Elopements

Yes. New York requires at least one witness who is 18 or older, and plenty of couples fly in without one. I have signed the certificate before and I am glad to do it again. Just tell me when you book so we plan for it.

The ceremony is short, often under five minutes. The waiting is the long part, and it is also where some of the best photos happen. An hour covers the wait, the ceremony, the confetti outside, and portraits in the streets right around City Hall. Book longer if you want the walk across the Brooklyn Bridge, a stop uptown, or a change of clothes.

Yes. You apply through the Office of the City Clerk. The license is $35, the ceremony is $25, and New York law requires a 24-hour wait between the license and the ceremony, so most couples do the license the day before. Check the City Clerk site for current rules before you travel, since fees and appointment systems change.

This is the part couples underestimate. The tiled arcade and the colonnade at the Municipal Building are a few steps away, City Hall Park is across the street, and the Brooklyn Bridge and the Oculus are a short walk. Couples have also taken the subway uptown in their wedding clothes, stopped at Grand Central, and had a slice at Joe's Pizza. I will bring a plan, and we can throw it out if the day goes somewhere better.

We shoot anyway. There is covered architecture all around City Hall, and rain hands you the arcade, the subway, a diner window, and an umbrella. It has never cost a couple their photos.

Yes. A rooftop, a restaurant, a courthouse in another borough, or a ceremony with twenty people in a park all work the same way. Send me what you have in mind on the booking form and I will tell you honestly whether I am the right fit.