It\u2019s home sweet home to us, but for the rest of the country, NYC is a \u201cdestination.\u201d For a growing number, it\u2019s also a dream wedding location.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m seeing a rise of the New York City destination wedding,\u201d said wedding planner Alyssa Pettinato, owner of NYC-based Alinato Events. Currently, none of her clients are from New York, nor do they live here.<\/p>\n
While Hawaii, Mexico and Florida remain some the most popular spots for American couples to tie the knot, New York is attracting both well-heeled couples hungry for the ultimate high-status \u201cI do,\u201d and cool, creative couples of all ages looking to design a highly customized event beyond what is possible back home.<\/p>\n
You really can\u2019t beat a Manhattan rooftop. Courtesy of Alyssa Pettinato<\/p>\n
What makes the trend so surprising, Pettinato said, is that no matter how you slice it, NYC is a \u201cwildly expensive\u201d spot to plan a party in.<\/p>\n
\u201cUsually, people would say, \u2018My family\u2019s nearby,\u2019 or, \u2018We went to school there.\u2019 There was always some tie. But I have clients that have no ties. They just want to get married in New York.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not hard to imagine why. New York City has been the backdrop for innumerable silver screen romances rife with wedding wonderment (and, of course, there was \u201cBride Wars.\u201d) At the same time, real-life society wedding photos show off the city\u2019s top venues and serve as Instagram inspo.<\/p>\n
But planners also say that many of the city\u2019s classic venues (the Plaza, the Pierre, Cipriani Wall Street, the Rainbow Room, the New York Public Library and the Central Park Boathouse) are not necessarily where wealthy couples are booking their big day. In fact, many no-budget weddings are heading to Brooklyn.<\/p>\n
\u201cI love the venues in New York, but some of them (and I\u2019m not gonna name names) are in desperate need of a very big renovation, and they\u2019re charging insane fees,\u201d said Pettinato, noting they will set you back hundreds of thousands.<\/p>\n
The Skylight at the Refinery on the Domino Sugar Factory in Brooklyn is not cheap, but it has stunning views. Max Touhey<\/p>\n
One of the hottest \u2014 and most expensive \u2014 elite venues in the city right now is actually the recently reimagined Domino Sugar Factory on the Williamsburg waterfront. The venue within the redeveloped factory complex is dubbed Skylight at the Refinery, a 7,500-square-foot, glass-domed penthouse looking out at the glittery Manhattan skyline. Tell your Indian friends, because it can handle a whopping 600 guests.<\/p>\n
It will cost you, though, with the venue starting at $100,000, plus a sizable administration fee and another $10,000 for lighting and sound. You\u2019ll also need to rent it for at least two days and use their bar service.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have this insane view,\u201d she said. \u201cCouples get married in Brooklyn for the views.\u201d<\/p>\n
Get the crew on a vintage NYC bus. Courtesy of Alyssa Pettinato<\/p>\n
But it\u2019s not just for twinkling lights. With three major airports and an ability to accommodate every faith or ethnicity, NYC also draws couples on a budget.<\/p>\n
It also makes sense to do \u201csomething a little off the beaten, a little badass, a little sexy,\u201d said Billy Folchetti, the \u201canti-wedding planner\u201d behind Luxe x (by) Billy Folchetti. \u201cThat\u2019s what New York is.\u201d<\/p>\n
He recommends the Angel Orensanz Center in the Lower East Side, the oldest synagogue in NYC, which now functions as a slightly underground event space.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey have this incredible lighting and sound system, but it\u2019s not very well known,\u201d he said, noting that Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick got married there, and Alexander McQueen did his first runway show in the space. \u201cIt\u2019s a very, very, very cool space.\u201d<\/p>\n
You probably can\u2019t string any cans to its back bumper, but hailing a cab en route to your honeymoon is auto-erotic. Taylor Heby<\/p>\n
Venues like that allow couples to make a permanent connection with the city, adds Amy Shack Egan, a wedding planner with over 500 of them under her belt who recently launched Cheersy, a digital platform that connects couples with wedding coordinators.<\/p>\n
She recommends hiring a local coordinator even if you are self-planning. For instance, unlike most of America, you don\u2019t need to arrange transportation for your guests. They can take the subway, or you could send Uber codes. However, tents are expensive ($10,000 or more) and almost never included in the venue cost in NYC. Rooftop sites typically prohibit them. So you\u2019ll need a rain plan.<\/p>\n
\u201cNew York is also unique in that a lot of major events happen here, so check the calendar,\u201d Egan said. \u201cDon\u2019t get married on New York City Marathon day.\u201d<\/p>\n
Your major hurdle is locking down a venue. Egan said you should be comfortable thinking outside the box. \u201cRestaurants are a go-to if you\u2019re thinking about affordability,\u201d she said, but there are also unique places like Farm to People, a farmers market location in Bushwick.<\/p>\n
Brooklyn-based breweries, Strong Rope and Threes Brewing in Gowanus, and Talea Beer Co. in Williamsburg, are \u201call really strong options,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
For a master list of tips and tricks, she recommends the sub-Reddit r\/WedditNYC. \u201cIt\u2019s a treasure chest of information.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It\u2019s home sweet home to us, but for the rest of the country, NYC is a \u201cdestination.\u201d For…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":138988,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[98,232,9,24,56,63,65,64,6493,956,6496],"class_list":{"0":"post-138987","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york-city","8":"tag-brooklyn","9":"tag-lifestyle","10":"tag-new-york","11":"tag-new-york-city","12":"tag-ny","13":"tag-nyc","14":"tag-nyc-headlines","15":"tag-nyc-news","16":"tag-sex-relationships","17":"tag-travel","18":"tag-weddings"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138987","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=138987"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138987\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/138988"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=138987"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=138987"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=138987"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}