New Year’s Eve weddings are the perfect occasion for new beginnings! Barn on Bridge was a befitting destination which set the rustic mood for this festive holiday fete. This bride dazzled us with her champagne, gold, and classic white color palette, that was especially adorned with fur accessories and noisemakers. Laura and Chris rang in the new year as newlyweds, and every part of this celebration was photographed by talented Magdalena Studios. We absolutely adore this bride’s style and all of the special moments that truly made this day unique.
How They Met:
“We met at the same company while living and working in DC. Funny enough, both of us ended up in Washington after college due to past relationships! Thank goodness that didn’t work out well, as we both became single around the same time and hit it off months later. We definitely knew who each other were, making eye contact and brief “hellos” at corporate happy hours, but didn’t officially begin dating until Halloween 2012, after a night out – in COSTUME and everything 🙂 The rest is history.”
The Proposal:
“Shortly after Chris and I started dating, he got an offer to move to London for our company and ramp up a newly opened international office. While the idea of long distance is definitely scary, we decided that we would give it a try. With “work” trips and the ease of calling his extension without incurring long distance phone bills, we made it work! After two years, Chris moved back to DC and six months later, he proposed right before our company holiday party. Chris planned a sweet, romantic dinner in our apartment before the big party. Our company goes all out for these events, so we were dressed to the nines. After he proposed, we met our friends at the nearby hotel for drinks and while I thought I was going to surprise everyone with my new rock, all of my friends and family were waiting for me with bottles of champagne. Chris had made all these plans, and the holiday party turned out to be a big engagement party for us – and very fitting, since we met at work! All of our co-workers and friends have always been so supportive and it was special to spend that night with them.”
Wedding Planning:
“Now that I work from home, planning a wedding wasn’t as stressful as I would have thought. I had a lot of time to Pinterest, research and shop online without a commute, etc. However, after we got engaged, we moved to Colorado and we were tasked with planning a wedding from cross-country as we chose Philadelphia, my hometown, to host our big day. Additionally, we picked NYE (which fell on a Saturday in 2016) so there was pretty much a premium on every venue we looked at. I would say the biggest headache was the guest list! It’s so hard to narrow down the list with such big families. I always wanted a smaller wedding, but we ended up with 150 which at the time felt pretty big! Everything worked out wonderfully, but my advice to any couple here would be to DO WHAT YOU WANT! It’s your day.”
“My favorite memory from our wedding day was the ceremony. I can’t tell you how nervous I was. SO nervous! I don’t love being the center of attention, but I feel like our ceremony was very special and fitting for our relationship. I always saw myself having a big Catholic Mass, but since my husband isn’t very religious, we opted to host our ceremony at the barn, in a heated tent with draped string lights. My bridesmaids walked up to “Make you feel my love” by Adele – I don’t think that there was a dry eye in the room! My dad and I walked up to “Canon in D”, which is a beautiful classic. To make it even more special, my uncle officiated us. He is the editor of the Delaware County Times and an amazing writer. Chris and I didn’t say our own vows, but we had my uncle read off a short blurb that we sent him beforehand reciting what we love most about each other. I will never forget how special I felt in that moment. Chris rarely gets emotional and he was even getting choked up- everything in that moment was so raw and genuine. I would recommend this to people who don’t want to speak up and say their own vows, but have something very personal to say!”
About the Venue | Barn on the Bridge:
“We chose the Barn on Bridge for so many reasons! We visited a lot of different venues, but with only one year to plan, we found that a lot of venues were already booked for the New Year’s holiday. We were so lucky to have found them. They were a short ride to the airport (which was important we had a lot of guests traveling from out of town). My two favorite things about the location were the rustic non-traditional framework of the venue and the FOOD! Robert Ryan is an incredible catering company that owns about 3 venues in the Philly area. I would recommend any of them just for the amazing food and attention to detail. The combo of the three-tiered venue with beautiful Edison bulbs hung throughout and all of the amazing food options provided by the Barn, I would tell any bride to host their wedding there!”
Wedding Inspiration:
“I wanted to tie in the NYE theme, without being too flashy! My husband joked because I would always use the theme, “Crisp, Rustic, Chique” to all of our vendors. I chose VERY little color as I wanted everything to be very clean looking. My bridesmaids wore a light champagne floor length gown, the groomsmen in black tuxes. We had champagne and ivory table clothes/napkins and white flowers. I used eucalyptus garland to dress the head table and as centerpieces, along with floating candles and glass pillar votives. We also had a bit of gold, noisemakers and “NYE Resolution” inspired table numbers. It was very classy and romantic!”
Wedding Planning Advice:
“I mentioned this earlier, but my advice for planning your wedding would be to really truly do what you want. Family, friends and even vendors will have opinions. At the end of the day, you only have one wedding day and you don’t want to have any regrets. A lot of money goes into this one day, so if you want a destination wedding, go for it! If you don’t want to have children present at the reception, hire a babysitter. No plus ones? Totally fine. As for the actual wedding day, make sure to go around to every single table with your husband. We made the mistake of splitting up and there was a good hour where I didn’t even see him! That’s one regret I have, although we did end up having great conversations with all of our guests.”
Wedding Vendor Experience:
“I was VERY lucky to have amazing vendors. Ask for recommendations and don’t be afraid to ask questions. Use websites like The Knot and Wedding Wire, and subscriptions like Philly in Love to get ideas from other brides in your area. We used all local vendors and would highly recommend them to anyone. Underground Artistry made me feel gorgeous with their amazing makeup skills, Magdalena Studios (MK Captures) produced hands down the most incredible photos I’ve ever seen (and now they are hanging up all over my house!) and made my husband and I feel so comfortable from the get-go, Blue Moon Florist truly outdid their selves and Slippery Band had the dance floor full all of the way past the midnight toast. Go with the vendors who seem invested in your wedding day. The industry can be cutthroat and super transactional, so when you find a vendor who truly cares about their work and their clients, don’t let them get booked up! Go with your gut.”
Vendors | Venue: Barn on Bridge | Photographer: Magdalena Studios | Band: Slippery Band | Florist: Blue Moon Florist | Makeup: Underground Artistry | Videography: Clean Productions Co.