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We are eloping!!

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ChampagneCharlie

Rough_Rock
Joined
Jun 27, 2009
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We are eloping later this year....my better half and I will be in New York for New Year and we will do it then. It will just be the two of us and no-one else. Super-romantic, low key and chic, just how we like it.

Its meant to be easy but I have just a few small headaches I am hoping someone can help us with!...

We want to get married on New Year''s Eve. I am not having much luck trying to get a photographer on that day for
just a couple of hours...eek

Also thoughts on where to actually get married...we thought the City Hall would be easy but I have no idea how ''nice'' it is there (we live in the UK)and I can''t find out how long you usually queue up for.... any thoughts?

Or should we just spend a bit more and pay one of travel companies wedding packages??

We then plan on having dinner in a nice fancy restaurant - preferably one with a view - it seems a bit early to be looking at places for dinner as I can only find what restaurants did last year...

Any help anyone can give would be appreciated - plus any other tales of eloping! Thank you x
 
I have absolutely no advice to give you but i just wanted to say that i think eloping in New York on New Years Eve would have to be one of THE best wedding ideas i have heard of EVER!!
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you''ll have so much fun! i was in time''s square for new year''s last year, so i highly recommend under armor, looots of it if you''re thinking of doing that (i couldn''t feel my legs much less my feet by the time the ball dropped. i forgot that whole bit about tall buildings creating wind...) also we got there around noon and people had already started to line up and two sections were blocked off, one of which was full. by 4 when we got out of TGIFriday''s, they had already blocked off the streets past us, however the section right by the restaurant was where the main stage was, there was nothing close to the ball other than tv screens.


times square alliance- new year''s eve page

under the FAQs section they talk about restaurants in the area as well as which hotels have a view of the ball. they also talk about what''ll be blocked off so you can avoid the whole mess if you want to. the site still has 2009 stuff up, and didn''t update the schedule of events last year til november, but the restaurants and hotels had their information up much earlier and their reservations do fill up quickly
 
Thank you Hawaiianorangetree!!

Thanks Squirrly too...I must admit I am not a lover of crowds to the degree that would be in Times Square. Would much rather watch from a little further afar lol! I am such a wimp!
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Hi Champagne!!!

Well, i''m from NYC, so I have some tips from you.
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City Hall looks like a goverment office. They open Monday to Friday, we went in the morning to get the Marriage License and took us no more than an hour. I think you can not get married the same they, so you will have to come back the next day to get married.

What I will suggest is to pay an official to get you married in another place. There are a lot of public places that you can use for that, like central park. I think that can be more special than just going to city hall.
 
The other thing to look up is if there is a waiting period for foreign nationals. You mentioned that you are from the UK, and assuming you are not a resident, you might have to meet a residency requirement...
 
I don't think there's an 'extra' waiting period for Foreign Nationals to get married in NYC. Both DH and I are Canadian and we had to wait 24hrs between picking up the license and having our legal ceremony, same as anyone else.

NYC's City Hall is NOT pretty at all. If you can arrange to have an Official meet you somewhere else in the City to perform your ceremony, I would highly recommend that.

NYE is an awesome time to get married! I originally wanted to do the same but in Mexico. The timing just didn't work out with our guests. Best of luck in your planning!
 
hi champagne :)

i live in NY, just north of NYC (my husband works in the city). the manhattan marriage bureau moved last year and is now in a much nicer space. here's a link to some info about the facility including how to get a wedding license etc. make sure you navigate to the second page and do watch the video which is on that page.

http://www.nydailynews.com/lifestyle/weddings/2009/01/08/2009-01-08_manhattans_new_marriage_bureau_earns_wow.html

be aware, tho, that the average ceremony takes only 2 minutes! so not a lot of time to linger over the ambiance.

also, getting a good restaurant will be VERY difficult; you'd do best getting your hotel to book somewhere, assuming you're staying somewhere top of the line for your stay. my husband and i are members of zagat - the international restaurant rating guide, and we go to various member dinners, so i'd be able to make some pretty solid suggestions for where to have dinner that evening if you liked.

i love the romance of the IDEA of new year's eve, but things will be chock-full-crowded. there will be no 'strolling along the sidewalk'; you'll be bumping and jostling your way through the crowds! to avoid this, i'd strongly suggest you hire a limo to take you wherever you want to go - both to city hall and also to dinner - then back to your hotel. personally, despite the significance of the date, i'd move it to either the 30th or even the 29th. just a thought.

do you have a hotel booked? for that time of year you will need to book VERY early. let me know if you need some tips; i've stayed at lots of different ones.

just on the off chance that you're not completely locked into a date....

