Candlelight elopement ceremony in Central Park.

One of the most intimate and romantic ceremonies that we offer is the candlelight elopement ceremony in Central Park. Inspired by the “enchanted forest” theme, our team is creating an intimate atmosphere by decorating the space with 150 led candles and string lights.

The best time to start the ceremony is on the sunset when the sky is turning blue and city lights start to appear. Our preferred locations are Cop Cot gazebo, the Ladies Pavilion, Dene Summerhouse, or the Belvedere Castle. Those locations have a wonderful view of the city skyline or the lake and look absolutely beautiful in the pictures.

Why will this ceremony suit you?

If you are looking for an intimate celebration this will be a perfect choice for you. Designed for a small group ( up to 10ppl), this ceremony is ideal for couples who want to celebrate with the close family circle and maintain social distancing. If sunsets always gave you chills, this is a perfect elopement package for you.

What to enhance the experience?

We are offering the crescent moon arch to enhance the experience.
White rose petals to create the illusion of the milky way.

Looking for an upgrade?

Our Sunset rooftop will be an ideal match for this ceremony. Imagine staying on the rooftop with million city lights around you and the night sky above. This rooftop has a truly spectacular view of the city and ideal for sunset watching. It has three different rooftop levels, so you can choose the one you like the most.

If you are looking to elope this holiday season, this beautiful package would be all you need for the intimate family celebration. If you have any questions, please contact us directly as info@daretodream.nyc

Our original plan was a 100-110 person wedding at the DUMBO Loft in Brooklyn. We picked this space due to its small and intimate size, it fit our budget perfectly, and we wanted a bare-bones DIY setup with the ability to bring in our own vendors that fit our style. After COVID hit and about a month or so went by, it was clear that a 100+ wedding would not be in the books for this summer, or even year. Without even needing a big discussion on the matter, we were both on the same page of wanting to still get married this year in whatever way we could. After planning our wedding for two years and being together for 10, we did not want to postpone any longer.

So there began our new wedding vision! We had gotten engaged in Tompkins Square Park, a place we have shared many other memories, like watching the dogs play in the park or just taking an evening stroll, and after reaching out to our officiant, Reverend Samora, we decided to get married in the same place! 

Difficulties were definitely grieving the loss of our planned wedding. Although we knew the most important part of a wedding is the exchanging of vows and the unification of our love for each other, there was the loss of traditions and moments many others get to experience, such as walking down the aisle, having all of our friends and family present, and having a first dance. With all of that, there was an uncertainty if we were doing the right thing, especially given the mixed communication surrounding COVID along the way of cancelling vendors.

But all in all, there are no regrets. As Phase II began the week of our wedding, we were still surrounded by a small group of our closest friends and family, including some that were in our bridal party. The ceremony was a perfect intimate alternative to our planned celebration, and there were new moments that we would have never gotten to experience, such as complete strangers congratulating us every (literal) step of the way! We read hand-written vows (but not before playing rock-paper-scissors to see who had to go first!), and streamed the ceremony to other family members via Zoom.

After the ceremony and taking pictures together with our guests, we headed to Astoria, the stomping ground of many of our first NYC memories. With the Phase II reopening, this meant we could eat and drink outside with our small group! We had brunch at Oliver’s, our beloved gastropub where we would dine every Friday night when we lived in the area, followed by more drinks at Judy and Punch in their backyard space, and dinner at Vesta Trattoria. Even as we huddled under umbrellas in the occasional downpours (they say that’s good luck, right?), our friends couldn’t help but exclaim how this was still the perfect wedding day!

Modern elopements are not the same as they used to be back in the days when the couple was running away from the house and secretly got married.
Nowadays planning your elopement takes as much time and effort as planning your big fancy wedding. The only difference is the sizing of the event. It is a common misconception to think that if the couple is getting eloped they don’t need to follow the official ceremony rules.

But the beauty of the elopement is that you can mix and match all the things that you like and dislike about the wedding and create your own. So if you want to have the formal processional ( when the bride walks down the aisle and the music is playing ) you absolutely should do that.

That introduction music is the most crucial moment of the ceremony as it announces the bride’s appearance and gives everyone a couple of seconds to get ready. Usually, the father of the bride is the one who walks her down the aisle, so if you decide to do that, take your time, walk slowly and appreciate every step you are making with your dad or your friend.

Again, most couples who get eloped don’t do that, but it is a beautiful tradition and if you want to incorporate it into your elopement you should do it.

We absolutely love it when our couples decide to add music to their ceremony. It can be a violin or a string quartet, a harp, or a guitarist playing your favorite song. The most common music for the bride’s introduction is the wedding march, it is formal and safe. But again you do you and if you want some modern piece of music to be played at your wedding, just do it.
If you don’t know what song to play, choose the instrument first, and then ask the musician for suggestions. Wedding musicians usually have lists with all the wedding songs that they ever played, so most likely you will find something you like.

Another great idea is to include first dance into your elopement, especially if you already have a musician on site. It is a great way to take the stress off after the ceremony and just enjoy that couple of minutes as the newlyweds.

