Lisa and Ken are a traveling duo but Philadelphia will always be a place that they call home. Their Philly-centric wedding day was filled with incredible moments, pure bliss, and love that could spread for miles. Papertini, (a master magician of quality) brilliantly executed every artful conception of this couples dreams! The lovely Bellevue Philadelphia hosted the intimate reception in their Rose Garden Ballroom which was nothing less than excellence. In addition to a golden color palette with hints of emerald, ivory, and black every detail was a pretty sight of whimsical perfection!
From the Bride: “Ken and I met in high school. We both went to different schools but met through mutual friends. It was the middle of our senior year and neither of us thought it would last that long. We both were accepted to colleges 6 hours away. As the months dwindled and we were preparing to head off to college, we decided to give it a try since we had such a strong connection. Although the commute was always hard, we stayed together throughout all four years. Our junior year, we both studied abroad the same semester in Rome–we still laugh that it was the only time we lived in the same city. We were able to travel and experience the world together. We spent our four years visiting each other at school and then our summers working at the beach together. After college, we made Philadelphia our official home together. It’s rare to stumble upon high school sweethearts, but we are happy we’ve had so much time together.”
“Our theme was whimsical elegance. We are both laid back people but wanted to have a formal wedding, letting everyone get dressed up and have a great time. The day went exactly as we wanted, without any bumps and all happiness. We chose black for my bridesmaids. Black is classic and their dresses could be worn any way they wanted. We added hints of a dark emerald and ivory and gold. With a November wedding around Thanksgiving, we didn’t want to fall into the typical color scheme.”
“I’ll also remember our first look photos. Headed to the garden we were going to take pictures, we stopped in front of a concrete wall. A passerby stopped to let us take the picture without infringing. When we were done, he told us that he lived in the building and asked if we wanted to take pictures in his private garden. Asya’s eyes lit up. The garden was absolutely stunning and it was all ours. I walk past this building everyday on my way to work and it is truly beautiful. We were so lucky to stumble upon our magic garden!”
“Our ceremony was at the Basilica Cathedral of SS. Peter and Paul. We knew we wanted to have a traditional Catholic wedding. The church that was closest to our apartment at the time would be going through renovations on the date of our wedding and couldn’t host us. We had visited a few churches in the city and then walked into the cathedral. Immediately you are enthralled with the beauty of the cathedral. We knew not to get our hopes up since it was only a year away and we knew the dates went quickly. We were lucky that our date matched up and booked it immediately. The cathedral was the perfect beautiful background for our ceremony. “
“When looking for the location for our reception, we knew we wanted a location that made 200 guests feel intimate. Our families are big and 200 was the minimum we could invite. We sort of stumbled upon the Bellevue. We looked at their ballroom which again, was a little too large to give that close knit feel. I asked if they had any other locations and they led us into the Rose Garden room. This room, even without tables and chairs, took our breath away. We wanted a bright room with a warm feeling and this gave us just that. Located in center city Philadelphia, right on Broad Street and up on the 19th floor, we fell in love. We immediately booked it and knew it would be the perfect gathering for our special day. “
“We like to surprise each other, and what better way to do so than your wedding! We were unsure of what we wanted our wedding song to be–there are so many great songs and we truly love all types of music. So, trusting my soon-to-be-husband, I let him choose the song and was to be surprised during our first dance. Since we had been together for 8 years, there were many songs we claimed as ‘ours’ over time. Our favorite song in high school was Dancing In The Moonlight by Toploader. I knew Ken wouldn’t pick this one. At the heart of your wedding day, it truly is about the two of you. Knowing both of these things, I talked to my vendors and planned to surprise him with a private first dance. I told him we should take the room in before it’s filled with people and the night gets away from us. As we walked in, the band was playing Dancing In The Moonlight and he looked at me, baffled as to why they would be rehearsing with that song. I told him the real reason and he was thrilled. It was so nice to have a dance to ourselves before the chaos of the night ensued. It also brought us back to our times in high school when we dancing in the middle of the street! “
“Our florist [Papertini] took our vision and ran with it. Our day showed all of those touches from her flowers down to the chargers for the plates. We tried to add personal touches everywhere we could. Instead of table numbers, we put street names where we have either lived on or that were important to us. Around my flowers, I had charms my sister gave me that included the names of my grandparents that couldn’t make it. We had a photo-booth as our party favor so that guests could take home their own memories from the night. We were very lucky that our ceremony was performed by Ken’s principal from high school, who we have remained close with over the years. We wanted the day to be stress-free and full of fun, which every moment was.”
Vendors | Florist – Papertini | Ceremony Venue: Basilica Cathedral of SS. Peter and Paul | Reception Venue: The Bellevue, The Rose Garden Room | Photographer – Asya Photography | Wedding Dress Designer – Justin Alexander | Shoes – Kate Spade | Bridesmaids Dresses – Jenny Yoo | Men’s Attire – Calvin Klein | Jewelry (including rings) – Rings: Bernie Robbins, bracelet: family bracelet | Cake/Dessert – Whipped Bake Shop | Catering – Bellevue Hotel | Music – Barcelona, EBE Entertainment | Stationery – Papertree Studio | Transportation – Philadelphia Trolleyworks |