5 months later and I’m finally getting around to this one. Honestly, I’m fine with that. If you have followed me on IG, you knew it was a lot of work, effort, drama to get our wedding to go without a hitch. COVID honestly made it quite the experience. We got engaged February 2020 and married 14 months later. May 1, 2021 was right when vaccinations were opening to the general public and the delta varient wasn’t a thing yet. We did not push our date even once. I didn’t care if it was going to be 20 people or 220, May 1 was when we were getting married.

The only thing that did change was the venue. Our original venue was a location in the city that was basically completely shut down and could not guarantee anything. We ended up changing to a golf course in the suburbs. I had to let the “city wedding” dream go and just roll with the punches. My best piece of advice is to choose vendors that will make it happen, NO MATTER WHAT. Enjoy some photos and more things I learned along the way.

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Getting Ready: The bridesmaids and I all got ready at my parents house. For bridesmaids gifts, I got the girls getting ready outfits from Piyama, Kate Spade earrings for the day, a monogrammed makeup bag from Etsy, and treated for hair and makeup. Being a bridesmaid is expensive, so I wanted to take the stress of hair and makeup off them, so they could enjoy themselves. The shoes in the above photo are Sarah Jessica Parker and I actually did not even wear them for my wedding day. They were my rehearsal shoes, with my wedding shoes being not as cute (no one sees them!!). My dress is Anne Barge Dreamweaver and I purchased it at a local boutique at home, Elizabeth Johns.

Ceremony: We got married at St. Denis in Havertown, PA, where my siblings and I all went to 1-8th grade. People are always kind of surprised to hear we were getting married in a church, as it’s not the most POPULAR thing to do anymore, but it will always be so special to me since that’s where I grew up. It was fun to have all my family and friends together there.

The Wedding Party: I like to think I was a super “chill” bride. Lol. To be honest, I wasn’t even sold on a whole bridal party thing… and I definitely did not want matching dresses. I told all the girls to get a floor length black dress and send it to me before they purchase or decide. I didn’t disagree with any of their choices. I think they looked amazing. Cohesive, but not matching. AND they can all wear their dresses again for a different event! The guys wore tuxs’ from The Black Tux.

Details + Reception:

Wedding Planner: Shannon Wellington Weddings
Florist: Jollifier
Band: Elevation by BVT Live
Photographer: Asya Photography
Venue: Aronimink Golf Club
Hair & Makeup: Aleksandra Ambrozy
Design: House of Catherine

When we switched venues, we went from a high ceiling, white marble city venue to a dark, country club vibe. We used tall greenery on the outside tables and hot pink flowers on the inner tables to give some height and color throughout the room. We also hung greenery on the chandeliers to soften the “old school” feels. I was obsessed and dead set on clear acrylic chairs and to this day, I’m happy about that decision. Our table names were all California streets, which I thought was a fun way to include the West Coasters. The band was a hit and everyone truly danced the entire night. Flowers will change the game, so if all else fails, put your money there. People always say - things will go wrong. And yeah, they did. Items didn’t show up, vendors aren’t always honest, the cake had a smudge… but what are you going to do? At the end of the day, it really was the best time ever.

A full blown wedding post