Text size:

Couples await glitzy new marriage bureau

By Marlene Naanes, amNewYork Staff Writer
More stories | MNaanes@am-ny.com

May 13, 2008

Couples will have to wait until at least September to exchange vows in the city's revamped marriage bureau, but when doors open, shimmering brown marble tile, ornate columns and two classy chapels will be the backdrop for thousands of "I do's" each year.

The bureau, which will be just three blocks from the current, dingy bureau at the City Clerk's Office at 1 Centre St., is set to be a world away in terms of looks.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg has committed $13 million and his personal decorator, Jamie Drake, for the project that aims to transform the city into the wedding capital of the world.

His efforts to do so are being honored today in Modern Bride magazine, which names Bloomberg as "Mayor of Wedding City" and one of 2008's 25 trendsetters in the wedding industry.

"What's typically a city hall wedding can sometimes sound drab," said editor in chief Antonia van der Meer. "We love the fact that he wanted to take something and make it other than what it's been all these years."

The new bureau, which will be located at the former offices of the Department of Motor Vehicles at the landmarked 80 Centre St., was originally set to open this spring. The new space will be more than 5,000 square feet larger than the city clerk's current home