Top 5 most popular first dance songs:
1. Aerosmith ” I don’t want to miss a thing”
2. Ed Sheeran ” Thinking out loud”
3. Berlin ” Take my breath away”
4. Maroon 5 ” Sugar”
5. Eric Clapton ” Wonderful tonight”

Music that you will play at your wedding will stay with you forever, it is a sweet memory that will always remind you of that special day in your life. So if you think that elopement is a simple and fast ceremony, you are right. But it can also be more formal and include such elements as a procession and the first dance. Even if you don’t have any guests and it is just the two of you, it is still a very important day in your life and you can celebrate it the way you want it.

If you were planning to get eloped in New York, but dont know how to start the planning, contact us now info@daretodream.com and our experienced team will help you to create the most unforgettable day in your life.

Park regulations

From our experience, we really like those locations:

  

Leap Day intimate wedding ceremony by the Manhattan Bridge

Cathy and Alan knew that their elopement day should be special and what can be better than the day that exists only every 4 years? On February 29th, one of the coldest days of the month, we had a small wedding ceremony by the Manhattan Bridge.

Cathy and Alan met in line for a roller coaster four and a half years ago in Disneyland, rode it multiple times and did the tower of terror where they held hands for the first time. When we heard this story for the first time, we knew we had an amazing couple to work with.

Cathy wanted to do a wedding with as little plastic and trash involved as possible, so she made her bridal bouquet herself and a lot of what she wore was either handmade, natural or used.

Alan had a succulent plant boutonniere, which Cathy made as well. We had 15 family members present at the wedding, who arrived from Boston and China. During the ceremony, the cold wind was blowing so hard, that we were able to see the couple tremble during the exchange of vows. But as soon as officiant announced Cathy and Alan, husband and wife, and the couple put the warm coats back on, the celebration begins and the sun went out.

We decided to escape the cold and found shelter in the local coffee shop, which allows us to make a photo session at the business office. We did some fun shots there and as soon as everyone gets warm we hit the streets.

The Dumbo area in Brooklyn is known for its amazing views of the Manhattan skyline and beautiful waterfront line. That was exactly what we were looking for for our post-wedding photo session.
Congratulations dear Alan and Cathy on your special day and thank you for letting us be a part of it.

Photographer – Vlad Leto

Elopement Planner – Tatiana Caicedo

Spring in New York is absolutely spectacular and if you were planning to get elope, this is the best time to do so. Snowdrops, daffodils, Cornelia cherry, and magnolia trees are blooming right now and it gives the grey city this new look of awakening. It goes without saying that spring symbolizes a new beginning, new life circle, and you can not choose a better moment than this to get married. We understand the current coronavirus precocious and want to assure you that all our officiants and photographers are maintaining the zero contact policy. These are our safe elopement packages for the ongoing outbreak situation.

1) Central Park

Of course, Central Park will be the first one on our list. We especially love the Ladies Pavilion for this time of the year. Its beautiful, elegant structure looks absolutely beautiful during the day and the lake and city background makes it perfect for the pictures. If you looking for the blooming Cornelia Cherry trees, the lawn on the left side of the Bethesda Terrace has lots of pink beauties, so you can get eloped at the Terrace and walk to the lawn for a spring wedding photo session.

2) Brooklyn Botanical Garden

Brooklyn Botanical Garden will be the next one on our list. With the annual Sakura Festival, this garden has lots of Magnolia trees all over the park. The most popular will be the Magnolia alley, located in the middle of the park. This place is ideal for an intimate elopement ceremony. The diversity of the park gives a professional elopement photographer a wide range of locations for the photo session, so will be ready to spend a couple of hours there.

3) Roosevelt Island

has it all, the breathtaking view of the Manhattan skyline and hidden park full of magnolia trees. This place is perfect for intimate pop up weddings and elopements. Also, there is an old chapel on the island for those who are seeking a religious ceremony, which is just 10 minutes away from the park. You can get married in the chapel and have a photo session by the waterfront.

Spring elopement ideas

This is a very tender season, so we will recommend soft, nude, pastel colors. Soft pink bridal bouquet and boutonniere will look absolutely stunning on the pictures. Also, grass green and pastel yellow colors will help to enhance the mood. The pastel pink bridal dress would look absolutely amazing among the magnolia trees. For more traditional couples, we would recommend having the second outfit, which they can switch after the ceremony and take pictures. Also, don’t forget about the props. Everything from gigantic balloons, to pink matcha latte and pink scooters, can be a great addition to the pictures.

Rooftops

Finally, the rooftop season is officially open and you can enjoy the gorgeous views of the Manhattan skyline from above. It is the time of stunning sunsets and what can be more romantic than getting married on a rooftop with the pink sky above you. Our rooftops are located all over the city and Brooklyn areas and almost all of them have the Empire State Building views. If you are still seeking for nature, the rooftop garden can be the best option for you. Elegant venue for a marriage proposal in New York.

Elopement Photography

Spring wedding photography is always beautiful, as nature is just awakening and the sun is not so harsh as during the summer months. Perfect time for tender photo sessions and love story shots. We always recommend talking to your photographer before the wedding and decide what style of pictures you are looking for. Also, don’t forget to bring a second outfit for the shoot, it will help to create another mood for the pictures and make the photo session more diverse.

Spring months in New York are officially from March till May and those are the months when the trees and flowers start to bloom. We would highly recommend eloping during this time as it’s not too hot yet not cold already and nature looks fantastic on the pictures. If you planning to elope this spring season, but you don’t know what location to choose or don’t even know where to start, contact us now info@daretodream.nyc and our experienced team will help you to plan the wedding of your dreams.