Industrial with a heaping side of happy, this Philadelphia wedding is sure to make you grin from ear to ear. From the gorgeous color palette to the super in love duo – every image snapped up by Alison Dunn is smiling-inducing to say the least, making this gallery one fabulous place to spend your time today. See even more of this pretty party right here.
From the Bride…I grew up in Wayne, PA and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 2012 with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication. I currently am in my second year working with Philly Cru doing campus ministry at the University of Pennsylvania and Temple University. I live in Philadelphia’s Chinatown with Corey, and am involved at liberti church east in Fishtown. I love any red velvet flavored treat and strong coffee.
Corey grew up in New Rochelle, NY and also graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in May 2013, with a Bachelor of Science in Bio Engineering. He’s in his first year working with Philly Cru and is involved at liberti church east. Corey enjoys exploring Philadelphia and sampling dark beer.
Corey and I met at Penn, where we were both involved in Cru as students. In fall of 2010 (Corey’s sophomore year, my junior year) we began a deep friendship that endured through my semester abroad in New Zealand in Spring 2011. Over time it became apparent to both of us that our friendship had the potential to become a long lasting commitment. On a cold January night in 2012 (Corey’s junior year and my senior year), 16 months after we first met, Corey took me out for dessert on our first date. In May of 2013, after two and a half years of wonderful friendship, Corey decided to take the step to make it a lifelong one and asked me to marry him..
On May 3, 2013 Corey came over with a bouquet of yellow lilies and took me out to an early dinner at one of my favorite restaurants, Jones. After dinner Corey suggested a walk on the Ben Franklin bridge so we could watch the sunset behind the Philly skyline (my favorite view in the city). Right as the sun was setting Corey got down on one knee, pulled a custom-designed rose gold ring out of his shirt pocket and asked me to marry him. When I said yes, we shared our first kiss. After Corey proposed, he took me to Talula’s Gardens for drinks to celebrate. The weather was perfect and we enjoyed cocktails in their beautiful outdoor garden area. It was lovely and so romantic!
My vision for the day was to have the wedding, reception, and decor display the things that Corey and I love, to reflect our personalities, and to invite our guests into that. Fall is my favorite season, so it was really a joy to have the wedding in November even though that’s not a very popular time to get hitched. Also, Corey and I have come to really love Philadelphia, in spite of its obvious brokenness – this is a big part of our story as a couple. So, it was a no-brainer to have the wedding and reception in the city itself, although I grew up in the suburbs of Philly. Our church, liberti, is also a place of great meaning for both of us, so having both the ceremony and reception in the warehouse where the church meets was really important too.
I think there is often beauty where we least expect it – at least this is what I’ve found in Philadelphia – so it was part of my vision to incorporate splashes of beauty into an urban, weathered, industrial environment. I chose my favorite colors for our palette – mint, mustard, blush, and pumpkin – and chose to stick with a simple, clean, antique industrial feel. We even had red velvet cupcakes for dessert, one of my personal favorites. During the ceremony, we had two of our siblings read passages from the Bible that you don’t normally hear at a wedding, ones that talk about how to love others well and how to live in relationship with people in a loving way. It was a neat way to share some of our values with our guests in that way. I also walked down the aisle to “Processional (Mason Jar remis)” by one of my favorite artists, Josh Garrels. Before my bridesmaids and I processed in, we also included each one of our immediate family members in the processional, because our families are of such great importance to Corey and I. I’m really overjoyed with how the ceremony, reception, and decor came together. I feel like our guests were able to truly see, experience, and connect with the things that we deeply love.
A piece of advice I wish someone had shared with me is: don’t feel guilty or silly if your wedding day emotionally overwhelms you (to the point where it actually feels relieving to leave the party)! It truly is a wonderful, beautiful day. But it is jam-packed with emotionally intense experiences – committing your life to another person, seeing all the people you love in one place at one time, getting to speak with all those people, having tons of pictures taken of you, being the focus of many people’s attention for several hours in a row, etc. Your emotions feel a little heightened all day, so looking forward to resting from that level of excitement isn’t bad. It’s even okay if you need to take a couple minutes during the reception to just stand outside with your sister, friend, or new husband and escape the spotlight for a bit. Do what you need to do to enjoy the special day/evening, even if that means taking a quick second alone!
Photography: Alison Dunn Photography | Floral Design: Sullivan Owen | Wedding Dress: Allure Bridal | Cake: Whipped Bakeshop | Invitations: Wedding Paper Divas | Ceremony Venue: Liberti East | Reception Venue: Skybox At 2424 Studios | Shoes: Madewell | Bridesmaids Dresses: Donna Morgan | Catering: Skybox At 2424 Studios | Makeup: American Mortals | Hair: American Mortals | DJ: Silver Sound | Suits: Jos. A. Bank | Cake Topper: Lovebirds Goods