Weddings in Manhattan
A Manhattan wedding puts the city in every photograph: a ballroom above Fifth Avenue, a club beside Grand Central, a rooftop over Tribeca. It also brings the city’s rules into every decision, from the hour a florist can unload to how guests cross town at six in the evening. We plan weddings across Manhattan, and we have planned them at the Yale Club of New York City and Tribeca Rooftop. In this city the plan is only as good as its timings, so we write them to the minute.
What a Manhattan wedding looks like
Most Manhattan weddings take place in a private club, a hotel ballroom, a restaurant or a rooftop, often with the ceremony and dinner under one roof. Guests stay within walking distance, the evening can run late, and the day often extends into a weekend: a welcome dinner downtown, a brunch the morning after. See wedding weekends.
The realities of a city wedding
Load-in windows
Most Manhattan venues set strict hours for deliveries and set-up, often through a freight entrance, and some share them with other events. The design has to be built inside those hours, so we plan the installation as carefully as the design itself: what arrives first, what is built off site, and what must be in place before the first guest steps out of the elevator.
Union and house rules
Some venues require union labor for certain work, or use their own staff for rigging and power. We confirm the rules before a design is priced, so nothing is designed that the room will not allow.
Streets and photographs
Portraits in the street need timing, a spotter and sometimes a permit. On Vanderbilt Avenue we had minutes, and we planned for them.
Crossing town
Traffic decides more Manhattan timelines than anything else. We time cars and coaches for the hour of the day, and keep guests’ travel between occasions short.
Noise and end times
Residential neighbors and building rules set how late the music runs. We plan an after party when the night should continue.
Venues in Manhattan
- The Yale Club of New York City
Vanderbilt Avenue, Midtown Manhattan
A private club a block from Grand Central, with a ballroom under chandeliers and a roof terrace above Midtown.
- Tribeca Rooftop
Tribeca, Manhattan
A rooftop event space in Tribeca with views across Lower Manhattan.
- Manhatta
Lower Manhattan, 60th floor of 28 Liberty Street
A restaurant on the sixtieth floor of 28 Liberty Street, with New York Harbor, the East River and Brooklyn in its windows.
- 620 Loft & Garden
Rockefeller Center, Fifth Avenue
A historic rooftop garden and a light-filled loft at Rockefeller Center, across Fifth Avenue from St. Patrick’s Cathedral.
- Cipriani
Manhattan, from 42nd Street to the Financial District
Cipriani’s New York halls, former banks and a ferry terminal, for the grandest weddings in the city.
- The Harmonie Club
Upper East Side, off Fifth Avenue
New York’s second-oldest social club, in a Stanford White clubhouse steps from Central Park.
Weddings we have planned in Manhattan
Sally & Albert’s Tribeca Rooftop wedding
Vows between rose arches above the skyline. Tribeca Rooftop, Manhattan.
Rebecca & Nick’s Yale Club wedding
A chuppah of flowers, then the chairs lifted on the dance floor. The Yale Club, Manhattan.
Questions couples ask
Do you plan weddings in Manhattan?
Yes. We plan weddings across Manhattan, and we have planned them at the Yale Club of New York City and Tribeca Rooftop.
When should we book a Manhattan venue?
The most sought-after rooms book twelve to eighteen months ahead for spring and autumn Saturdays. Earlier is safer.
Can we have the ceremony and reception in the same place?
At most Manhattan venues, yes, with a room turnover or a second room. We plan the turnover so guests never see it.
Where should our guests stay?
Close to the venue, so the evening needs no cars. We arrange room blocks nearby.
Tell us about the wedding, and the city you want around it.
Tell us about your wedding, and we will take it from there.