Philadelphia Wedding from Readyluck + Robertson's Flowers

I just recently moved to the very warm south, so I am totally living vicariously though fabulous autumn weddings like this one. They have quickly become my absolute favorites - the sense of warmth is so crazy amazing and the atmosphere is soso cozy. Robertson's Flowers took the autumn season and brought it inside, and Readyluck captured it all - and I am head over heels in total and complete love. Click here for the gallery, please. Please, please, please!
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Although we had both lived in the same city (Boston), with the same career (physical therapy) at the same time, we didn't actually meet until years later when Matt was living in Israel for medical school. He saw me on Jdate and we had chatted once or twice, but because he was so far away, it didn't go any farther than that. Then, 2 years later, he was back in Philly doing his residency, I was still in Boston and we both went back onto Jdate. He found me again and we started chatting, first just as friends because there was still a distance, but then started to realize that we were each what the other was looking for. We began a long distance relationship, alternating trips each month until I finally made the big move to Philly. After a few months of living in Philly, I moved in with Matt. A few months later, on a cold Sunday morning in December, Matt woke up early to make breakfast, and proposed in front of the fireplace. The forecast had called for snow, which is my favorite, so that was supposed to be part of his plan, but unfortunately that part didn't work out...everything else did!

We wanted the ceremony to be special and wanted the whole day to feel unique, like "us" and the typical, generic wedding reception. Also, we were most concerned with the food being delicious. We could both be described somewhat as "foodies" and appreciate good food. I had worked at country clubs in the past, waitressing at weddings and knew that good wedding food isn't always the norm.

We really wanted the whole wedding to feel like Fall, as it was the end of November. Fall is our favorite season and Thanksgiving is our favorite holiday, so that is where we got our inspiration, but I wanted it to be subtle; I didn't want to scream pumpkins and gourds and orange. We liked to use the words rustic, organic, and elegant, when describing our vision. We wanted our guests to be greeted with warm apple cider and donuts upon arriving, to get an immediate feel of "coming in from the cold" and feeling warm and cozy.

I knew I wanted dried leaves scattered down the aisle before the ceremony and tons of candles for the ceremony and reception for an elegant, romantic feel as well. Matt and I would have loved to have the ceremony outdoors, as we are both hikers and nature lovers, but due to the time of year, that wasn't practical and so the space at the Horticulture Center was perfect for us, as we could bring the outdoors, in.

Matt really wanted to have the traditional, Jewish Klezmer band for the cocktail hour, which definitely brought a lively, joyful tone and set the mood for the rest of the evening. For the reception, we chose to serve the meal family-style to evoke feelings of a Thanksgiving dinner, having friends pass dishes around the table. Also, for dessert we chose to have a "cookie bar" in addition to the traditional cake, so guests could grab a cookie and keep on dancing. We weren't sure if we wanted to do favors, but decided to use the favors as place cards. The favors were small burlap sacks that we thought would feel like a table at a farmers' market, with a "price tag" on it with each guests/couples' name and table assignment. Inside the bags were recycled paper leaves with wildflower seeds embedded in them for guests to plant, which tied in to our rustic, natural, organic theme. There were also chocolates with labels that my mother designed, using the image from our invitation, which was designed by Matt's sister. For the tables, rather than numbers, we chose the names of mountains we had skied or hiked, or cities we had traveled to recently, because those are our favorite activities to do together. I made the favors/placecards and table names myself.

Eric Shellack from Robertson's Flowers did an amazing job of taking my ideas and making them 1000 times better. Because the Horticulture Center already so beautiful, filled with plants, we didn't want to compete with that, so we chose lanterns with some other moss, twigs, and seeds and dried pods for the centerpieces. I've always loved the combination of pink and brown and feel that it can evoke the feeling of Fall without being so obvious as orange, so we went with that for my bouquet and Matt's boutonniere. Because we wanted a rustic, organic feel, we wanted to be true to the season and use flowers, seeds, berries, and twigs that would be readily available in the Fall.

I have so many favorite moments of the day, it was really the best day of my life. Shopping with my best friend the MORNING OF MY WEDDING for her dress that night is one for sure! But definitely seeing Matt for the first time, taking our "first look" pictures, throwing leaves at each other, dancing with him and my friends, and seeing all the people that we love so happy and joyful was really the best, I was on a natural high the whole day. Matt's "thank you" speech to our guests at the end really touched me as well, because I wasn't expecting him to turn it into a "thank you" to me also.

We were SO Happy that we chose Readyluck to photograph our wedding. I really felt like you were just our friends who were hanging out and celebrating with us, not that you were hired to be there. We felt so comfortable with them both and found their guidance with posing for the pictures to be so helpful because at first we felt like we had no idea what we were supposed to be doing! The wedding day went by so fast and looking back on the pictures now, they caught moments that I didn't even remember happening, so its like I get to experience the wedding all over again, for the first time!



Photography: Lindsay & Jacqueline, Readyluck / Cinematography: Noah Stoner, Stonermedia / Flowers: Eric Shellack, Robertson's Flowers / Cake: Night Kitchen Bakery / Event Planning & Design: Leila Miller, Stephen Starr Events / Venue: The Horticulture Center in Fairmount Park / Music: The Klezmer Band, Golden Medina & Love Jones Band / Invitations: Danielle Cantor designed the invitations, printed by Papel Vivo / Brides Shoes: Unlisted by Kenneth Cole / Grooms shoes: Johnston & Murphy / Dress: Macao, Reverie by Melissa Sweet, purchased at Priscilla of Boston / Veil: Priscilla of Boston