We’re so thrilled to finally share Kate and Bernie‘s modern wedding at Tendenza! Blush and gold combined without flaw all throughout the florals and decor for this beautiful Philadelphia themed event. To bring their vision to life, Maura Rose Events perfectly created the floral arrangements that incorporated subtle hints of blush in a sea of lovely white blooms. This couple also created a hand-painted DIY guestbook that featured the Philadelphia love sign, and we absolutely adore this special detail. The photographs captured by We Laugh We Love Photography are simply timeless and show every beloved moment!
How They Met:
“Bernie and I met through a college friend, a few years back one Sunday while out in Rittenhouse watching a Phillies game (Sunday fundays were frequent for my friends and I at that time). It wasn’t meant to be a set-up, as our friends didn’t even think we would get along! But we quickly hit it off and a week later he called to ask me out on a date the old fashioned way. We went out for sushi on our first date, but I remember we barely ate because we were talking so much. A month later, in the same place where we met watching the Phillies, Bernie asked me to be his girlfriend, and the rest was history.”
The Proposal:
“He claimed that we were going out to dinner at a new restaurant in Philadelphia. When we got out of the cab, I began to wonder where we were headed as there weren’t many restaurants in the immediate area, but didn’t think much of it. As we walked, we arrived at Addison Street near Rittenhouse Square – a tree-lined street that is decorated year-round with white Christmas lights – my favorite place in the city. It was the longest day of the year, the summer solstice, but as day quickly turned to night, the lights on the trees started to glow. We stood there admiring the lights and he suggested that I pose so he could take a picture of me. As I was looking at the photo, he grabbed my hand, got down on one knee and proposed. It was such a surreal moment being surrounded by the lights with just us on the street. Afterwards, we walked to Parc restaurant where he had one more surprise prepared – both of our families were waiting to celebrate. It could not have been more perfect.”
Best Wedding Memory:
“I had so many amazing moments from our wedding day! I would say my favorite was walking down the aisle at the church and seeing him for the first time. We didn’t do a first look, so having those church doors open and seeing each other was a really special experience for us. In typical fashion, Bernie and I were chatting so much during the ceremony, that when the priest asked us a question, he had to repeat himself (because we weren’t paying attention) and everyone in the church started laughing. The ceremony was definitely very ‘us’ and was one of the best moments of my life.”
Wedding Planning Experience:
“Wedding planning can definitely stressful, but it really is true when people tell you ‘enjoy every minute of it’ because it goes so fast. We did a mix of DIY and ordering from vendors. Luckily we had a two-year engagement so we had plenty of time to do everything. My theme was blush and gold with Philadelphia themed decorations and I was really happy with how everything turned out. My favorite DIY project was painting our guest book, which was a giant canvas painted in blush and gold colors with ‘LOVE’ from Love Park outlined on the front. Looking back, the wedding was worth every minute of planning and effort.”
Wedding Inspiration:
“I’ve always loved the way pink and gold go together, so once I chose that as my color scheme, everything fell into place. From the gold bridesmaid dresses, to my blush colored flowers and centerpieces, it really came together nicely. My now husband and I met in Philadelphia and we wanted to incorporate that into the theme, so we included some subtle details like a Philadelphia themed cake and guestbook. I also love the Beatles, so the words ‘all you need is love’ were sprinkled into the décor, along with our first dance song by the Beatles, ‘Something.’ It was important for us to include some personal touches.”
Wedding Planning Advice:
“I have two pieces of advice: 1) Don’t stress about wedding day weather – you can’t control it! 2) Have fun during the wedding planning process. Our wedding day forecast called for rain and I was stressed out because I had no indoor backup plan for photography. On the wedding day it ended up raining only during our photos (figures!). When it did, I didn’t even care. We had so much fun taking pictures in the rain and the sun even came out by the time we arrived at our final photo destination. The weather made our photos so interesting and unique. Second piece of advice – make sure to have fun planning the year before the wedding. The wedding itself is only one day, so enjoy the ride along the way, picking out your flowers, dress shopping, and meeting with vendors. You’ll love being able to look back on those memories!”
Wedding Vendor Experience:
They were absolutely amazing! I have no complaints. Cescaphe Event Group was wonderful and made our wedding experience easy and seamless. Our photographer, Justin, was a blast to work with, and everyone from our florist (Maura Rose) to our DJ (Jon Ardito Entertainment) made the day so perfect. I did not expect to do so much dancing at my own wedding. Everyone says the bride and groom are usually so busy worrying about everything that you don’t get to actually dance, but this was not the case at our wedding! The vendors made everything so stress-free, that we had time to have fun and enjoy ourselves.
Vendors | Photography: Justin Muir, We Laugh We Love Photography | Ceremony Venue: Old St. Mary’s Church | Reception Venue: Tendenza | Floral/Décor: Maura Rose Events | Stationery: Paper Source | Dress Designer/Dress Shop: Watters Wtoo, purchased from Lovely Bride | Catering: Cescaphe Event Group | Cake/Bakery: Cescaphe Event Group, Jenn Roach Cakes | DJ/Band: Jon Ardito Entertainment (JAE) – DJ Royale