Krysta + Brad
I knew right away that I wanted to add nontraditional elements to our event. Brad and I have always had similar tastes and I wanted to make sure that our wedding was a representation of the both of us. My style is a bit more adventurous and fashion so i wanted to create a mix that included of the moment trends and classic elements. Straight away I knew I wanted long sleeves for my gown... I wore the Roxy Gown by Rue De Seine, which I found at Lovely Bride Philly. It was the perfect dress for me. Light, elegant, and fun. I envisioned an organic color pallet: creams, nudes, green, pale peach and blush. This really lent itself to our venue, the Olde Bar at the Original Bookbinders in Olde City Philadelphia. The space itself hosts a beautiful saloon styled bar that has many of the original elements of the iconic Philadelphia restaurant. We didn't really need to do much with the bar itself. When I met with my event and floral stylist, Matt Muscarella, we spoke about dressing up the large Blackburn banquet room with natural greenery, woodsy materials, florals, glittering candles and cafe lights. The space was breathtakingly beautiful after Matt and his team went to work! I also worked with Magpie Vintage on some vintage furniture rentals. We rented beautiful wooden farm tables for the head table, which Matt dressed with a natural runner he created with pine, twigs, and small candles. The room adjacent to the bar was the perfect spot for a lounge so we also rented a vintage Antoinette sofa and glass coffee table. We topped off the event with special details like a cigar bar in dedication to my late father. Our cake was a beautiful semi naked champagne cake with raspberry buttercream by Nutmeg Designs. It literally melted in our mouths! Our guests enjoyed lots of dancing with music provided by GoGo Gadjet Band who literally brought the house down. Instead of mother-son and father-daughter dances we chose for the band to play dedication songs to our late parents (brad's mother and my father). And as for our photographer, his photos say it all! Pat Robinson was the perfect fit for us. I knew I didn't want to miss cocktail hour and had no specific plan about where to take all of our portraits. Olde City lends itself so well to pictures I figured it would be easy to just walk from the church to the venue and take photos along the way. And it was! Pat was so down with walking and find spots as we went. And the photos turned out amazing. It was the best party I've ever been to! I'd do it all over again!
Noel + Jeff
Jeff proposed to me in NYC while walking around the village. It was a complete surprise, looking back there were all the signs of a proposal... rose champagne, swanky hotel, romantic brunch and walk... we agreed that night on a small guest list and an intimate garden ceremony.
We live and work in center city Philadelphia. A small city wedding felt right to us. Le Cheri is a classic French restaurant in the Art Alliance building on Rittenhouse Square. The Alliance has rotating galleries throughout the mansion. I have a design background and loved the idea of being immersed in art on my wedding day.
A whimsical and romantic garden wedding was what I envisioned. I hired Pat Robinson Photography to capture the day. I did some research and decided on Pat, a photographer who was different from the norm. He was that and so much more. We were taking photos in wall-papered bathrooms, in alleys, and in the front of nearby buildings that offered the perfect city backdrop, nothing run-of-the-mill. He made us feel at ease yet pushed us to get the right photos.
My mother's friend Jane Fairorth is a calligrapher and designed the letterpress invitations. I chose a floral envelope liner from a graphic designer on Etsy.
I used my family's vintage oriental rugs as an isle on the patio of the restaurant for the ceremony. Our nieces and nephews threw colorful pom poms instead of flower petals. My 4 sisters and 5 best friends were my bridesmaids.
A string band played for the ceremony and cocktail hour. Jeff's best friend from college married us in a hand-fasting ceremony. We tied our hands together using lace from wedding dresses the women in my family were married in.
I get weekly deliveries from the "flwry," a floral delivery service, and love the romantic style of their floral arrangements. I begged Nicole to do the flowers for my wedding - it was her first. She made flower arrangements, crowns and garlands.
I wore two Nicole miller gowns. My best friend from college is a senior designer for Nicole Miller. She designed my party dress and the hand cut lace kimono I wore over my ceremony gown. The ceremony gown was silk, the party dress was embroidered with sequins and ostrich feathers. I wore gold manolo blahnik mules. Jeff wore a custom electric blue suit.
We honeymooned in France and Spain directly afterwards.