If you are planning a wedding at Guastavino’s, here is what I actually want you to know after photographing two weddings there. Skip the architecture history. You can read about Rafael Guastavino and the tile vaults anywhere. I want to tell you what will make your photographs better and your day easier.
The garden is the headline
The garden at Guastavino’s is the most undersold thing about this venue. I cannot stress this enough. Any outdoor space at a midtown Manhattan wedding venue is almost unheard of, and the one here is not a token patio. It is big. It is green. You can see the Queensboro Bridge looming above you and the skyline beyond it. The light at sunset is excellent.
If you book this venue, build your timeline around getting portraits in the garden during golden hour. Not next to the garden. In it. This is the photograph you are paying for at this venue, and it is the one that will not look like any other wedding gallery in Manhattan on the internet.
One thing to know before you plan around it. The space is open to the public, so other people may be out there. At both of my weddings here, a few people were sitting outside, and both times they got up and moved along on their own when they saw a wedding walking out. Nobody asked them to. Plan for it the way you would plan for any wide-open space in New York: plan for people being in it, and it stops being a problem. Green space with the bridge overhead and the skyline behind it, attached to a midtown venue, is rare enough that a few strangers on a bench shouldn’t decide this for you.
You can do the entire wedding here
I have now photographed Guastavino’s both ways. Once as a reception venue with the ceremony held off-site, and once as the whole wedding- ceremony, reception, and after-party- all in the same building. The second answered the question the first couldn’t: whether the full day actually works here. It does, and the venue runs it well.
Here is how that day went, so you can see the shape of it.
She got ready at a hotel and arrived at the venue at 2:15. First look with her father outside in the green space. First look with her husband on the curved staircase inside. Couple portraits from 3:00 to 4:00, which included the walk over to Sutton Place. Wedding party at 4:00, families at 4:30, ketubah at 5:30. Ceremony at 6:30, half an hour long. Cocktail hour downstairs from 7:00 to 8:00 while the ceremony room was reset for dinner. Dinner and dancing upstairs from 8:00 until midnight. After-party downstairs until half past.
From two fifteen in the afternoon until half past midnight, nobody got in a car. In Manhattan, that is a real thing to be able to offer your guests.
How the ceremony works in the reception room
The ceremony happens in the same upstairs hall as dinner, and they handle it really well.
They set the chuppah directly under the stonework arch, so the arch frames it, then pipe and drape the rest of the hall. You are not standing in a ballroom that is waiting for dinner. You are standing in a room that reads as a ceremony space, under the best architectural feature in the building.
Then everyone goes downstairs for cocktail hour, the drape comes down, and the room turns over. You get a full hour, and the staff moves fast. I watched the whole flip, and it was efficient. Your guests never see it, and neither do you.
If you are deciding between holding your ceremony here or somewhere else, this is the part to know. Using one room for both costs you nothing.
Where else to take portraits
The venue’s first floor has huge windows and beautiful daylight. The arches photograph the way arches photograph. Those are the obvious ones.
The find is Sutton Place. It is a block and a half east of the venue, and it is one of the prettiest residential streets in Manhattan. Tree-lined. Quiet. No traffic. Keep walking, and you’ll hit Sutton Place Park, a little riverfront park along the East River with skyline views and the bridge in the distance. Budget half an hour for the whole thing, including the photographs. It is the easiest portrait add-on at this venue, and most people getting married at Guastavino’s never go over there. You should.
The streets right outside the venue are also quintessentially New York and almost empty during the day. We shot on East 59th itself. The bridge is right there.
Three more from the second wedding that I did not have in here before.
The curved staircase. It runs from the ground floor up to the reception space. We did the first look there. It is a genuinely good piece of architecture, and almost nobody uses it.
The downstairs cocktail-hour space. It is a big room that holds a lot of people, with good light coming in near the entrance that falls off as you move deeper in. It is open and easy to work in, and it is where I will take you if we need room.
The green space for a first look. Both first looks at the September wedding happened outside. Having a large outdoor area available, a few steps from where you are getting dressed, is not something most Manhattan venues can give you.
The reception room
The upstairs reception space is dramatic and intentionally dark. It is beautiful; it photographs beautifully, but it punishes a photographer who doesn’t know how to work in dark spaces.
If you are interviewing photographers for this venue, ask to see their indoor low-light reception work specifically. The bright, airy garden photographer might be wonderful at what they do, but they will fight this room the entire night. Look for someone whose portfolio includes moody architectural interiors, dimly lit ballrooms, and candlelit dinner scenes. That is the photographer who will make this room sing.
How the day actually flows
Cocktail hour is downstairs. Dinner and dancing are upstairs in the main hall. After the party, they go back downstairs and convert the cocktail-hour space into a lounge for the late-night crowd.
