New Venue
In 2008 Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced that the Bureau would soon move to new quarters in order to provide a more dignified setting for the marriages of New Yorkers, and in the hope of attracting couples who might otherwise travel to Las Vegas to be married to travel instead to Manhattan, boosting New York's tourist industry.
The new Marriage Bureau opened on January 12, 2009 in an 1920's Art Deco building on the ground floor at 141 Worth Street (corner of Centre Street and Worth Street) that was formerly occupied by a Department of Motor Vehicles office. The space of 24,000 square feet (2,200 m2) was decorated by interior designer Jamie Drake who decorated Gracie Mansion and Mayor Bloomberg's private residence. The project cost is $12 million.
The facilities contain two separate wedding chapels off the building’s central rotunda. In the east chapel, the sofa and walls feature apricot and peach colors; the west chapel is done in purple and lavender. Each chapel has an abstract painting that matches the walls and hangs next to the lectern from where the clerk performs the ceremonies.
A marriage license in New York costs $35, and the fee to have the wedding performed at the Manhattan Marriage Bureau is $25. These fees can be now be paid by credit card.
Read more about this topic: Manhattan Marriage Bureau