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Colorful Vintage Philadelphia Wedding at Powel House

August 23, 2020 | riley

After one look at these photos, we don’t know if Jen and James could get any cooler. A colorful vintage-inspired wedding at Powel House followed by an after-party at a karaoke bar? Sign us up! After getting engaged, these two decided they were going to elope. That is until they started planning. 

They ultimately ended up having an intimate ceremony with immediate family and followed it with an 80-person reception. Though the party turned out to be bigger than they expected, they were still able to make it extremely personal by incorporating a tea ceremony to represent their union and love for tea; personalized playlists created by the groom who’s a musician; and a photoshoot in their neighborhood. 

The couple looked oh-so-cool in their attire, with Jen in a stunning off the shoulder La Bella Donna gown and celestial Honey and Ember headpiece and James in a sleek white and black suit from Les Richards LR2. It fit their classic theme flawlessly. Thank goodness Jessica Perez Photography was there to capture the day because we can’t get enough of these photos!

The Couple:

Jennifer and James

The Wedding:

The Powel House, Philidelphia

Shop similar headpieces: Gold Bridal Hair Accessory ($138.09); Celestial Wedding Gold Crown ($90); Golden Starburst Halo ($95)

This Cool Couple’s Wedding Advice

Our wedding started out as a simple elopement and turned into a 3-venue, full-day event that was better than we could have imagined. Our advice for couples planning their wedding is to let your event become what it wants to be, even if that doesn’t align with what you or other people had in mind, if it feels right just go with it.

Why a Simple City Hall Wedding & The Powel House Reception

We wanted the wedding to be a snapshot in time, and a real reflection of our life when we decided to be married. Because of that, we opted for venues that are in our neighborhood and represented our life in Philly. Having an intimate and private ceremony with only immediate family in City Hall was always part of our plan. The Powel House really fit the laid-back, but still refined style we were going for in the reception, and Fuji Mountain’s private karaoke room was an incredible way to truly celebrate and give our guests time to loosen up and get to know each other.

How They Personalized the Wedding Ceremony

It was important that our ceremony stay private and intimate. We only invited immediate family, wrote our own vows, had a friend officiate, and incorporated a tea ceremony with a glass teapot and flowering tea to visually represent our union in a way that parallels our daily life—where we often sit and drink tea/coffee together.

The Karaoke After Party

Due to some time constraints and noise ordinances at the Powel House, we knew we wanted to host an “after-party” somewhere we could really let loose and celebrate. We looked into a few different private karaoke rooms in Philly and disagreed on where to do it because we weren’t sure how many of our guests would come. We opted to rent the larger karaoke room at Fuji Mountain just to be safe, which we were incredibly grateful for, since an hour into karaoke we were told by a guest that there was essentially a line out the door of people from the wedding trying to enter the private karaoke room. We had no clue that almost all of our 80 reception guests would come!

 

The Wedding Team:

Photography – Jessica Perez Photography
Ceremony Venue – Conversation Hall in Philadelphia’s City Hall
Reception Venue –  Powel House
After Party Venue – Fuji Mountain
Floral Design – Carl Alan
Catering – Di Bruno Bros.
Cake – Weckerly’s Ice Cream
Makeup Artist & Hair Stylist – Jessica Saint Bridal
Wedding Dress – Le Bella Donna
Bridal Accessories – Honey and Ember
Groom’s Apparel – Les Richards LR2
Rings – L. Priori Jewelry
Rentals – White Glove Rentals
Photo Booth – Majestic Photobooth Co.

 

Congratulations again to Jennifer and James on their colorful vintage wedding at Powel House! Thank you to Jessica Perez for sharing these awesome photos with us. If you can’t get enough of vintage-inspired weddings, we think you’ll love Taelor and Aaron’s Plenty Merchantile Wedding in Oklahoma!

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Rustic Chic Maui Wedding at Montage Kapalua Bay

August 22, 2020 | riley

Aloha! Raeanne and Jesse’s rustic chic Maui wedding at Montage Kapalua Bay has us wishing we were on the shores of the Pacific with a mai tai in hands right now! The couple always knew they wanted a destination wedding and they quickly fell in love with the Montage in Lahaina. That is until they saw the price tag anyways. After picking a budget-friendly venue, they were met with unforeseen issues and had to switch venues a month before the wedding. With the help of their expert planner, Platinum Weddings & Events, they ended up back at the Montage Kapalua Bay—the original venue of their dreams. Funny how life works out sometimes. 

