Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania | October 19, 2018

This section of my website is reserved for my clients, their days, their flowers. So to be honest, I feel real weird writing about my own wedding here. But now that our one year wedding anniversary has arrived, why the heck not? Here you have it, some snippets from the day Marc and I will never forget.

OUR ENGAGEMENT Back up a minute to Marc’s proposal. First he asked my whole family for their blessing while we were all on a trip to his hometown of Saas-Fee, Switzerland. Dad said okay, but that the real permission lied with my twin sister (ha, true). With all the green lights, Marc planned a visit to his family cabin on Lake Tahoe, our favorite place to get away from the city. On a morning walk on the dock, Marc got down on one knee. As I barely finished saying yes, he said he had one more surprise for me. It turned out he had some of our dearest family and friends (including my sister who flew in from Washington D.C.) waiting on the shore. With that, our relaxing weekend really escalated to non-stop celebrations.

THE LOCATION Once we started planning, we looked at countless (really I’m embarrassed to say how many) venues across SF, wine country, Lake Tahoe, and Philadelphia, where I’m originally from. Knowing we’d be hosting guests from all over, we ultimately landed halfway between California and Switzerland, in Philadelphia. The venue we chose is a drive outside the city and a destination in itself. When it came to choosing a date, Fall on the East Coast can’t be beat.

THE CEREMONY We didn’t anticipate a church wedding at first. But Bryn Athyn Cathedral sits on the same property as Cairnwood Estate, our reception venue, and the Reverend there welcomed us with open arms coaching us through the process. He even ended up joining us at our rehearsal dinner and reception. We strayed from some ceremony traditions. I walked down the aisle to Vance Joy’s ‘Like Gold’. We had all of our guests bless our rings and had our parents join us on the altar for a ‘blessing of the hands.’ We both wrote our own vows and sharing those out loud felt really special to us.

We exited the church to an herb toss, then performed a “baumstamm saegen,” a traditional Swiss-German wedding tradition where the bride and groom saw through a log representing their first obstacle to overcome as newlyweds. From there, the brass section of our band led us all on a second line to Stevie Wonder’s ‘Signed, Sealed, Delivered’ as we walked from the church to the estate.

THE RECEPTION Marc and I have grown to love hosting family and friends over meals, so when planning our day we wanted it to feel like an intimate dinner party — this time just really fancy-pants. Do-able when your venue is reminiscent of a French chateau. Our cocktail hour featured an extra large cheese display topped with mini Swiss flags, aperol spritzes, and hot toddies (a last-minute decision when temps dropped into the 50s). We danced our first dance to Al Green’s ‘Let’s Stay Together’ performed live by our band.

WHAT WE WORE I wore a backless crepe dress with a bateau neckline, short sleeves, and buttons down the length of an extra long train. I wanted something timeless and comfortable, and this fit the bill. I added a cathedral length veil lined with lace for the ceremony, then slipped into a much more dancing-friendly spaghetti strap beaded dress later that night. Marc wore a custom blue suit by Tailor’s Keep in San Francisco and looked realll handsome.

THE FLOWERS Lauren of Belovely was a dream to work with. With my background, and planning from afar, I decided to give her some direction but then fully trust her with the end result. I wanted to incorporate a natural and organic California aesthetic, so she brought in lots of lush greenery and dried grasses. The main hall featured an asymmetrical floral installation above the fireplace and greenery ran down the length of the staircase. Dinner tables were lined with toffee tapered candles and flower arrangements in a palette of neutrals and terra cotta.

THE SETTING Our reception dinner was held al-fresco on the estate’s back terrace, but last-minute we brought in a clear-top tent with heaters for warmth. The evening spanned across the estate’s different rooms, so fireplaces full of candles, sheepskin throws, long farm tables, and market lights made it feel nice and cozy. Clean, modern table numbers sat in wood blocks handcrafted by Marc’s talented woodworking mom.

OTHER STUFF WE APPRECIATED Our wedding party was ‘non-traditional’ — i.e. we didn’t have one, but asked our closest friends to join us throughout the special moments without any added pressure. We all stayed together at Lokal Hotel in Old City, which made it easy to keep the celebrations going the entire weekend. We wanted out of town guests to feel at home, so we hosted a rehearsal dinner over a family-style meal, and a day-after party at Morgan’s Pier where we all enjoyed the fall weather, football, and games. Instead of favors, we opted for welcome bags with Swiss- and Philadelphia-themed treats. Throughout the weekend, it was important to us both that we bake a few quiet moments just us into our timeline — these moments helped to slow everything down and will always be among my favorite.

Our Wedding Day

SUSTAINABLE FLORAL DESIGN FOR MODERN EVENTS

SAY HELLO

STUDIO