Kelly and Rich celebrated the start of their married life together surrounded by their immediate family at the stylish and romantic Terrain at Styers in Glenn Mills, PA. True to her bright nature, the bride looked beautiful in a bright pink dress, her favorite color. Kelly also gifted all of the women in the family a pair of brightly colored galoshes for the occasion, a detail that I continued to notice--and each time--it made me smile from deep inside my heart.
Kelly in her bright pink wedding dress.
On their first date, they met at a seafood restaurant in Princeton,
NJ. Kelly remembers an immediate connection as the conversation flowed
easily with Rich. They were the last people to leave the restaurant.
Rich, the crouching tiger.
“Being
with Kelly felt natural”, Rich remembers waking up one morning, and
just knowing that this was it. They were engaged that first year.
Living
and working in two different cities over the past six years, nothing is
taken for granted, “we cherish the time we have together” Kelly shares.
And the time that they do get to spend together has been magical.
Because
of the intimate and private atmosphere of the day, Rich and Kelly
looked to include their family as much as possible when we created their
wedding ceremony. Kelly says, “I couldn’t have taken this step in my
life without my family with me.”
Paying tribute to their close
relationships with their parents and siblings, guests were active
participants and invited to create their Circle of Love, participated in
each blessing the couple’s rings and taking vows to support Kelly and
Rich as they embark on their new path.
Ring Blessing: everyone took turns putting their best wishes, hopes and dreams for the couple and their marriage, into the rings before Kelly + Rich exchanged them.
Inspired by how honey can
keep unspoiled for thousands of years, Rich and Kelly ensured that the
first kiss of their marriage was a sweet one, by dabbing a bit of honey
on the others' lips just before the end of the ceremony.
Kelly + Rich prepare to make the first kiss of their marriage a sweet one, by dabbing honey on each others' lips.
Tahni Candelaria-Holm, of Brooklyn-based Joyeuse Photography captured
so many beautiful moments, scenes and interactions during Rich +
Kelly’s wedding day, it was very difficult to limit the photographs to
share. Here are some more of my favorites:
First Look First Hug
A shoe for any weather. Kelly gave galoshes to all the women in the family.
Kelly wore this bracelet with a special charm that remembered her mother who had passed away.
The rainy day ceremony space at Terrain was dreamy.
Their family gathers around Kelly and Rich to create their ceremonial space.
Paper flower bouquets + colorful galoshes.
Paper flower bouquets form the Circle of Love around Rich + Kelly.
air plants in an indoor living terrarium
Rich + Kelly's ceremony inside a terrarium.
Honey fingers for a honey kiss.
The whole family gathers to celebrate Kelly + Rich.
Kelly's new mother-in-law gives her a pearl necklace while her new husband kisses them on her neck.
Qibao + galoshes. This stylish combination will stay with me always!
(May 29, 2014) In celebration of Pennsylvania’s recognition of marriage equality, wedding industry professionals have come together to provide free wedding ceremonies for couples who desire to make their partnerships legal in the Keystone State. Celebrants Alisa Tongg and Lois Heckman will be officiating the civil wedding ceremonies for free on a first come, first joined in marriage basis, Monday June 9th at the Hotel Fauchere in Milford, PA.
This will be the second pop-up wedding event created by Alisa Tongg. Her first, prompted by her sister’s need to make her marriage legal, was held just days after marriage equality was adopted in New Jersey. Tongg encourages couples to bring their friends and family to witness the “I dos” and offers, “Of course, signing of the marriage license will be a ritual included in each ceremony performed that night. This is a big moment.”
Heckman, who has been officiating weddings since 2004, says “Marriage equality is a core value of mine and to finally have reached this milestone in Pennsylvania is exciting. Being a part of this event just feels right. It is an honor to marry couples who have waited for this moment and deserve all the legal rights that should accompany their commitment to one another. Alisa had a beautiful idea and I'm proud to be a part of it.”
The free wedding celebrations will be hosted at Hotel Fauchere in historic Milford, PA. Sean Strub, community leader, activist and co-owner of the hotel says he “loves the idea” and is excited to have the Hotel Fauchere play a role in celebrating the advancement of marriage equality. The hotel has already commissioned a wedding cake from The Patisserie’s pastry chef, Julie Smith and plans a champagne toast for all the newlyweds to mark the occasion.
Susie Forrester, fine art and wedding photographer will be on hand to capture the heartfelt and historic moments for the participating couples.