if i wanted to elope, i'd get married in NY in the fall - last weekend in october, in fact. the colors are SPECTACULAR, the park is gorgeous, prices are waaaaaaay cheaper, and you'll be able to navigate your way around so much more easily. you'd even be able to wear a wedding dress outside! again, let me know if you have any questions and i'd be more than happy to give you a hand.

and congratulations on your decision to elope! that was always my dream wedding, but unfortunately i ended up going with the normal 'hundred guests at a reception house' routine. yours sounds way more fun. :)
 
i would suggest going to the campbell apartment for drinks after dinner. this is my favorite bar in ny! it is such a romantic place and you won''t be overdressed after coming from a nice dinner. http://www.yelp.com/biz/the-campbell-apartment-new-york

i would contact campbell apt to find out if they have anything going on for new years eve...if they do i''m sure it would be fantastic!
 
Thank you for replies. Its a big help.
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An hour doesn''t seem to be too long to wait but I might also looking into getting an officiant to marry us in Central Park or our hotel as a back-up for bad weather!

We have looked into the finer details of foreign nationals and we know we are clear on that one. The information site is really good but when I emailed asking for an indication of waiting time I got a standard reply that didn''t really tell me anything at all!

Witney - I love the idea of a limo - I think that is great idea and will definitely look into that.

I take the point about the crowds.. we hadn''t really thought about that... also I am a bit worried that there won''t be any photographers that want to work for a couple of hours on that date as I am sure they will either be busy with a big wedding or not willing to work for a small fee. Have to think about that a bit more as I think we have set our heart on NYE.

We almost decided to go in October but we managed to both get Christmas and New Year off work (a rare thing!) so decided to make the most of (spending Christmas with my parents and desperately trying not to put my foot in it the whole time we are there no doubt!).
We booked flights and nice hotel a little while ago so that is one thing we don''t have to worry about.
But any more suggestions on dinner reservations would be really appreciated. There is a michellin starred restaurant in our hotel but we don''t want to eat there on that night because it has no view whatsoever. We don''t mind paying for good food (and it will only be the two of us so can please ourselves!)
Many thanks
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Champagne, I actually got married in Central Park. I had the big party in Mexico, but the civil was here in NYC and since I did not want just to go to city hall, we planded something really lovely at the park.

We choiced 2 different places, one open fild in the other one at Bethesda Fountain in case of rain. I think that''s a wonderful place for a ceremony. Here is a picture

BethesdaFountain-m.jpg
 
Here is one from the inside

20070302bethesda.jpg
 
This one was during my wedding. Fortunately did not rain
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n713160191_3441429_7272.jpg
 
Just wanted to update you on progress - we have booked an official to marry us and also a photographer. Decided to get married in Central Park so we are researching the options of where exactly!

Gaby06 - thank you for your pics - gorgeous!

Still researching options for NYE dinner too - but feel very relaxed about it all now that we have the two main things booked (official and photographer).

Thanks so much for all your help - will keep you posted :0)

ps if anyone living in new york can suggest a good place to get an off-the-peg wedding dress that doesn''t cost the earth that would be fab. Thank you
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Congrats on your plans so far! If I were you I would also book my hotel now-the rooms sell out so fast for december.
 
hi champagnecharlie :)

i''m sorry to sound like a broken record, but you do realize it''s MUCH colder in NY than in london, for example, dont you? i used to live in england, and now live in the US, and NY is far colder. your bride to be will NOT be able to wear just a wedding dress in central park for your wedding. the average temperature for that time of year is 4 (high) - minus 3 (low) celsius. so the chances are you will have a temperature of around zero. a ''wrap'' won''t cut it for your bride - she will need a coat - and a heavy one - plus gloves, a scarf, and very warm shoes. please be aware of this - i would hate for your wedding to be ruined because of the temperatures.

you mentioned that the weather might be ''bad''. a ''bad'' NYC day at that time of year would involve wind - not rain - as you will then have to cope with a wind chill factor which could drop the temperature to as low as minus 10 (or more) celsius. at that point, you really can''t be outside with an uncovered face for any appreciable time. rain is inconvenient, but it actually warms things up. ditto snow.

i''ve never heard of an outdoors wedding in central park at that time of year, but i wish you luck! at least you''ll have the option of moving it in to your hotel if you find you just can''t bear it. so make sure you have a hotel you would think is aesthetically pleasing enough to be married in, and check out their prices for doing so; i would imagine there would be a considerable charge for this.

good luck,
 
I second Whitby. It would be really, really cold! I hope you like the wedding dress + coat/boots/scarf or stole look. I know I do
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. Even so, why not move it indoors and you could decorate the place like a winter wonderland and have wonderful photos without pink noses?
 
