Botanical Garden Weddings in New York City

Here is what each garden publishes, side by side. Where a cell says Ask the garden, you will need a current quote.

If you want only photographs in a garden, Snug Harbor, BBG, NYBG and Wave Hill each sell photo permits, which the photo section below covers. If you want a short ceremony without a reception, BBG's 9 a.m. slot is the simplest published option.

Costs fall into separate pieces, so ask each garden what its number includes. A venue fee, a membership, catering, rentals and a photo permit are usually separate lines.

BBG's ceremony-only fee is $1,000 for up to 50 people, with up to 10 additional guests at $22 each, so the most you can bring is 60. The fee is nonrefundable. For a ceremony plus a catered seated meal, BBG points you to its Weddings and Celebrations program, so ask for a current quote.

Wave Hill's standard weekend arrangement is a $10,000 Partner Contribution plus an $8,000 rental fee. Catering starts at $400 per person and rentals from Party Rental Ltd. start at $140 per person, both based on 150 guests. From November 1 through April 30, winter rates are a $7,500 membership and a $5,000 site fee, with a cap of 120 guests.

An event of 180 or more guests at Wave Hill needs a tent. The published figures for that arrangement are a $25,000 membership and a $15,000 rental, with tent costs starting around $50,000 including permits.

Queens Botanical Garden asks for a 50 percent deposit at booking, with the balance due six months before the wedding. A ceremony booking includes an hour in the Wedding Garden, an hour on the main grounds for photos, a one-hour rehearsal, 80 complimentary chairs and a one-year family membership. Ask for a current quote for the ceremony and reception prices. Do the same at Snug Harbor and NYBG, where current wedding pricing needs a direct quote.

Ceremony seating and dinner with dancing are different numbers, so ask which one a capacity refers to.

Queens Botanical Garden seats 150 in the Wedding Garden for a ceremony. For a reception, the Terrace seats 200, the Auditorium seats 65 with a central dance floor or 80 without one, and the Meeting Room seats 50.

At Wave Hill, Armor Hall holds 120 seated with a small band or DJ and a dance floor in the Hall. If the dance floor moves to the adjacent Mark Twain Room, the seated count rises to 180. Snug Harbor lists the Carpenter's Shop at up to 100 guests; ask for a current capacity sheet for the ceremony spaces and the larger rooms.

For BBG, remember the 50-person limit plus 10 additional guests. NYBG's published event material lists a 1,000-person Conservatory Tent capacity, but that comes from a 2017 to 2018 calendar, so treat it as a lead and ask NYBG for a current capacity sheet.

BBG's ceremony-only option is rain or shine, and BBG has no indoor facility for it. If you book the 9 a.m. slot, plan for umbrellas or a different date.

Wave Hill publishes indoor or tented weather alternatives for its weddings, which is a real advantage if you want to keep an evening outdoor ceremony. At the other gardens, ask for the rain plan in writing: which indoor space, how quickly the decision is made and who makes it.

Heat and wind matter too. Ask what shade, seating and water the garden provides if the day is hot, and whether a tent is allowed.

At Wave Hill, no. Great Performances is the exclusive caterer, and the garden also publishes vendor-approval requirements and a planner requirement. Event planners are required for a minimum of 90 days before indoor receptions, and full-service planners for tented receptions must be brought in within two weeks of signing the tented-reception contract.

BBG directs complete wedding packages to Union Square Events at BBG. Snug Harbor's onsite caterer is Celebrate at Snug Harbor, operated by Relish Caterers + Event Planning. At Queens Botanical Garden, ask in writing which caterers and other vendors are permitted.

For your own florist, DJ, baker or rental company, ask each garden for its outside-vendor rules, any insurance certificate it wants, and the load-in and cleanup windows. Our guide to bringing outside vendors to an NYC wedding venue covers what to ask any venue.

Yes, at all four gardens that publish photo rules. Here is how they compare.

At Snug Harbor, the Chinese Scholar's Garden is available for photo permits on Saturdays and Sundays only starting October 2, 2026, and is scheduled to close for winter beginning December 6, 2026. It reopens in April 2027.

Public access shapes the shoot too. BBG photo permits generally take place while the garden stays open to visitors. Snug Harbor permits give access to designated outdoor spaces, not exclusive use. Photo-permit vehicles at Snug Harbor must use the designated parking lots, and parking or standing on the road can bring a $100 fine.

