Real Wedding - Pennsylvania
ABC Member Planner: Lynda Barness, MBC™, I DO Wedding Consulting, www.idoplan.com, lynda@idoplan.com.
Photographer: Lauren Fair Photography.
Non-member businesses involved: Salon Salon (hair); Old St. Joseph’s Church (ceremony); Positano Coast (rehearsal dinner); Vincent James Band (entertainment); Big Events (draping rentals); Abominable Productions (videography); Robertson’s Florist; Ralph Archbold (Ben Franklin impersonator); The Franklin Institute (reception); Frog Commissary (catering/dessert); Brown Betty Bakery (cupcake favors); Paper Source (invitations); Philadelphia Trolley Works (transportation).
The couple: Lori is an obstetrics and gynecology resident at The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and Erik is an investment risk manager at PNC Bank. Both Erik and Lori grew up in the suburbs of Philadelphia and spent many years in the city during their schooling. For their wedding, they wanted to share their love of the city.
Wedding date: Sept. 28, 2013.
Inspiration: The couple wanted a clean, classic event with a touch of sparkle. They wanted an event that wouldn’t go out of style, yet offered a bit of panache to make everything special.
Color palette: Eggplant, silver, and white.
Guest count: 132.
Most unique design element: The bride and groom were inspired by The Franklin Institute, a science institute. They wanted to host the wedding there so it would be in a unique space that was interactive for guests. Family and friends were able to discover their inner scientists at the exhibits during cocktail hour and then dance in Franklin Hall. The couple also incorporated their love of Philadelphia in unique ways including: a “Pick a seat, not a side” sign at the ceremony; framed banner with engagement story propped up and displayed; old family photos of weddings (about 20 hung by glittered clothespins of all the married couples beneath a sign saying, “Today we follow in the example of your love”); a Philly Love station, filled with mini cheesesteaks, soft pretzels, and calzones, during the cocktail hour; cupcakes used as escort cards; a Ben Franklin impersonator at the venue, and much more.
Biggest challenge: Three weeks before the wedding, the person with whom the bride had been dealing with at the venue—who was very detail-oriented and customer-focused—left and a new person stepped in. This caused stress for the bride and her mother. We simply went over the details again and again!
Learnings: This bride had terrific attention to detail and wonderful ideas for including personal items. But more than that, she had detailed instructions for everything (during our final walkthrough, she even measured how high she wanted the string holding the photos over the cake table to be!). This wedding is a reminder to have complete instructions for the placement, display, and use of personal items.
