If you are planning to Tie the Knot in New York City, here are some basic things your need to know:

You absolutly don't need to live in the States to be married in NYC. You don't need to be a US citizen to be wed in New York City.
The first thing you need to do is obtain your marriage license. To that end, you begin by applying for your license on line by going to this page: City Clerk's office, you can fill out your application on line and this will speed up the process greatly. At the end of your application you will receive a confirmation number which indicates that your information was submitted and it is now in the City Clerk's data base.
Next, both you and your spouse to be must go TOGETHER to the City clerk's office to pick up your license. You must both bring a form of Id (passport, driver license, state id, etc). You should also bring a copy of your divorce papers if you were married before.
After you obtained your marriage license you will need to wait 24 hours to have your ceremony. This means: You can NOT get married the same day that you obtained your license. While you can always go ahead and perform your wedding ceremony and have your celebration on the same day, the signing of the license must be done at least 24 hours later.
Of course you don't need to get married immediately after you obtained your license. Your license is good for 60 days. After you have your license, you can get married within 60 days.
On the day of your wedding, you will bring us your license and the officiant, the witness (you only need one), and the couple will sign it.
We will take care of the filling of the paperwork and you will receive your Wedding Certificate in the mail within 2 weeks.
If you are in a hurry and you don't want to wait to receive your Marriage Certificate in the mail, you may go back to the City Clerk's office with your signed license in hand and obtain your wedding certificate right there on the spot.

I hope this was helpful. Please don't hesitate to call us with any questions you may have.