Though it’s untraditional, Raeanne wanted autumnal colors for her beach wedding and it turns out the deep jewel colors contrasted against the light blues and greens of the surrounding nature brilliantly. We hope to see more of this daring spirit in coming weddings. We haven’t even mentioned their black volcanic-inspired cake by Sugar Beach Events! The photos captured by SASs Photography are easily some of our favorites so grab a beachy drink and get ready to melt. 

Maui Social Media’s Nicole Sanchez on the Day

“Raeann and Jesse were married on a grass cape outstretched over the beautiful Pacific Ocean with gorgeous decor in rich hues of red, orange, and crimson to mimic the amazing shades of the sunset in Maui. Guest seating was set in a circular fashion with the bride and groom at the center, surrounded by their family and friends. They said “I Do” under a half-circle arch dripping in luxurious floral decor that was absolutely stunning!

Personal details that were incorporated into their day included the bride’s late grandmother’s wedding ring, the bride’s diamond earrings which were gifted to her by her father when she was a little girl, the groom’s firefighter badge attached to the bride’s bouquet, and the groom’s grandmother singing and playing the ukulele during the reception.“

The Couple:

Raeanna and Jesse

The Wedding:

Montage Kapalua Bay, Maui, Hawaii

Shop similar shoes: Sam Edelman Yaro Ankle Strap Sandal ($119.95); Steve Madden Irenee Strap Sandal ($69.95); Steve Madden Dillon Strap Sandal ($89.95)

Wedding Day Vibes

When Jesse and I got engaged, we decided that we wanted to host a destination wedding in the fall. Although it may be non-traditional, due to Maui being gorgeously sunny year-round, I still wanted to incorporate autumnal vibes into our wedding vision. That’s when Taryn (our amazing wedding planner) stepped in and took the reins! I gave her small snippets of my lifestyle vibes and she transformed them into stunning wedding vibes! 

The Couple’s Most Memorable Part of Their Wedding Day

For us, it was our first moments together as a newly married couple taking pictures. After the ceremony, we made way to the Cliff House at the Montage. It is a quaint and secluded building that offers panoramic views of the ocean while below, a rock peninsula outstretching over the beautiful ocean with rich hues of red, orange, and crimson created by the sun and all its glory filled in the background. Jesse and I were accompanied by Taryn, SASs photography, and Sunlit films. However, in that moment, it felt like we were alone—like we had a moment to just be, to love each other, and to enjoy the first moments married. The logical part of me knows we were in the company of others but it is a testament to how comfortable our vendors made us feel, and how they allowed us to just “be married” in that moment.

Wedding Day Fashion

I tend to gravitate toward flowy, bohemian styles but also wanted a look that would stand the test of time. My dress, Carmen—as she was named—with all of her timeless ornate lace and her delicate long sleeves and stunning open back came to life the first time I put her on. Family heirlooms like my late grandmother’s wedding ring, my diamond earrings gifted to me by my father when I was young, and my diamond necklace given to me by Jesse after he surprised me during our long-distance times added further personal touches.

Wedding Day Surprise

Jesse’s grandmother, a Maui native, sang and played the ukulele for us during our reception. We were anticipating that she would sing and she is a renowned established ukulele player, but her voice and talent are just something you have to see and hear to believe. Her performance served as a tribute to his Hawaiian culture and is a memory that will serve us a lifetime.

 

The Wedding Team:

Photography – SASs Photography
Event Planning – Platinum Weddings & Events
Venue & Catering – Montage Kapalua Bay
Floral Design – Teresa Sena Designs
Cake – Sugar Beach Events Pastry Chef
DJ – KCK Entertainment
Live Music – Barefoot Minded
Videography – Sunlit Films
Invitation Design – Design by Laney
Makeup Artist & Hair Stylist – Meili Autumn Beauty
Wedding Dress – Flora Bride
Bridal Accessories – Stuart Weizman
Groom’s Apparel – The Groomsman Suit
Rings – Vail Creek Jewelry Design
Rentals – Rio Event Design, Set Maui
Specialty Linen – Reve Maui
Calligraphy – Miss B Calligraphy

 

Congratulations again to Raeanne and Jesse on their extremely romantic and rustic-chic wedding at Montage Kapalua Bay! Thank you to SASs Photography for capturing the magic of the day. If you’re anything like us and you want to drool over Hawaii destination weddings all day, check out Kerina and Ivan’s Elegant Hawaiian Wedding at Four Seasons Resort Oahu!

