PHOTOS: Weddings in Times Square warm hearts on a chilly Valentine's Day

NEW YORK (TND) — It’s Valentine’s Day, which means Times Square will once again give Paris a run for its money.

Now, New York City doesn’t exactly share Paris’ reputation for love, but it’s romantic in its own right. In the Big Apple’s vastness, there is opportunity — not only to strike gold on Wall Street or to see your name in shining lights on Broadway but to find your soulmate among the hordes of others looking for their match.

There is no indisputable epicenter of romance within the five boroughs, although several spots have earned a certain level of consensus: the row boats in Central Park; the serene medieval gardens surrounded by arched colonnades at the Met Cloisters; the Brooklyn Bridge at sunset, followed by dinner at the River Cafe against a backdrop of the Manhattan skyline; even the Staten Island Ferry, which somewhat inexplicably lands on nearly every compilation of New York City’s best date locales.

I once spent an anniversary on the Staten Island Ferry, so there must be some merit to those lists, but in a city of millions, there will be just as many opinions about the perfect place to celebrate love. The always-swarmed Brooklyn Bridge is claustrophobic to one couple, but the cozy corner booth at their neighborhood natural wine bar fits just right. And the pair in Windsor Terrace can’t be bothered to travel over an hour to the Cloisters, but every picnic in Prospect Park feels like falling in love all over again.

It’s flexible, too, over a person’s lifetime. In my early 20s, romance felt like a stroll down St. Marks Place, a favorite dive bar off the Montrose L subway station, and (my Staten Island Ferry-esque contribution) the Court Street Popeyes on Sunday afternoons, followed by grocery shopping with basically all of Brooklyn at Trader Joe’s. Later on, it would shift to cocktails on board a restored 1958 Lockheed Constellation airplane at the retro TWA Hotel and the final room of the shark exhibit at the New York Aquarium.

All of this is to say that Times Square is hardly a shoo-in (or even in contention) when selecting the most romantic settings across New York City, but for those with personal connections to the high-traffic tourist hub, it could very well be at the top of their list.

And for a few lucky couples on Feb. 14, Times Square transformed into their own personal Paris.

Times Square on Valentine’s Day is nearly the same as Times Square on any average Wednesday, with costumed characters beckoning children into photo ops and outstretched selfie sticks galore capturing the tourist destination’s iconic billboards. But in Duffy Square today, it wasn’t the oversized King Kong drawing the most attention, though he certainly gave it his most valiant effort. Instead, a giant ice sculpture glittering in the sunlight offered passersby a reason to pause.

Now in its 16th year, the annual “Love in Times Square” celebration presented by Times Square Arts has long invited artists and designers to create site-specific sculptures around the theme of love.

For the 2024 installation, Times Square Arts teamed up with Governors Island Arts to select a winning piece during the third annual Governors Island Ice Sculpture Show earlier this month. Top honors went to Bronx-based artist Lovie Pignata’s “Smitten,” which depicts two mittens touching in such a way that a heart forms between the fingers. A larger version of Pignata’s design, carved and installed in Duffy Square by Okamoto Studio, debuted on Feb. 14, its heart-shaped opening the perfect size for couples to frame a kiss between the two mittens.

Just as perfectly as the heart detail represented the February holiday, the mittens themselves were a fitting choice for a brutally cold winter morning (if only they actually had been knitted from yarn instead of sculpted from ice). A bright sun created only the expectation of warmth, doing very little in reality to provide any relief from the chill. As the day's festivities kicked off at 11 a.m., a "real feel" temperature in the 20s, although perfect for maintaining the chiseled appearance ofPignata’s ice sculpture, was not necessarily the ideal environment for an outdoor wedding.

But no matter the cold, the excitement of getting married in Times Square kept spirits high, along with some help from a few shots and chic white coats for the brides.

Not everyone can get married in Times Square. Couples, fingers crossed, first must apply, in hopes that the Times Square Alliance will then choose them out of a sea of hopefuls for one of the coveted spots.

The ceremonies are short and follow a basic template that includes an invitation for all spectators to participate in a blessing of the newlyweds. That includes any of the family members and friends situated in the roped-off seating area, as well as a gaggle of reporters stationed in the back and literally anyone else who may have been wandering through Midtown Manhattan at either 11 a.m. or 12 p.m. on Valentine’s Day. If the couples were lucky, perhaps King Kong or Minnie Mouse would join the sea of voices wishing them well.

Getting engaged in Times Square is far less exclusive; no one will stop you from dropping down on one knee and whipping out a ring at any time you please. But those chosen for this year’s two “Love in Times Square” surprise proposals were able to make the moment even more memorable with a little assistance from the Times Square Alliance. As the couples strolled by the “Smitten” sculpture (one pair on their way to brunch, and the other taking a walk to reminisce on the early days of their relationship), a personalized message flashed on the massive American Eagle billboard to help pop the question.

At 6 p.m. EST Wednesday, a vow renewal ceremony on Times Square’s iconic Red Steps will give other lovebirds the opportunity to strengthen their commitment to each other in an unconventional location.

Rick and Ilsa will always have Paris, but these couples will always have Times Square — and hopefully with a future ahead of them that’s less “Casablanca” and more real-life fairytale.