For general park permits, see getting a park ceremony permit in NYC. For the photography side, see engagement photos in New York City and what a wedding photographer costs in New York City.

Gardens protect plants and keep paths open, so the usual wedding decor extras are often limited. Ask before you buy anything.

For BBG's ceremony-only option, the ceremony is standing. Small portable chuppahs are allowed, and low-volume music is acceptable. Chairs, tables, decorations, balloons, rice and birdseed are not allowed, and neither is food.

BBG's photo rules also prohibit touching or moving plants, entering planting beds, hanging objects, staking anything into the ground, entering water, smoking, drones, amplified sound and instrument sound. Food and drink are limited to designated areas.

NYBG's special-occasion photography rules prohibit alcohol, music, walking on grass, smoking, balloons, drones, selfie sticks, and thrown rice, birdseed, flowers or confetti. Snug Harbor photo permits prohibit decorations, tables, chairs, tents, canopies, glitter, confetti, alcohol, smoking, drones and floating items in ponds.

For Queens Botanical Garden and Wave Hill, ask for the current decor, confetti, music and ceremony-equipment rules and the contract attachments before you plan your ceremony details.

Published hours decide more than bloom. BBG ceremony-only bookings must begin at 9 a.m. and finish by 10 a.m., and BBG says spring and summer are very popular, so plan early. Its ceremony registration opens January 4, 2027.

Queens Botanical Garden's visitor hours are 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. from April through October and 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. from November through March, Tuesday through Sunday. Its Wedding Garden ceremony window is 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Wave Hill closes to the public at 5:30 p.m., and weddings begin at 6 p.m. or later. Ceremony times in October may be adjusted for early sunsets. Winter weddings from November 1 through April 30 get off-season pricing and a 120-guest cap.

No garden here promises a bloom on a given date. If flowers matter, ask each garden what is expected to be in season near your date, and ask NYBG which locations and seasonal displays will be open.

For a broader choice of spaces in one borough, see Brooklyn wedding venues: types, capacities and prices.

Share each garden's own directions page with your guests, and ask about drop-off for older relatives.

Brooklyn Botanic Garden is at 1000 Washington Avenue in Brooklyn. Photo-shoot parties enter through the 1000 Washington Avenue staff entrance, and BBG asks applicants to call ahead about accessibility.

New York Botanical Garden is at 2900 Southern Boulevard in the Bronx. Its Mosholu Entrance is closest to the Botanical Garden Metro-North station and the B, D and 4 subway stations at Bedford Park Boulevard. NYBG lists several MTA buses, and Access-A-Ride and vehicles with disability permits may reach interior drop-off and pickup points.

Queens Botanical Garden is at 43-50 Main Street in Flushing, with onsite parking. Wave Hill is at 4900 Independence Avenue in the Bronx; ask the garden for transit and accessible-route details.

Snug Harbor is at 1000 Richmond Terrace on Staten Island, less than 1.5 miles from the Staten Island Ferry. Its campus map marks parking, restrooms and wheelchair accessibility. Wherever you book, request an accessible-route and restroom plan for the ceremony and reception spaces.

Use this checklist when you inquire. Get each answer in writing.

1. Is the date open, and for how many hours, including setup and cleanup?
2. Does the capacity cover ceremony seating, dinner, or dinner plus dancing?
3. What does the fee include, and what is added: taxes, service charges, membership, rentals, security, parking, tenting?
4. Which caterer must you use, and may you bring your own planner, florist, DJ or photographer?
5. What is the weather plan, and who decides?
6. Do you need a photo permit, and how far ahead?
7. What are the decor, music, confetti and open-flame rules?
8. Is the garden open to the public during your event?
9. Is the route to the ceremony accessible, and where are the restrooms?
10. What insurance certificate is required?
11. When are the deposit and final guest count due?
12. What is refundable if you cancel?

These are the questions couples ask most once they have a favorite garden.

Inquire with the garden that matches the day you want: BBG for a short morning ceremony, Queens Botanical Garden for a ceremony and reception in one place, Wave Hill for an evening wedding, or Snug Harbor and the others for photos. Ask for the current contract and fee schedule, then book your license separately with our step-by-step marriage license guide.