Date: 7/19/2009 7:16:06 PM
Author: whitby_2773
hi champagnecharlie :)

i''m sorry to sound like a broken record, but you do realize it''s MUCH colder in NY than in london, for example, dont you? i used to live in england, and now live in the US, and NY is far colder. your bride to be will NOT be able to wear just a wedding dress in central park for your wedding. the average temperature for that time of year is 4 (high) - minus 3 (low) celsius. so the chances are you will have a temperature of around zero. a ''wrap'' won''t cut it for your bride - she will need a coat - and a heavy one - plus gloves, a scarf, and very warm shoes. please be aware of this - i would hate for your wedding to be ruined because of the temperatures.

you mentioned that the weather might be ''bad''. a ''bad'' NYC day at that time of year would involve wind - not rain - as you will then have to cope with a wind chill factor which could drop the temperature to as low as minus 10 (or more) celsius. at that point, you really can''t be outside with an uncovered face for any appreciable time. rain is inconvenient, but it actually warms things up. ditto snow.

i''ve never heard of an outdoors wedding in central park at that time of year, but i wish you luck! at least you''ll have the option of moving it in to your hotel if you find you just can''t bear it. so make sure you have a hotel you would think is aesthetically pleasing enough to be married in, and check out their prices for doing so; i would imagine there would be a considerable charge for this.

good luck,
Click to expand...
Good advice, Whitby! And yet if you''re from upstate NY like me, winter in Manhattan is kind of a joke.
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Check out these guys for photography: www.threephotographers.com . I like their style and they are ny based.
 
For a super special, once-in-a-lifetime worthy dinner, I absolutely recommend Per Se (http://perseny.com/). It''s on the 4th floor of the Time Warner Center in Columbus Circle, on the southwest corner of Central Park, and has amazing views. Only caveat is that I''m not sure if they''re serving New Year''s Eve dinner, but you can call to find out.

Congrats in advance!!
 
Date: 7/19/2009 7:16:06 PM
Author: whitby_2773
hi champagnecharlie :)


i''m sorry to sound like a broken record, but you do realize it''s MUCH colder in NY than in london, for example, dont you? i used to live in england, and now live in the US, and NY is far colder. your bride to be will NOT be able to wear just a wedding dress in central park for your wedding. the average temperature for that time of year is 4 (high) - minus 3 (low) celsius. so the chances are you will have a temperature of around zero. a ''wrap'' won''t cut it for your bride - she will need a coat - and a heavy one - plus gloves, a scarf, and very warm shoes. please be aware of this - i would hate for your wedding to be ruined because of the temperatures.


you mentioned that the weather might be ''bad''. a ''bad'' NYC day at that time of year would involve wind - not rain - as you will then have to cope with a wind chill factor which could drop the temperature to as low as minus 10 (or more) celsius. at that point, you really can''t be outside with an uncovered face for any appreciable time. rain is inconvenient, but it actually warms things up. ditto snow.


i''ve never heard of an outdoors wedding in central park at that time of year, but i wish you luck! at least you''ll have the option of moving it in to your hotel if you find you just can''t bear it. so make sure you have a hotel you would think is aesthetically pleasing enough to be married in, and check out their prices for doing so; i would imagine there would be a considerable charge for this.


good luck,
Click to expand...





Hi Witney - No not at all,all feedback is good - and you guys know better than I do. I know it will be cold and I do like the snow queen look...but not that fond of footwear designed to keep your feet warm!

We have booked our hotel (having moved from our first booking as it didn''t have much of a view so would be happy to use as a back-up) and I have also booked a photographer. It was the photographer that said really....why would you get married at your hotel when you can get married in Central Park (he knows what the date is).

And I have seen some great pics but who knows if red noses have been photoshopped out!

http://www.centralpark.com/usr/photos/large/WinterWedding.jpg

and



http://nyweddingclergy.com/images/emma_and_dean_close_up_54b6.jpg


hmm will have to talk that one through with H2B I think....I don''t fancy wearing fur boats with a wedding dress!





Thanks Rough Rock - Per Se looks great, nowhere seems to be taking bookings til end of October though - guess I will have the advantage of being 6 hours ahead of you guys that day!

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Thanks Kasey3 too - hotel booked, am now hoping for better exchange rate when we check out!!


 
My mother and her 3rd husband eloped to NYC, they got the license on the way in and then hopped onto a yacht in the harbor and were married by the captain. The pictures were great, and she said it was a wonderful way to do it. However, they did it in the summertime so I''m not sure how feasible that sort of thing would be in the winter!
 
How exciting! That''s going to be great, having it in Central Park at New Year''s!
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