people and I couldn’t imagine doing anything else! I run the business part-time around my two young children, and it works very well to choose my own hours.
I deliberately keep my prices as low as I can because I don’t believe in spending a huge amount of money on a wedding. I’d also prefer to have lots of clients for a small fee, than a few clients for a high fee. I think people can choose a very lavish hotel and restaurant for their reception, and spend a lot on what they will wear and so on, or they can keep to a budget and make more economical choices. My job is to listen to my clients and give them the wedding they desire. I make sure that the people I work with are fantastic – we are a group of people who are enthusiastic about love and about helping make the first day of a couple’s married life a special one.
My clients come from all around the world, probably around 20-30% are from the US. Some couples elope to New York and have a ceremony with just the two of them and a witness, and some might bring 50-60 friends and family – that’s probably about the biggest wedding that we see. Most of my weddings have between six and twelve of the couple’s nearest and dearest in attendance. No wedding is the same and they are all memorable. I love what I do and I feel very fortunate to play such a big part in such an important day of so many people’s lives.
For more information to help you with planning your own Central Park wedding, visit our website, or "like" us on Facebook, follow us on Instagram and follow us on Pinterest where you will find lots of lovely photos and many more inspiring stories of real weddings.
