Ladies Pavilion intimate wedding with a cherry hill picnic party | Karen and Joseph

I'm so excited to reveal to you Karen and Joseph's Ladies Pavilion intimate wedding with a Cherry Hill picnic party! Sometimes all you need are your best friends and a really great picnic. Dress it all up, exchange some vows, drink some bubbly-- and what do you get? A wedding picnic!

Karen and Joseph kept their Central Park Ceremony small, with only their closest friends. It was short and oh so very sweet. Like, strawberries in their cake kinda sweet. Their friends showed up and showed out in their florals. Karen and Joseph picnic'd, ate cake, drank the nectar of the gods, and looked the most elegant picture of newly married on Cherry Hill. And in between it all I snuck them away for some wedding couples photos all over Bethesda Terrace and Bethesda fountain area (the same place they got engaged!). I love how pivotal a role Central Park has played in their love story.

Have you been considering having a little party in the park to celebrate your marriage? I've got a few tips for you, especially if you're planning a wedding at Ladies Pavilion! I've both attended and photographed weddings there and have a few things I think would be super helpful for couples to know. Scroll down for the rest of Karen and Joseph's Gallery!

Ladies Pavilion Ceremony Tips:

• If you love the look of Ladies Pavilion, I recommend scheduling your wedding there 2-3 hours after sunrise or 2 hours before sunset for optimal lighting. Light can be harsh in the middle of the day.

• Keep your start time flexible, but have your guests show up at a specific time. More than once I've witnessed a wedding go longer than expected at Ladies Pavilion and the start time needs to be pushed back 10-20 minutes.

• Want the best possible photos of your ceremony? Instead of standing directly underneath the pavilion, stand just outside it. The lighting under the pavilion is terrible and casts a yellow glow on your faces/clothes. Don't worry, if you hire a photographer who knows what they're doing (I know one! ahem!), they can get great photos whether you're under or outside.

• Ladies Pavilion is on a very popular walking path, so be prepared for tourists to be walking by or watching your ceremony. If you are looking for a more intimate spot, I recommend The Pool near 96th street (so many cool willow trees there!), The Harlem Meer, The Gazebo on 96th, or the Hill next to Balto (it's a hill made of native to New York greenery and it also has a great view of midtown buildings).

• You can have up to 20 people attend your ceremony; the cost to get a permit for the space is just $25. An amazing price for so many spots in Central Park. I definitely recommend getting a permit because this is a very popular spot for weddings and I've seen lines of couples/parties waiting for the spot. Whoever has a permit gets the space.

• Plan to do couples portraits or family photos somewhere less busy. I recommend Eaglesvale Bridge just across the street or Shakespeare Garden.

• Host a reception elsewhere! You can't set up anything at Ladie's Pavilion (it's a tight space anyway, I'm not sure setting up a table would be practical even if Central Park allowed it). Whether you take a party bus to your party venue like Val and Tim or have a picnic set up for you by one of many professional picnic services in NYC-- have a plan for what's next and communicate with your guests ahead of time how to get to the next spot from Ladies Pavilion. Central Park can be a confusing place if you don't know where you're going, provide a little map for your guests ahead of time so they know exactly where to walk.