New York Wedding Guide

Getting married in New York City offers seemingly limitless choices for your wedding celebrations whether you gain your marriage license directly after your ceremony at City Hall or at any of the fabulous venues in New York.

Getting married is wonderful occasion and choosing New York makes it an extra special experience. Whether marrying in your own neighbourhood or visiting the city for your special day, you’re free to have whatever wedding you wish for, intimate or grand.

This article guides you to how New York City can give you the wedding of your dreams. After reading this article, you may decide to swap the traditional church uptown for a ceremony somewhere else in the city.

Your marriage license

Prior to your wedding day, you must apply for a marriage license and find an officiant to perform your ceremony. Your marriage officiant must be eligible to perform ceremonies under New York State law and also be registered with the Office of the City Clerk before the wedding.

Outdoor ceremonies in public space

New York City civic law allows you to have a wedding ceremony in many public spaces, though you may need to apply in advance for a permit in some cases. Some parks in New York City, such as Central Park, Madison Square Park and Prospect Park are property of the city and run by the Department of Parks & Recreation. For these parks a permit is only needed if you’ll have more than twenty people or if you’d like to reserve a specific area within the park.

A few parks in New York City are run by the state and usually have more strict permitting rules. Gantry Plaza State Park, East River State Park, and Hudson River Park, are some of the state parks, though there are many others. Most will require at least a photography permit, and some will require an event permit for the ceremony itself.

For general public spaces like Times Square, you generally don’t need a special permit unless you have more than twenty people and are planning an extensive ceremony.

Reception locations

New York City has a number of venues for parties of more than one hundred people. If your wedding reception is smaller, the city has hundreds of bars and restaurants for you to consider hiring, including romantic eateries in the West Village through to Michelin Star restaurants.

Nearly all New York restaurants will have at least a section of the restaurant that you can reserve for your wedding reception, if not the entire restaurant. Your preferred restaurant will guide you to the options available for your reception.

For a less formal, happy hour reception at a local bar, you may have to take book the entire establishment if there is no separate room for hire.

Combined ceremony and reception

For parties of less than forty people, look for venues such as warehouses, lofts, hotels, museums, or perhaps the city farm.

Wedding portraits

New York is full of fantastic photographic opportunities. Central Park, Times Square, Brooklyn Bridge, Grand Central, Empire State Building are popular New York landmarks that many couples choose as a backdrop for their portraits. However, consider local neighbourhoods with a New York ambience and ask your photographer for suggestions.