The Conservatory Gardens are so swoon, and open after renovations!
THAT tree.
First of all, I need to preface this post by saying, always go to the Central Park dot org, not dot com page to get your info about the park. Second of all, I’ve done a ton of destination weddings in Central Park’s Conservatory Garden, but since it’s springtime, I thought I’d feature this one.
The Road Less Traveled
Most tourists go to the portion of Central Park below 96th Street. However, if you have an extra day and want to explore further, go where the tourists rarely venture, to the Conservatory Garden located at 104th and 5th. It’s such a zen place, complete with a crabapple allée as they call it — they even make crabapples sound fancy — an epic entry gate called the Vanderbilt Gate that I just want to hug; an English Garden on the south side (my favorite and featured in the pictures on this post); a beautiful fountain in the Italian section and otherworldly floral displays and statues on the north side, the French garden. It’s like visiting Europe without the lines at the airport.
Weddings in Central Park can be chaotic. Have you ever seen lines of brides on a weekend at the Bow Bridge? I have. This place is a quiet, tucked-in oasis. As my teen would say, it has Max Aura.
Renovations are Done
The Conservancy has just finished a massive renovation. Restoring fountains, freshening up the landscaping, and making everything fresh and new. I just wrote to them to confirm they’re booking weddings. I’ll update this post if I hear back, but I think it’s a go?
May favorite spot is the Burnett Fountain, located at one end of a water lily pool in the Conservatory Garden’s English-style garden. “The Burnett Fountain is a memorial to the children’s book author Frances Hodgson Burnett (1849–1924), known for her novels The Secret Garden, Little Lord Fauntleroy, and A Little Princess.” It’s on the south side, and it’s where a lot of couples have their ceremony because of many things, but especially THAT gorgeous tree, pictured above. A lot of people love getting married under a magestic tree.
To be honest, most of the weddings I did there were destination weddings, of couples traveling from abroad. Since fewer people are traveling to the US these days, I really hope locals will discover this little gem of a wedding venue.
These Guys Owe Me Pictures!
I photographed my dear groom Carlos and his husband at the garden, and I only have a few pictures — long story. I asked for more, and he promised he’d send them to me. For now, voila! Carlos and I share a love for Gloria Estefan and he’s just a wonderful person. Full gallery coming soon I hope. These are also wonderful because the officiant is one of my favorite people, Reverend Annie.
Okay, here’s the rat story
I always like to add a little story. When I first moved into my apartment building again, I saw a creature out of the corner of my eye when I was working on a swivel chair. It was a rat, or a mouse, but I couldn’t tell. Then the next morning, my son screamed while in the bathroom. Like squealed. He said it was a rat, or a mouse. And it ran into the heater area. I called the troops, and they did a search and seal, and left a lot of toxic-smelling glue traps. After a short time I couldn’t bear to see a rat, or a mouse, die in a glue trap, so I tossed the traps.
A few days later, I donated a rolled up futon mattress to someone. I left it outside at 11PM — a minute before the receipient’s arrival — because I didn’t know the person who was picking it up. He texted me and said he couldn’t take it, “because there was a rat, or a mouse, on it.”
And so that is how we evicted the rat — it was a rat, probably an adolescent — without harming him, and we had a little roommate hiding in a futon for a couple of days. And there is my fun New York story that only the people who read to the end will get to read. I know a lot of you have a New York story. Care to share?
