George and Jaclyn Embiricos had their hearts set on an outdoor wedding reception last summer and settled on his family home in Southampton, N.Y.
“We wanted to celebrate close to the city but not in the city and were set on a gorgeous outdoor area with lots of space,” Mr. Embiricos said. “Our property was appealing because we wouldn’t have to pay a venue fee and it had a large lawn to accommodate our guests.”
But when Mr. Embiricos, 34, a psychotherapist with a practice in Manhattan, and Ms. Embiricos, 32, an interior designer, researched the cost of renting a tent and audiovisual equipment, installing a dance floor and other logistics, they realized it would be far pricier and more complicated than they wanted.
They ended up hosting their 150-person wedding ceremony and reception in September at the Central Park Zoo instead.
“It turned out that getting married in the city was super convenient for our guests and us,” Mr. Embiricos said. “We were able to get a lot more value for our money than we would have in Southampton, and it was a lot less stressful for us to plan.”
New York has long experienced a slowdown in weddings during the summer, when it’s hotter and more humid. The drop-off was especially noticeable during the coronavirus pandemic, as local couples opted for more spacious outdoor venues within a few hours’ drive of the city. They often sought places in upstate New York, the Hamptons, Connecticut and other countryside or oceanfront destinations.
In recent years, though, summer weddings have been steadily returning to the city, with couples like the Embiricoses appreciating the ease and economic value of having a local wedding. A proliferation of local event spaces in recent years and the potential headaches of pulling off an out-of-town event all figured in their decision to have their nuptials in the city.
Over all, there has been a steady increase in New York City weddings, including summer ones, since 2021, according to the wedding planning site the Knot. The number increased by 16 percent in 2022, followed by an 8 percent growth in 2023 and nearly 8 percent again in 2024.
Louise Castellano, the sales manager for events and catering for the Wildlife Conservation Society’s aquarium and four zoos in New York City, said that the Central Park Zoo hosted six weddings last July and August and that six were scheduled during the same months this year. Two years ago, that number was zero, she said. “The Bronx Zoo, which averages 12 to 15 weddings in June, July and August, saw more interest last summer and that interest continues this year,” Ms. Castellano said.
The Glasshouse, which has three event spaces in the city, is also seeing a summer wedding jump. The Chelsea location, a penthouse that has been open since 2006 and can accommodate 150 people, is hosting more than 30 summer weddings in 2025, a 30 percent increase from last year, according to Jack Guttman, who owns Glasshouse venues in Chelsea and Bryant Park and is a managing general partner of a third in Midtown West.
“We used to average 20 summer weddings a year until the pandemic, when business was slow and everyone went upstate or to the Hamptons,” Mr. Guttman said. “Now, we’re busier than ever.”
New York catering companies have also noticed a newfound interest in summer weddings.
Restaurant Associates, which works with Katz’s Delicatessen and the Lincoln Center restaurant Tatiana, now has 25 to 30 percent of its wedding bookings for the year in July and August, according to Alex Metz, the vice president for sales.
“We used to offer favorable pricing during the summer to bring in business, but now, that’s no longer needed,” she said.
Ms. Metz added that the number of new event venues in the city had helped bolster the summer wedding business. They include Hush Venues, founded in 2021 and made up of seven spaces in the city. The latest is Halo in the Financial District, opening in June, which can accommodate 750 people indoors and up to 5,000 in its second-floor outdoor plaza. The Glasshouse also opened two venues, a Bryant Park mansion dating to 1902 and a 100,000-square-foot West Side Highway space, in the last four years.
Elizabeth Hall, an event planner in New York who worked on the Embiricoses’ wedding, attributed the growth of summer city weddings partially to convenience and costs.
“A lot of young couples in New York and elsewhere are invited to destination weddings all summer, and the cost and time required to attend these events gets to be a lot,” she said. “When you’re having your wedding in the city where you live, it’s easier and less expensive for your friends who live in town to make it work.”
Victoria Dubin, another New York event planner, said that the logistics for local couples hosting a wedding outside the city were a significant factor. “You may have to bring in multiple tents, including ones for the kitchen, guest reception and ceremony in case it rains,” she said. “You most likely will need restroom trailers and generators to power the tents, music, lighting, kitchen and any other electric needs, including air-conditioning.”
Ms. Dubin added that the number of hotels available to accommodate guests in small towns could be limited. Some municipalities may impose curfews on weddings or cap the guest count to limit traffic.
“For many, getting married where they currently live is a full-circle moment, tying their wedding day to where their love story first began and where they’ve already built a life together,” said Allison Cullman, the vice president for brand marketing at the wedding platform Zola.
Jessica Williamson, 30, a concept artist, and Kevin Li, 42, a software engineer, had their wedding reception last July at the Glasshouse’s Chelsea venue. Although the couple has since moved to Miami, they lived in Manhattan for much of their relationship and said that they wanted to host a wedding that was “personal and meaningful.”
Their celebrations started with welcome drinks at Trailer Park Lounge in Chelsea, where they had their first date. They chose the Glasshouse for their reception because Mr. Li said that it had the same city views as their former apartment a few blocks away.
“The wedding was sentimental and spoke to our lives in New York as a couple, which is exactly what we wanted,” Mr. Li said. “It brought our guests to a destination we love and called home.”
Shivani Vora is a New York City-based travel writer who considers herself a very savvy packer.
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