If you are doing the ceremony at the venue itself, the upstairs hall is set up for the ceremony and then reset for dinner. Many couples here hold the cer
emony off-site, especially for religious weddings. One of the two weddings I have photographed here had the ceremony at the Greek Orthodox Cathedral on East 74th and the reception at Guastavino’s. Travel between most Upper East Side ceremony spots and the venue takes 20 to 25 minutes, so build that into your timeline.
Whether you get the garden at sunset depends on your date
I lead this guide by telling you to get portraits in the garden at golden hour, and I want to be straight with you about when that is actually available, because it is not always.
My June wedding here: sunset was at 8:27 in the evening. There was plenty of room to step outside during dinner and catch it.
My September wedding: sunset was at 6:57, and the ceremony ran from 6:30 to 7:00. The sun went down while they were under the chuppah.
Neither of those is the wrong way to do it. They are different days. So before you set your ceremony time, look up the sunset time for your actual date. If your sunset falls late, you have the garden, and you should use it. If your ceremony falls at sunset, move your portrait time earlier in the afternoon and use Sutton Place, the staircase, and the first-floor windows instead. That is what we did in September, and those are some of my favorite pictures from either wedding.
Where to get ready
Guastavino’s has an on-site getting-ready room. It is small, and it has no windows. My honest recommendation is still to get ready somewhere else if you have the option.
At the September wedding, she got ready at the Lotte New York Palace in one of the tower suites, and he got ready at the venue, and that split worked well. If you’re getting ready at Guastavino’s, plan on moving out of that room for the actual photographs. I took the groom’s prep out into the open cocktail-hour space downstairs, which is big and has real light coming in, and it was better in every way.
Hotels within ten to fifteen minutes, all with suites that photograph beautifully on a wedding morning: The Plaza, The Pierre, The Lotte New York Palace, The St. Regis, and 1 Hotel Central Park.
What size wedding works here
The venue requires a minimum of 200 guests and a maximum of 400. The sweet spot, in my opinion, is around 225. Full but not pressed. The room reads as a celebration. The dance floor stays active. The photographs of the space, full of people, look great rather than cavernous or jam-packed. If you have flexibility on your guest count, that is the number I would aim for.
The cultural and religious thing matters
Guastavino’s allows outside caterers, which is genuinely unusual for a venue at this level in New York. For Greek Orthodox, Indian, Kosher, Persian, and other tradition-rooted weddings that need specific food and specific kitchen handling, this is one of the few landmark NYC venues that will actually accommodate you without compromise. If your wedding involves a particular cuisine, religious requirement, or family tradition the in-house kitchen can’t honor, this is a serious mark in Guastavino’s favor.
If your wedding is Jewish
The outside-catering policy is why this venue keeps coming up for tradition-rooted weddings, and I have now photographed a Jewish wedding here from the afternoon through the after-party, with the chuppah under the stone arch upstairs.
One practical thing. The ketubah signing at that wedding happened in the small on-site getting-ready room. If your setup allows, ask the venue about signing downstairs in the cocktail-hour space instead. It is much larger, and there is more light. Space and setup down there are limited, and it may not be possible, so ask rather than assume.
Practical things
An Imperial parking garage is directly across the street. Real parking, in midtown Manhattan, twenty steps from the venue. (Tell your driving guests.)
The venue is fully wheelchair accessible across both floors.
The N, R, 4, 5, and 6 trains all stop within a short walk. Excellent public transit access.
Build about half an hour into your timeline for the walk over to Sutton Place if you are doing portraits there. It is close, but you don’t want to rush.
The Knicks night
The first wedding I photographed here fell on the night the Knicks closed out their playoff series in five games. The after-party downstairs ended with the entire group watching the final minutes of that game together, in formalwear, in a New York City landmark venue under the 59th Street Bridge.
That is the kind of moment that can only happen at this venue on that night in this city. I will remember it for a long time.
Frequently Asked Questions: Guastavino’s Weddings
Can you have both your ceremony and your reception at Guastavino’s?
Yes. I have photographed it both ways here, once with the ceremony off-site and once with the entire wedding in the building. The ceremony is set in the upstairs hall with the chuppah or altar under the stonework arch and the rest of the room piped and draped off, then guests go downstairs for cocktail hour while the room is reset for dinner. It works, and the venue handles the turnover well.
How does the room flip work at Guastavino’s?
The ceremony and the dinner happen in the same upstairs hall. During the ceremony, they pipe and drape off the rest of the space so the room reads as a ceremony room. Guests then go downstairs for a full hour of cocktails, the drape comes down, and the room is reset for dinner. I watched them do it, and it was fast and efficient. Guests do not see it happen.
Where is Guastavino’s?
Guastavino’s is at 409 East 59th Street in Manhattan, underneath the Queensboro Bridge between First and York Avenues. It is a 15,000-square-foot designated NYC landmark venue and part of the D&D London group.
How many guests can Guastavino’s hold?
