Best Scenic Venues in New York

Aside from being the melting pot of America, New York is home to some of its best views. If you’re looking for stunning backdrops to your wedding photos and scenes that will wow your guests, these are the venues in New York that I’d recommend:

1. Oheka Castle

For an option outside of the Big Apple, this historic 1920s French-style mansion stands in Huntington, New York, about 2 hours from Manhattan by train. It holds 34 luxurious and unique guest rooms and sits behind a lavish garden with symmetrical pools and a classy center that creates a wonderful environment to walk through or even just to view.

2. 620 Loft and Garden

This rooftop venue with a historic garden that harbors a beautiful reflective pool seats 75 guests and a renovated loft that has room for 120 guests. Reception allows for 165 guests, plenty of room for a small to medium-sized wedding. It sits atop 5th avenue with a beautiful view of St. Patrick’s Cathedral and Rockefeller Center, perfect for a city-centered wedding that still craves classy and historical vibes.

3. Tribeca Rooftop

Located further downtown in lower Manhattan, Tribeca Rooftop is another excellent option for a rooftop wedding, boasting 29,000 square feet and spacious 12 foot ceilings. The outdoor terrace truly puts you on top of the world with views of SOHO, especially entrancing in photos when the sun sets and the city lights scatter the background.

4. Bowery Hotel

This classic-style hotel in Lower East-Side sports a vintage interior design with its bold emerald green and crimson accents inside of its red brick walls. Its terrace has expansive 13 foot wood beams, tiled floors and antique tapestries, as well as an outdoor area with plenty of greenery to make your guests feel at home while still enjoying the city view.

5. The Plaza Hotel

The Plaza Hotel is luxury right in Midtown Manhattan, near Times Square. It offers views of Central Park right across the street as well as those of the city, commanding both nature and the cultural hub of the world to attend your photoshoots.

6. The Foundry

For an option outside of Manhattan but still in the heart of New York City – consider this gem of a venue in Queens. Its courtyard offers an outdoor space that’s perfect for chic greeny photoshoots with the brooklyn bridge in the background, while the greenhouse offers the same green ivy covered brick walls with a skylight ceiling for an expansive feeling reception.

7. The Rainbow Room

Another option in Manhattan that can hosts your guests in an indoor area surrounded by floor-to-ceiling glass windows to enjoy the view of the city skyline, while protecting them from the wind and rain. Perfect for year-round weather!

8. The Pierre

This luxury grand hotel is also right next to Central Park in East Side Manhattan, with an incredible view of city life and nature from its castle-like tower. It also has outdoor balconies to take the most amazing city photos for your dream wedding.

9. New York Public Library

For a more on-the-ground option in the city, the New York Public Library is a wonderful venue, with its cascading steps and wonderful warm lighting indoors that will make your guests want to take pictures in every part of this historic building.

10. Blue Hill at Stone Barns

This venue located in Tarrytown, NY, about 3 hours from Manhattan, is perfect for a more rural scene and can seat up to 260 people for large weddings. The stone walls of the barn in the midst of acres of grass and nature creates an amazing background for your vintage wedding pictures.

11. Cipriani

An option with options, Cipriani has 4 different event venue locations throughout Manhattan to choose from, all with exquisite interior decoration that will make you feel like you’re at the height of luxury. Although they might not be considered “scenic” for trees or birds-eye views like other venues with balconies, they have beautiful chandeliers and moody lighting for your perfect indoor wedding photoshoot.

5. Cedar Lakes Estate

Located in Port Jervis, about an hour and 30 minutes from Manhattan, Cedar Lakes is an exclusive event venue that offers quiet lakeside luxury. With 500 acres full of hiking trails through forests, freshwater, mountaintops, and beautiful cabins for your guests, this estate will offer plentiful options and a variety of backgrounds for your lakeside wedding photography book!

New York has an amazing range of venues perfect for your luxury and fashion-forward wedding with endless opportunities for photos!