Married in NYC

Hi everyone.

I know this is perhaps the most common topic in this forum, but my girlfriend and I are getting married in NYC, hopefully next September, and i have a few questions regarding it.

i%26#39;ve trawled through loads of threads, and gotten some invaluable information regarding officiants, places to actually get married, having cocktails, evening meal, hairdressers, transport, etc, etc.

My girlfriend would like to get married at Ladies Pavilion, my question is, do you have to queue for ages to do it? Is it such a popular location that it%26#39;s a bit %26#39;conveyor belt%26#39;? Or are there several weddings taking place at the same time?

One other question. Regarding the officiants - i%26#39;m not religious, and all the officiants i%26#39;ve seen are multi-faith officials, and while i know they provide secular services, i%26#39;m not particulary keen on being married by a %26#39;reverend%26#39;. I was wondering if it%26#39;s possible to be married by someone who isn%26#39;t ordained (or whatever the term is)? Or is this a requirement of New York or American law?

Apologies if the answers to these questions are in the threads, but there%26#39;s an awful lot to wade through!

Thanks

Married in NYC

Congratulations!

That%26#39;s an interesting question about the officiants. The ones used by TA contributors have been reverends, but there%26#39;s no requirement that they be ministers. I%26#39;ll see if I can locate a justice, or someone else on the forum might know of one.

While the Ladies Pavillion is popular, I%26#39;ve never seen a line-up of wedding parties, maybe just a couple.

Married in NYC

When I (and some others on this forum) attended diva%26#39;s wedding at the Ladies Pavillion (last Oct. 5) there was another couple who I THINK might have planned to use it too at about the same time. They wound up having their ceremony on the grass closer to the pond near the pavillion. They could have easily waited til Diva and co. were finished, but as it was a gorgeous day, I guess they just decided the other spot was just as good. Had it been raining, it could have been a problem since the Ladies Pavillion is the only spot right there that has some cover (which is one reason it%26#39;s popular I%26#39;d guess). Now that was a year ago. If word is getting out about Ladies Pavillion, I suppose it could get busy, especially on a nice weekend. If you%26#39;re doing this during the week, I don%26#39;t think there%26#39;d be too much of a problem. Best idea is to get there a reasonable time before you want the ceremony to start and ';stake out your claim'; as they say.

It is not a requirement that an officiant be a reverend. Judges and other officials are licensed to perform a ceremony. By doing a simple websearch (officiants for nyc wedding) I did find some people who were civil servants/didn%26#39;t have a Rev. in front of their name) but most that are listed do have the Rev. Here%26#39;s some info from NY magazine. They have a link to one website that%26#39;s a clearing house for officiants.

nymag.com/shopping/鈥ips_officiants.htm

Lots of good luck. Sept. is a gorgeous time of year in NYC.

Thanks for the info and tips guys.

This forum is brilliant at getting good insider knowledge. And it%26#39;s cool knowing genuine New Yorkers have replied!

As for New York being gorgeous in September, i know! We were there September %26#39;05 and it was beautiful, although, in my opinion, New York would be gorgeous any time of the year. :)

Thanks again.