Guastavino’s has a 200-guest minimum and a 400-guest maximum. In my opinion, the sweet spot is around 225. The space reads beautifully at that number, full but not pressed.
Does Guastavino’s have outdoor space?
Yes, and it is the venue’s biggest underrated feature. The garden has views of the Queensboro Bridge and the Manhattan skyline. Any outdoor space at a midtown venue is rare. The garden is big, green, and excellent for portraits and outdoor cocktail hours, especially at sunset. It does NOT belong to Guastavino’s; it’s public space, but it’s there for photos.
Is the outdoor space at Guastavino’s private?
Other people may be out there. At both of the weddings I have photographed here, a few people were sitting outside, and both times they moved along on their own when they saw a wedding coming. Plan for it the way you would plan for any wide open space in New York. The green space, the bridge overhead, and the skyline behind it are why you care about this area, and a few strangers on a bench aren’t a reason to plan around it.
Will you get golden hour portraits in the garden at Guastavino’s?
That depends on your date and your ceremony time. At my June wedding here, sunset was at 8:27 in the evening, which left plenty of room to step outside during dinner. At my September wedding, sunset was at 6:57, and the ceremony ran from 6:30 to 7:00, so the sun set during the ceremony. Look up the sunset time for your actual date before you set your timeline. If sunset falls after dinner starts, use the garden. If your ceremony overlaps sunset, take your portraits earlier in the afternoon and use Sutton Place and the interior instead.
What are the best portrait locations at Guastavino’s?
The garden at sunset is the headline. Sutton Place and Sutton Place Park, a block and a half east, are excellent and underused. The curved staircase from the ground floor up to the reception space is the best interior spot, and almost nobody uses it. The first-floor space with the large windows is good for indoor portraits during the day. The streets outside the venue on East 59th photograph beautifully because they are quiet and the bridge is right there. The interior arches are iconic and obvious.
Where is the best place for a first look at Guastavino’s?
The curved staircase that runs from the ground floor up to the reception space, and the green space outside. I used both at the September wedding: the staircase for the first look with her husband and the outdoor space for the first look with her father. Having a large outdoor area available for a first look, a few steps from where you are getting dressed, is unusual for a Manhattan venue.
How long does it take to walk to Sutton Place from Guastavino’s?
It is a block and a half. Budget half an hour for the whole thing, including the photographs. It is the easiest portrait add-on at this venue, and most couples getting married here never do it.
What is the getting-ready room at Guastavino’s like?
It is small, and it has no windows. It is workable for getting dressed, but I recommend getting ready at a nearby hotel if you can. If you are getting ready at the venue, expect your photographer to move you out of that room for the actual photographs. I use the open cocktail-hour space downstairs, which is much larger and has real light.
Where do you sign a ketubah at Guastavino’s?
At the Jewish wedding I photographed here, we signed the ketubah in the on-site getting-ready room, which is small. If the setup allows it, ask the venue about signing in the downstairs cocktail-hour space instead. It is larger, and there is more light. Space and setup down there are limited, so ask rather than assume.
Does Guastavino’s allow outside caterers?
Yes. This is one of the few high-end NYC landmark venues that allows outside catering, which makes it a strong option for Greek Orthodox, Indian, Kosher, Persian, and other tradition-rooted weddings that require specific food handling.
Is there parking at Guastavino’s?
Yes. An Imperial Parking garage is directly across the street. For an NYC venue, this is unusually convenient and worth mentioning to driving guests.
What is the lighting like at Guastavino’s?
The first floor has large windows and beautiful natural daylight. The downstairs cocktail-hour space has good light near the entrance that falls off as you move deeper in. The upstairs reception space is intentionally dark and dramatic. It photographs gorgeously in the right hands, but it requires a photographer with real experience working in low-light, moody venues. Ask to see indoor reception work specifically when you are hiring.
What hotels are near Guastavino’s?
The Plaza, The Pierre, The Lotte New York Palace, The St. Regis, and 1 Hotel Central Park are all within ten to fifteen minutes of the venue, and all give you the kind of suite that photographs beautifully on a wedding morning. The Plaza and the Lotte Tower suites are both favorites of mine for getting ready before a Guastavino’s wedding.
Is Guastavino’s wheelchair accessible?
Yes, fully, across both floors.
The short version
Get married under one of New York City’s most iconic bridges, in a designated landmark venue with a garden that almost no other midtown venue can match. You can also hold your ceremony here, in the upstairs hall under the stone arch, and the room turns over for dinner during cocktail hour without you or your guests noticing. Hire a photographer who knows how to work in dark, dramatic interiors. Check your sunset time before you set your ceremony time. Walk the block and a half to Sutton Place. Aim for 225 guests if you can. And if you happen to get married on a Knicks playoff night, lean into it.
If you are planning a wedding at Guastavino’s and want to talk, get in touch.