Pop-up Nuptials Monday June 9th, 5-7pm Free Civil Ceremonies Officiated by Celebrants Alisa Tongg + Lois Heckman -One Night Only- First come, first joined in marriage Hotel Fauchere 401 Broad Street Milford, PA
ALL couples
invited. Must present a valid PA marriage license.
BYO:
witnesses, vows, glass to stomp, broom to jump or other wedding ceremony
tradition.
Complimentary
wedding cake and champagne toast for the newlyweds.
The American astronomer and astrophysicist, Carl Sagan is known to have said that, “the nitrogen in our DNA, the calcium in our teeth, the iron in our blood and the carbon in our apple pies were made in the interiors of collapsing stars. We are made of star stuff.”
For Katherine and Phillip, two self-proclaimed nerds, a wedding under the stars was just the thing. The couple, who first met as freshman at Carnegie Mellon University, exchanged vows at the Fels Planetarium and celebrated the start of their marriage at Philadelphia’s science museum, the Franklin Institute.
Through the course of their relationship, Phillip and Katherine figured out how to pursue their education and career goals, all the while planning on a future together. Katherine says that during those talks about grad school and summers spent apart, “there was never any concern about us not taking the next step together…it was always just going to be and nothing ever made me think differently.”
Their ceremony included a reading of Edward Monton’s A Lovely Love Story, tributes to Mobot racing and romantic days spent meandering through museums, and concluded with seven wishes for the couple under a canopy of shooting stars.
Here’s an excerpt from Katherine + Phillip’s grand celestial finale…
Shooting Stars + Modern Blessings
Among the most spectacular sights of the night sky are shooting stars. Legend has it that wishing upon a shooting star makes the wish come true.
That legend is believed to have originated when Greek astronomer Ptolemy, wrote “the gods would occasionally, out of curiosity in human affairs, peek over the edge of heaven and sometimes, stars would slip out of this gap, becoming visible as shooting or falling stars.
In that instant, since the gods are already looking at us, the rift between their realm and this one is momentarily opened and they can hear anything you say to them. But you have to state your wish out loud while the star is still flying through the sky. Because, when it disappears, the opportunity is lost.”
The proper name for a shooting star is a meteor. A meteor is a tiny piece of space dust that heats up when it hits the Earth’s atmosphere. This collision causes the debris to glow brightly and create a shimmering trail of gases. Surprisingly, shooting stars appear every night, whether or not we make ourselves available to see them.
In an attempt to witness one of the handful of major meteor showers which happen each year, Phillip and Katherine, on more than one occasion, have taken their blankets, cameras and open hearts into a field to watch the night sky.
We can extrapolate lessons about love and marriage from what experts recommend star-gazers do to increase their chances of witnessing this beautiful celestial phenomena. Maybe the legend about why we wish upon stars, gleans it’s advice from this: If we approach our hopes and dreams for the future in the same way we intentionally go out to see a meteor shower—set aside time, prioritize comfort and nourishment with an eye on endurance, seize the moment when the conditions are finally right, keep our hearts open and orient ourselves in the right direction—wishes are fulfilled.
For many, the act of wishing on a star is akin to offering a prayer. And as Phillip and Katherine take your first steps together as a married couple, I offer you these wishes for a blessed life…
"May this couple choose to see beauty in the world around them and find
the courage in their partnership to build and pursue their dreams
together."--Alisa Tongg, Celebrant
"May you be best of friends, with years of happiness as numerous as the stars in the heavens."--Alisa Tongg, Celebrant
Carl Sagan is also known to have said, “For small creatures such as we, the vastness [of the universe] is bearable only through love.” Having found that with Phillip, Katherine says that they “never want to let that go.”
And a special thank you to Simon at The Fels Planetarium, who helped to visually illustrate all of the well wishes friends and family had for Katherine + Phillip as they start their married life together, by arranging the viewing of Henry Jun Wah Lee's breathtaking time lapse video of the 2010 Geminid Meteor Shower from Evosia Studios.
Lauren and Ryan first met as students while at Bloomsburg University. “I knew he was the one from the moment I met him” Lauren admits, “Every time I saw him I would get butterflies, and it still continues to this day.” And after they met, Ryan says, “the rest was history”.
Lauren and Ryan exchanged vows under a beautiful fall-inspired flower and branch chuppah at HollyHedge Estate in New Hope, Pennsylvania. At the end of the ceremony, Ryan enthusiastically stomped on the glass to the delight and cheers of “Mazel Tov” from their guests.
