Karen and Didier held their NYC elopement atop a hill near the Dene Summerhouse in Central park. COVID had changed their wedding plans and forced them to push their wedding back. That didn’t stop them from getting married anyway! Here is the story in photographs:

A quick little wedding day selfie!

 

How The Couple Met

Karen met Didier while they were working at NYU Langone Medical Center as nurse anesthesiologists in 2015.

“I was drawn to his confidence, laid-back personality and the way Didier made me feel like I was the only one in the room.”  Didier loved how kind, genuine and sincere Karen was. “She was simply the real deal,” he says.

A few years later, Didier planned a very special proposal.

“The Nuyorican Poetry Cafe in lower Manhattan was where Karen and I had our second official date,” he says. “That night was pure magic! Each poet on stage captured the collective consciousness of the masses of people present and left an indelible impression on us, prompting us to vow to someday return.

That someday would be four years later and that occasion would mark the beginning of a new chapter in our lives. I’ve written poetry in the past, but I’ve never taken the stage to share something so personal and intimate like this. After auditioning and being chosen to do a segment on stage, the surprise was officially underway. The evening was passed off as a couple’s date night, and at approximately 11:55 p.m. on Oct. 11, 2019, I took the stage to perform my piece and ask the love of my life to marry me. In front of a crowd of over 200 people, I knelt down and asked Karen to spend the rest of her life with me!”

How They Decided on a NYC Elopement

The couple originally planned to get married in September in Montauk, but pushed it back to 2021 due to COVID.

Karen & Didier still wanted to get married in 2020, year, so they planned a small, intimate ceremony, just with close family and friends, on a hill in Central Park on a sunny day in June.

“Getting married in Central Park was an obvious choice for us,” she says. “We shared countless moments together there when we first started dating, from morning runs around the Jackie Kennedy Onassis Reservoir to afternoon stair workouts at Bethesda Terrace and picnics in Sheep Meadow. Didier and I spent a Friday morning biking through the park to choose our ceremony location, and we settled on a beautiful grassy clearing next to Dene Summerhouse on the Upper East Side.”

As a harpist played, Karen walked up the rose-petal strewn hillside with her dad. She and Didier exchanged vows while the afternoon sunshine glinted off of skyscrapers in the background.

“The most memorable moment of the day was standing atop the hill across from Didier and realizing that he was my husband,” she says.

NYC Elopement Wedding Vendors

Photographer: Tom Schelling Photography
Venue: Dene Summerhouse in Central Park
Florals: Posies NYC
Bride’s Dress: White Runway
Groom’s Suit: The Black Tux
Bride’s Shoes: Jeffry Campbell
Rings: Ultimate Diamond NYC

See more NYC Elopement photos in these galleries:

Jenni & Matt’s Rooftop Wedding in Little Italy

Mabel & Troy’s Central Park Wedding Session

Ankita & Dhruv in Central Park

 

Looking for more NYC Elopement inspiration? Check out these boards on Pinterest!