On June 24th, Jocelyn & Phil were married in a beautiful ceremony in Philadelphia.  They had a FANTASTIC reception to follow, full of fun details, because if there is one word that describes Jocelyn & Phil, it’s FUN!!

I first met with Jocelyn a year ago, and she told me she was looking for a beautiful but unique setting for her wedding.  She checked out a lot of places, but while she wanted something beautiful, she wanted something off-beat and original at the same time.  When she saw the Carousel House at the Please Touch Museum, she knew she had found her space!  It’s gorgeous – windows all around creating a beautiful view of the city, and has a full sized, working Carousel in the middle of the room.  It’s charming, beautiful, and utterly unique.

Jocelyn and Phil held their ceremony in the front vestibule of the museum, which has a fantastic high ceiling, and is full of architectural details.  We decorated it with just enough floral details to make an impact, but allowed Jocelyn & Phil to truly be the center of attention at the ceremony.  Jocelyn was a truly stunning bride – she looked like absolute royalty, shining in a lush satin wedding gown, with a smile that lit up the room.  The second Phil saw her he couldn’t stop smiling.  The ceremony was perfect – touching and sentimental.

After taking photos in all of the fun places the Please Touch Museum offers (the Alice and Wonderland tea party table, the mini-car, SOO many places!) the guests moved into the Carousel House, which was beautifully decorated with hot pink flowers and touches of navy blue, Jocelyn’s colors.  After enjoying a delicious meal, they truly danced the night away!!  Phil and Jocelyn can party, and so could all of their guests - I felt guilty getting them off the floor to cut their cake!  But the energy picked right back up, and the floor was full all night (except for when guests were taking photos in the photobooth!).  Phil is a country music fan, (Jocelyn’s gift to Phil was a FABULOUS cowboy hat, which he wore during the reception!), and being a country girl at heart, this was right up my alley! 

There were so many fun and unique touches to this day -  the guests riding the carousel, Jocelyn & Phil playing the floor-piano, the personal toasts given by the honor attendants and Jocelyn’s parents.   It was truly one of a kind, fitting of their fun sparkling personalities, and the excitement they were feeling to be getting married (get a glimpse of it here – http://vimeo.com/25699836).  I am so glad I got to be a part of it.  Big thanks go out to BG Productions for capturing the photos and video, to Synergetic Sounds for keeping the dance floor packed, and Cheryl Ann Floral Design for the beautiful florals. 

Jocelyn and Phil – thank you for trusting me with your day.  I enjoyed every single minute of planning with you, and was honored to get to be a part of the day you became husband and wife.  You are such a wonderful couple - please take good care of each other, and keep in touch.

June has been so busy, I haven’t had time to blog about my May weddings!  I’ll start with the wedding of Dawn and Christian, which took place on May 14th, at the beautiful Philadelphia Country Club.

Dawn and Christian met while studying law at Villanova, and are two of the nicest people as well as the hardest workers I have ever met.  While planning their wedding, they were also planning a move to Los Angeles, which would happen almost immediately after their honeymoon.  When they called me for assistance they had most of the planning done, (which included a lot of details, and several surprises for me to keep…) so they were looking for someone to run the day to make sure everything went smoothly.  I was more than happy to do this.

Dawn and Christian wanted to enjoy every minute of their reception with their guests, so they had pictures together prior to the ceremony.  We arranged for a ‘first sight’ moment, and Christian’s face was priceless.  Dawn truly was a stunning bride, and she was so calm!  So excited to see her groom, get the day started, and become husband and wife.  The two of them lit up when they saw each other, and the smiles stayed on their faces the rest of the day.  Their bridal party was fantastic too – tons of fun, excited for Dawn and Christian, and so cooperative!  Truly a wedding coordinators dream

While we had planned for an outdoor ceremony, the weather was not cooperating, so we moved everything inside, which was just as pretty (thank you to Uncommon Events Floral Design for the gorgeous arrangements!).  Their ceremony was made complete by their two ring dogs, Hank and Sophie, the couples dogs who are so important to them (and were thankfully very well behaved – HUGE thanks to my assistant Karen for keeping them occupied all day!).  Their friend and ordained minister presided over the ceremony, which made it very personal and touching. 

Once the rings were on and the ceremony was over, it was time to party!  The reception did not disappoint.  The bridal party was ready to dance, and did from the moment the announcements started (it helped that Dawn chose such fantastic dresses for her bridal party – completely classic and beautiful, and in a cut that allowed them to move and have fun).   After sharing their first dance to Brad Paisley’s “I Thought I Loved You Then,” Dawn and their guests were shown a slideshow created by Christian, which included photos of Dawn and Christian as children, as well as them together in adulthood, showing their journey as a couple.  It was beautiful.  When it came to cake cutting time, we wheeled out a surprise from Dawn for Christian, a groom’s cake in the shape of Kentucky, honoring his alma mater – it was FANTASTIC!!  A total surprise, and an amazing cake! 

So many things made this day unique – the surprises, the packed dance floor, the child guest that sang “Hey Soul Sister” along with the band (Thanks EBE!), and the special toasts given by their loved ones – but the thing I will remember best is the way Dawn and Christian were together.  They were so intent to make this a wonderful day for each other, and were so excited to be getting married, moving to Los Angeles, and starting their adventure as husband and wife.  

To Dawn and Christian, thank you for trusting me with your day.  I had such a good time working with you and getting to know you both.  I hope LA is fantastic, and that your life is filled with love, happiness, and all of life’s blessings.  Take good care of each other.

If you want to learn more about Dawn and Christian, their wedding was featured in the New York Times! http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/15/fashion/weddings/dawn-meyer-christian-keeney-weddings.html