Can you set up a proposal at the waterfront?

Anything with a solid face behaves like a sail on an open pier, so a flower wall is usually the wrong answer on the water and an open arch is the right one. These are public parkland sites with the same permit position as the rest of NYC Parks. There is also almost never power, so lighting has to be self-contained.

When is the best time to propose at the waterfront?

Sunset over the Hudson from the Manhattan side; sunset over Manhattan from the Brooklyn side. Both are short in winter and worth arriving early for.

What kind of setup suits the waterfront?

An open arch — you keep the horizon, and it takes far less wind than a solid wall. Uplighting — there is nothing out there to bounce light back at you once the sun goes. Marquee letters — heavy, low and readable against a wide empty background.

Proposal locations · New York City

Waterfront and harbour proposals

Open water gives you a horizon instead of a backdrop, which is the most flattering light in the city and the hardest wind. What works on the water is open, low and heavy enough to stay where it is put.

The spots

Where people actually mean

Battery Park, with the harbour and the Statue of Liberty behind you
Hudson River Park piers, facing the sunset over New Jersey
Pier 45 and the Christopher Street lawns in the West Village
The Brooklyn piers south of the bridge, quieter than Pier 1

Waterfront and harbour proposals — Proposal Perfection NYC

What suits it

What we would put there

Chosen for this setting specifically — scale, shape and how it holds up in the conditions.

An open arch: you keep the horizon, and it takes far less wind than a solid wall
Uplighting: there is nothing out there to bounce light back at you once the sun goes
Marquee letters: heavy, low and readable against a wide empty background

Heavenly — A white flower arch, bright and uncomplicated, that photographs cleanly against almost any backdrop

Worth knowing

Wind is the whole conversation

Can you set up a proposal at the waterfront?: Anything with a solid face behaves like a sail on an open pier, so a flower wall is usually the wrong answer on the water and an open arch is the right one. These are public parkland sites with the same permit position as the rest of NYC Parks. There is also almost never power, so lighting has to be self-contained.
When is the best time to propose at the waterfront?: Sunset over the Hudson from the Manhattan side; sunset over Manhattan from the Brooklyn side. Both are short in winter and worth arriving early for.
What kind of setup suits the waterfront?: An open arch — you keep the horizon, and it takes far less wind than a solid wall. Uplighting — there is nothing out there to bounce light back at you once the sun goes. Marquee letters — heavy, low and readable against a wide empty background.

Elsewhere in the city

Other places people propose

Each one has its own access, its own light and its own rules.

The next step

Plan your proposal at the waterfront

Tell us the date, the place and the person. We will design the rest, deliver it, style it and clear it away before you have stopped celebrating.

Check your date

Waterfront and harbour proposals

Where people actually mean

What we would put there

Heavenly

Marry Me Marquee Letters

Uplighting

Candles

Wind is the whole conversation

Other places people propose

Central Park

Brooklyn Bridge Park & DUMBO

Rooftops

At home

Long Island City

Hotel suites

Restaurants

Observation decks

Plan your proposal at the waterfront