Central Park Elopement

When we saw this darling NYC ceremony from Mademoiselle Fiona, we just knew we had to feature it. Though the wedding had to be postponed after news of thunderstorms hitting the city, the bride was not to be deterred. Grant and Jenn’s day came together beautifully, with a set of images to swoon over.

From the bride, Jenn: Grant and I wanted to elope for several reasons. We knew we wanted to get married in New York but we knew it wouldn’t be possible for our family to fly. We told our parents about our plans and although they were initially sad (I’m the only child for my mom), they were extremely supportive. We both spent our lives compromising on so many things that for our wedding, we just didn’t want to compromise on anything – we wanted to follow our hearts and have a wedding on our terms, in our vision. Our parents, the few people who knew about our wedding beforehand, were very supportive of our decision. We also didn’t want to spend too much for just one day; it’s an important day but we felt we could make it special without going into debt. So we set a number we absolutely could not go over, and that budget was a really good guiding light. And even if money wasn’t an issue, Grant and I wouldn’t have wanted a large wedding. We wanted something intimate, unique, romantic.

As for the specific location in Central Park, we knew that we wanted to get married at Wagner Cove in Central Park because that was our special place in the park when we lived in New York. We even have our initials engraved on the wooden shelter there. Wagner Cove is a very dreamy hidden oasis from the rest of the park, and that’s the only place we envisioned exchanging our vows, right by the water. The added bonus was it was free to wed there.

About Jenn’s wedding dress: We had about three months to plan our wedding and trip to New York. Two of the most important things for me were finding the right wedding dress and the right photographer. I knew it was going to be a bit challenging for me to find the right dress because I didn’t want a traditional wedding dress and I was on a tight budget. After a disappointing online search for vintage or vintage-inspired dresses, one day as I was crossing the street in my neighborhood, I saw a taupe colored evening gown hanging in the window at a used clothing store called Take 2 by my apartment and so I went in. The lady told me I wouldn’t fit it because it was a size 12 (I’m a size 4) but I felt compelled to try it on, and as expected it was huge on me, sagging down, there were holes and rips everywhere, but Grant’s eyes lit up when he saw me in the dress. We both saw the beauty and potential in that dress and so I bought it despite the flaws. I didn’t care that it was a Badgley Mishka evening gown, I just loved that it reflected my style. My wedding dress was not perfect (the beads started falling apart on my wedding day), and I understand some brides would probably freak out about that or wouldn’t even dare wear the dress. But what attracted me to the dress initially was that it had an air of old world glamour and I knew that not every bride would have it. To me, the dress is intricate, delicate, refined but a bit rough around the edges, and it was a bit of a pain to fix, but it was completely worth it. I had some family and friends who weren’t so happy when I told them my dress is a taupe color since they all said “but you should wear white or ivory” but as a bride you have to wear what reflects your personality and personal style, and this dress was it for me. Since we were going to be walking around all day, I wanted to be comfortable so I wore an old pair of comfortable gray shoes I’ve worn for many years.

Some advice from Jenn: It’s really important to work with people who not only have a great portfolio but have an easy-going attitude and are just simply nice. On the night we had to change the wedding date, both my photographer and videographer kept emailing words of encouragement like “don’t worry about a thing” and “it’s no problem for us.” You have no idea how much that meant to me because I would have spent all night feeling bad that I had to trouble them, but those emails they sent me put me at ease. Just keep in mind that something will go wrong on your wedding day, and it’s good to be mentally prepared for that ahead of time. But the most important thing to remember is that even if everything doesn’t go according to plan or how you envisioned everything lining up in your head, it’s okay because when you exchange vows with your best friend, all the negative stuff just melts away and you will find a bright, perfectly imperfect perfect day.

See Also

Romantic Autumn Wedding at 620 Loft and Gardens in NYC

View all images from this wedding in the gallery

Wedding Music:
First Dance: “Harvest Moon,” Neil Young

Wedding Vendors (New York, NY):

Wedding Venue: Wagner Cove, Central Park / Wedding Photographer: Mademoiselle Fiona Photography / Wedding Videographer: Madison Waters / Dress: Vintage Badgley Mischka, Take 2 (Seattle WA) / Dress Alterations: Misook Chung, Superb Custom Tailors (Seattle WA) / Officiant: Beth Lamont, Wedding Your Way New York / Wedding Flowers: Wholesaler at Manhattan Flower District