Eloping in New York

by Brettani Shannon

Eloping In New York

You’re in love and your lover has finally popped the question. Even though you’ve decided to forgo the stress and expense of a traditional wedding, it can be nerve wracking trying to decide the details of an elopement. After all, it’s still your big day. You still want it to be perfect because it’s an event you won’t ever forget. Lovingyou.com is here to give you all the information you need to plan the most romantic day of your life.

If it’s originality, fun, and romance you seek, New York City is the place. New York is for lovers, it's a city of endless possibilities. It is the center of the art world, a place where historical bulidings mesh with modern architecture, mixing historical memories with contemporary dreams. The city is perfected by the fantastic chaos of city life where you can feel alone with your lover while standing in a crowd of thousands. “What's cool to me is the dichotomy of anonymity and being conspicuous,” says Dave Robbins, a New York wedding photographer.

The sights, smells, and sounds of New York are unlike any other place in the world. No matter the time of year you go, eloping in New York can be the best experience of your life. Each season in New York is full of life, beauty, and excitement. Spring in New York is invigorating with bouquets of fresh flowers at every street corner and busy street markets swarmimg with people. In the summer, the energy lasts all day, and the wild nightlife is easy to find. Autumn in New York forces even the busiest person to notice its beauty. Not many feelings can equal that of walking down a New York street painted with red, orange, yellow, and purple, and breathing in the crisp autumn air. In winter, morning snows silence the city with blankets of powder until the bustle of city life bombards it. The city’s holiday celebrations raise its dynamism to new heights. Those who have spent Christmas and New Year's in New York say that it is an unparalleled holiday experience.

New York is the place where your personal choices are sure to be honored. It is possible to say your “I do’s” in virtually any way you want to, and you’ll find the help you need to pull it off. If you want to get married wearing black leather jumpsuits, bungy jumping off of a bridge, or at midnight in a bar, you can! You can say your vows on a rooftop looking over the city, in the privacy of a luxurious hotel suite, or at an art gallery. You could even elope in one of the many quaint country cottages just outside the city.

Eloping in New York is really about becoming a couple that throws caution to the wind and tries to make their wedding an event that will create a lifetime of memories. That kind of couple will take advantage of everything this wondrous city has to offer them. Eloping allows two people to come together in a truly intimate event because you still get to be the center of attention on your wedding day, but have no obligation to connect with anyone, but your lover.

The officiants in New York will do your wedding your way. Reverend R.M. Peluso sums it up on her website by saying, "It’s our job to make you look good.” In New York you can have a wedding wherever, whenever, and however you want it. Dave Robbins has been a wedding photographer for three years and has with a background in documentary photography. He has photographed three eloping couples in that time and each couple went to great lengths to ensure that their wedding memories would be unique and wonderful.

“The most important thing in capturing great moments is having your subjects feel completely at ease with you taking photos of them. That’s why I love doing weddings…because people are inviting you into their world and asking you take part.” One eloping couple from Canada hired Robbins to take their wedding photos. At his suggestion, they went around the city and had a progressive wedding filled with crazy, beautiful memories. They had their first dance on the subway and a cake in the shape of the Brooklyn Bridge. Robbins followed them everywhere capturing every moment of their fantastic wedding day. Robbins aso tells a story about following a couple dressed in their wedding attire as they walked through Times Square. Crowds of people would stop what they were doing to watch the couple, yet others would pass by as if nothing out of the ordinary was going on. “I love the idea of blending into and being part of the chaos of New York, but at the same time sharing the most special day with your best friend. To me, that's intimate and romantic,” he said.

There are more venues for weddings in New York than you can imagine. Robbins said he’s seen people get married on boats, in restaurants and bars, at the top of the Empire State Building, in the famous Apollo Theatre, in the Statue of Liberty, and even on Grant’s Tomb. Some couples have even made marrying at City Hall romantic. “On the surface, City Hall is probably the least romantic place on earth to get married. To get in, you have to pass through a metal detector. Nothing says love like being frisked for weapons by a complete stranger. And then there is the paperwork, the bureaucracy, the other couples waiting in waiting rooms to do exactly the same thing you're there to do. But again, the romance is in the adventure of it all. It’s going against the grain with the person you love most of all by doing something totally opposite of what's expected of you,” said Robbins.

Central Park offers amazing sites for your elopement ceremony around every corner. You could say intimate “I do’s" in the early morning fog on the beautiful Bow Bridge stretching sixty feet over a lake. In the afternoon, you could join hearts in front of the beautiful Bethesda Fountain with people all around, in the elegant Shakespeare Garden among nature’s enchanting beauty, or in front of the Inscope Arch, an intimate setting that will make you feel like you’ve stepped back into history. You could hold your ceremony on the balcony of Central Park’s Belvedere Castle with a view from the second highest point in the park. Even in the still of the night, Central Park is a beautiful wedding venue, luminated by street lamps and surrounded by the incredible city lights. Central Park’s 843 acres also host ice-skating rinks, ponds, horseback riding, carriage rides, sculptures, carnival rides, theaters, towering trees, natural habitat, winding trails and more for some fun and romance after the ceremony.

The Brooklyn Botanical Gardens are another unique place to elope. The garden’s beauty is nothing short of amazing. While their famous conservatory is spacious enough for weddings with hundreds of guests, the gardens are perfect for elopements. There are many breathtaking settings within the gardens to choose from for your ceremony, but the best part is that you get it all to yourself. They will actually facilitate your marriage in the morning before opening to the public, giving you an hour to spend in the gardens alone with your love.

Whichever location you choose to tie the knot in, make sure to get the most out of your trip. Walk down the streets and experience the magic of New York City. Feed each other cupcakes, chocolates, hot dogs, giant New York deli sandwiches, and don’t forget to have a New York steak! Take the Staten Island Ferry and make out with the city skyline as your backdrop. Steal a kiss on a roller coaster on Coney Island. Check out the Tiffany’s window display together just to say you've done it. Drink coffee in a cozy book store while you read excerpts out of books to each other. Treat yourselves to a gourmet meal and an overnight stay at a luxurious hotel.

Stay in New York for your honeymoon or travel to one of the nearby states like Vermont or Pennsylvania, both know for their romantic resort getaways! The city has luxury indulgence, adventure, entertainment, and more opportunities for romance that anyone could ever dream of. On any budget, for any length of time, and any time of year, New York is the ultimate destination for an exciting and original wedding.

Marriage Licenses in New York:
New York marriage licenses have only a 24 hour waiting period. That means that if you show up at the county clerk’s office (2nd floor of the Manhattan Municipal Building across from City Hall) with your spouse-to-be, $30, a photo id, and a birth certificate or passport (and divorce papers in applicable), you can get a marriage license, settle into a hotel, have a little fun, and get married the very next day! A couple of things to know are that you both have to be present at the city clerk’s office to apply for your marriage license and that your witness must be over 18. For more information about the details, go to NYC’s official website.

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