Ryan and Lauren had both lost beloved grandparents and relatives, and wanted to make sure each lost loved one was remembered at the wedding.
Lauren reflects back on where they found meaning as they planned their wedding, “I really wanted to involve a lot of remembrances into our wedding ceremony and reception. Ryan and I are both very sentimental people and hold deep meaning with objects or things passed down to us from our family. We wanted these little details to be a part of our day, and while some of our guests might not have known the meaning behind them, we still knew they were there and it was those little details that I loved so much throughout our day!”
“These are the hands that
leave you little love notes around the apartment and bring you your
favorite chocolate when he returns home. He’s your soul mate, and your
perfect counterpart. This is the man with whom you want to spend your
life.”—Alisa Tongg, Celebrant
"Her bouquet was wrapped with a piece of beaded lace sleeve taken from
her mother’s wedding dress and secured with a beautiful heirloom cameo
that had belonged to her great-grandmother on her father’s side."
Lauren says, “I knew from that beginning that I wanted to wear blue flats as my
something blue. I had found a perfect pair and can thank my cousin for
giving me the 'sixpence in my shoe.' When I was wedding dress shopping
with my cousin and Matron of Honor, we learned quickly that there is
more to the saying --- 'Something old, something new, something
borrowed, something blue... and a sixpence in your shoe' for extra good
luck!!!"
A thoughtful and family-oriented bride, Lauren had a piece of her grandfather Edmund’s handkerchief sewn into her dress, her bouquet was wrapped with a piece of beaded lace sleeve taken from her mother’s wedding dress and secured with a beautiful heirloom cameo that had belonged to her great-grandmother on her father’s side.
At their reception, Ryan and Lauren had a table prominently displaying framed pictures of their parents, grandparents and great-grandparents on their wedding days, and even had marriage certificates over 100 years old as well as framed quotes about love and family. One of the framed quotes was from Maya Angelou: "Life is not measured in the number of breaths we take, but in the moments that take our breath away."
Another quote that Lauren loved was from a Mumford & Sons song called Awake My Soul, “In these bodies we live, in these bodies we will die. And where you invest your love, you invest your life”; we used it to introduce their wine sharing ritual within their wedding ceremony.
It’s not uncommon on days of great happiness and joy to think of those who cannot be present, so Ryan and Lauren also included, a formal Remembrance in their wedding ceremony where their loved ones who were no longer living were acknowledged; their names were said aloud for all in attendance to hear.
Father of the Groom, John Mowatt, kisses the happy couple's rings during the Ring Warming.
Guests were also invited to participate in a Ring Warming. Ryan and
Lauren’s rings were passed through the crowd, giving each person the
opportunity to place their personal blessings and prayers into the rings
before the couple exchanged them later in the ceremony. Lauren says,
“We included a lot about everyone who was no longer with us, but it
meant so much to us to have all of our friends, family, and loved ones
put their love and positive vibes into the rings that we wear everyday.”
The most meaningful remembrances however, aren’t always publicly orchestrated demonstrations; they are often private symbolic gestures whose meaning can be lost on an outside observer. When Lauren first called me to talk about the wedding she was planning, she informed me that she and a few of her bridesmaids would all have visible tattoos in their dresses, and then asked if I had a tattoo policy? It didn’t take long to realize in that initial call, Lauren was a very tender and loving person; she had a reason for everything.
“The tattoo on my shoulder holds a lot of meaning for me and helped me believe that my Grandfather, Big Ed was there in spirit. I was extremely close to him and we lost him unexpectedly in August 2010. I decided to get a tattoo of a Mickey Mouse pocket watch in his honor and it helped me get over the devastating loss for our family. When my brother, cousin, and I were younger we all chipped in and got my Grandpa a Mickey Mouse watch (Mickey and Big Ed share a birthday!) and he never took it off. Big Ed was there on my wedding day, I see him in every picture of me.
It's funny because before Ryan and I met, each of our family's have said that our lost loved ones become butterflies. There were plenty of butterflies around the day of our wedding while the girls and I were getting ready and it was just an incredible feeling know that we were surrounded by love!”
Lauren and Ryan assembled an amazing team of artisans to bring their dream wedding to life:
Flowers/Chuppah: Mark Mainville and Tony Verdi http://chartreuseflorist.com with help from Barbara Hammond (a family friend) 215-439-8665
Makeup: Tina Collins at Make Me Glam
Hair Stylist: Stephanie Voce (267)939-2861
Isabel March Photography artfully captured the magical moments of this family wedding and celebration.