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Golden Hour Rooftop Elopement at The LINE Hotel DC

August 21, 2020 | riley

Is there anything more beautiful than a sunset wedding? We don’t think so! Jenna and Mike’s golden hour rooftop elopement at the LINE Hotel in DC looks like it came straight out of a magazine. The couple went into planning with no idea of what they were looking for until they fell upon Shelly Pate Photography who helped them organize their modern and sleek elopement. 

With Mike himself acting as their officiant, the venue being in the state where they met and live together, and takeout from their favorite wine bar—which they fell in love with after a trip to Barcelona—these two made sure that their ceremony was completely unique and personalized. This sunset elopement is the epitome of making sure your special day is all about the love you and your partner share. Bonus points in this case that it also happens to be absolutely stunning.

Shelly Pate’s Take on the Day

“Jenna and Mike have known all along that New Years Day would be the day they chose to become man and wife. Besides all of the significance of the start of a new year, it was also the day that they found their way back to each other a few years ago and rekindled the love that was always there.

When I  met them, they were just in the beginning planning of their day; they had not even chosen where they were going to get married. I immediately sprang into action because I love helping plan these intimate elopements to perfectly reflect a couples’ values and personality.

They two met and live in DC so they really wanted to exchange vows in a spot that celebrated that. They wanted to keep their ceremony private, so it was just the three of us on the balcony at sunset overlooking the city as they became husband and wife. DC is a self-solemnizing state so they married themselves! Their closest friends were waiting with champagne to celebrate the night away with the new Mr + Mrs!”

The Couple:

Jenna and Mike

The Wedding:

The Line Hotel, Washington D.C

Wedding Day Advice

My advice would be to do what feels true and right for yourselves as a couple – I think in planning a wedding it is very easy to have a lot of opinions thrown at you and ideas of what is traditional or trendy at the moment and that can sweep you up and make it harder to objectively think about what would make you and your partner the happiest.

The Couple’s Most Memorable Part

I think the most memorable part of the day was our vows and Mike marrying us. I had a loose layout of the day in my head and I thought that we would get ready and then do a first look and then take pictures around the hotel so that after we returned to the suite balcony to do our vows we could immediately start celebrating afterward. As any good plan goes, however, we got a little behind schedule and by the time we did the first look it was close to sunset and we would lose the daylight to do our vows on the balcony if we took pictures first. We decided to spur of the moment just do it right then, which made the vows feel really spontaneous and special (even on a planned elopement day).

Why the LINE Hotel DC

Besides loving the look of the Line Hotel in D.C., we were also excited to get married in Adams Morgan because it is the first place Mike and I lived together in D.C. We also didn’t want to pay a venue fee or deal with jumping through a lot of hoops with a venue since we were having a small planned elopement. We were able to privately say our vows outdoors looking at the DC skyline (with a reliable backup in case of bad January weather), have beautiful decor and backdrops for photos, eat, play music, and dance with a couple of our friends, and have somewhere to stay over rather than just going back to our apartment on our wedding night. It was pretty one of a kind to get all of those things in one venue!

 

The Wedding Team:

Photography – Shelly Pate Photography
Venue – The Line Hotel, D.C.
Floral Design – Wander and Whimsy
Catering – Barcelona Wine Bar
Cake – Bake and Wired
Makeup Artist & Hair Styling – Megan Monahan
Wedding Dress – Laudae Bride
Bridal Accessories – Jimmy Choo
Groom’s Apparel – Indochino
Rings – Vrai and Oro

 

Congratulations again to Jenna and Mike on their special day. And big thank you to Junebug member Shelly Pate Photography for sharing this rooftop elopement with us! To see more of Shelly’s work, check out her profile in our directory of best wedding photographers in the world!

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