Ganga + Joe, Dreaming Together

Joe and Ganga wanted a wedding ceremony that would tell their love story while combining the traditions from their Catholic and Sri Lankan Buddhist cultures. They were married at Philadelphia’s Top of the Tower this summer, surrounded by family and friends who had traveled from all over the world to witness the start of their marriage.

The best of both worlds, the bride wore two dresses for the occasion.

For Joe and Ganga, when love came knocking, it was easy to let it in. When Joe and Ganga met for their first date, they made plans to meet for drinks at the Black Sheep Pub, on the corner of 16th + Spruce Street. This particular location was selected because Ganga and Joe had discovered that they lived in the same neighborhood, on the same street, just two blocks apart. Joe was Spruce + 17th and Ganga was at Spruce + 15th. 

Leading up to this date, Ganga’s sister Dunisha, impressed with everything she knew about Joe and his genuine nature, was excited for Ganga and encouraged her by saying, “now THAT sounds like the kind of guy you need in your life!”

Ganga with their dog, Daphne

Conversation flowed easily between these two, and Ganga says, “Needless to say, it was a great first date.” Joe agrees, and says that “since our first date, we have been inseparable … we do everything together.” He says, “since that first date, things still continue to get better and better.” Living so close was certainly an advantage and they developed a very close bond early on. It didn’t take long for them to realize they were perfect for each other. 

Shortly after they moved in together, Joe left work early and came home to clean up and prepare for Ganga. He lit some candles, made sure “Marry Me” by Train was playing softly in the background and when Ganga walked in the door, he was holding a ring box. Joe went down on one knee…but then he says, in the weight of the moment, his mind went blank and he “completely forgot what he wanted to say.” Thankfully as a doctor, Ganga is used to reading vitals signs and physiological clues – and she understood Joe perfectly and accepted. They spent the rest of the evening calling friends and family and enjoying a take-out meal so their dog Daphne could celebrate with them.

The high-fiving couple, Joe and Ganga, made sure that their pup Daphne was also represented on their wedding cake.

 

Their Wedding Ceremony Joe and Ganga stood on a traditional Sri Lankan poruwa or “wedding stage” as way of honoring Ganga's Sri Lankan heritage as well as their desire to build a family together.

Remembrance: A week before he passed away, Ganga's father, Indran Ranasuriya told her that he "would send someone to her". And he did, just a few weeks later Joe came into Ganga's life. Always close to her heart and in her thoughts, as a remembrance to her father, Ganga had a brooch pin made with her father's portrait and fixed it to the bouquet she carried throughout the celebration.

Nuptial Knot In this beautiful Sri Lankan tradition the bride and groom’s pinkies are bond together with a golden thread. This is done as a reminder that the bond of love is a precious one, but one that is fragile and must be protected and cared for. Water is used to bestow a blessing of purification on the new commitment. Ganga’s Uncle Ranjith was asked to tie the couple’s nuptial knot using this delicate gold thread, then said a marital blessing as he poured water over their bond pinkies--making sure to collect all the drops in this heirloom brass pitcher and bowl set.

As the Joe and Ganga’s pinkies were still bound, three bridesmaids delighted everyone by singing two verses from the Jaya Mangala Gatha, bestowing a traditional blessing on Joe and Ganga.

"These are the fingers that send you loving texts throughout the day so you know he’s always thinking about you,…and the hands that retrieve out-of-reach items from the top shelves in the kitchen, twist open your bottles of Diet Pepsi and bring you back gifts when he’s been out.” --Alisa Tongg, Celebrant

Joe places a wedding band on Ganga's finger, "She's warm and friendly, hardworking and organized, intelligent and very goofy. She's got an infectious laugh and you love her dimples when she smiles. Everything Ganga does, is done with love. She's the 'sweetest, funniest and smartest person' you know."--Alisa Tongg, Celebrant

"May your future be a bright one, and may your love for each other provide an example to those around you."--Alisa Tongg, Celebrant

At the conclusion of their ceremony, Ganga and Joe lit an oil lamp to signify the start of and their shared hope for a bright and energetic future.

For the future, Joe says that he hopes that they “will keep joking and having fun as they grow old together.” And Ganga adds, “I honestly wouldn’t have it any other way. He’s my best friend. We do everything together, we want the same things in life and want to achieve those dreams together…”

Joe and Ganga are congratulated by their sisters.

 

Thank you to Anthony Duca, for being so generous and sharing these images from Joe and Ganga's colorful and lively wedding celebration. All photographs by Duca Studio.

Lori + Erman, Modern Day Fairytale

This spring, Erman and Lori tied the knot at the scenic Lake House Inn in Perkasie, PA.  A warm, fun-loving and good-natured couple, they inspired me to tell their ceremony love story like I’ve never done before--in the style of a fairytale. Delighted by the story, many of their guests asked the newlyweds for copies, so here it is--Erman and Lori’s modern day fairytale as told in their wedding ceremony moments before they exchanged vows, warmed-rings, and a honey kiss…

"Once upon a time, The Hotel Bethlehem threw a ball to celebrate a new year in the kingdom. It was at this festive party, that a dashing prince named Erman first saw the most beautiful maiden from across the room, our hero just knew that he had to meet the mysterious beauty before the clock struck midnight.

In their fairytale, the beautiful princess arrived at the ball, looking elegant in her gown and high heel shoes. She was fashionably late of course. The Princess Anastasia, for that is what she called herself when she was out of her castle (so she could remain disguised to suitors unworthy), wanted to partake in the Kingdom’s magical love potion, called a “cosmopolitan”.

Through feats of bravery and directness, Princess Anastasia was able to finally secure the precious potion for herself in a glass vessel, while her friends cheered from the other side of the ball. But before she could drink of the potion, and return to the safety of her ladies in waiting, a mischievous magic carpet came to life and grabbed ahold of Princess Anastasia‘s heel, sending her body forward. But would she spill the potion?

The handsome prince, who had been watching the lovely princess from the moment she had arrived at the ball, had been impressed with how she bested the Kingdom’s Keeper of the Potions so swiftly to secure the delicate glass vessel. And now, this moment, the test of physical feat as well as character—The prince watched in amazement as the princess, snared by the trap of the carpet, tripped, “almost fell flat on her face and magically avoided spilling her cosmopolitan!” He was impressed.

The princess, embarrassed but also impressed with herself, looked around to see if anyone had seen her misstep, she saw the prince then for the first time. He was smiling at her. She smiled back. Then she returned to her ladies in waiting.

The prince was captivated by the princess and waited for just the right time to make an introduction. When the prince and princess finally found themselves face-to-face on the dance floor, the princess still was in disguise. “I’ve never seen anyone with as much grace, charm and flexibility” said the prince, “I must know who you are. What is your name?”

“Anastasia”, answered the princess.

“That is not your name!” The good-natured prince had burst out laughing, and it surprised the princess for no one had ever seen through her disguise before.

"I take you to be my best friend, my faithful partner and my one true love. I promise to encourage and inspire you and to love you truly through good times and bad. I will forever be there to laugh with you, to lift you up when you are down and to love you unconditionally through all of our adventures in life together."

After the prince proved the seriousness of his intent—he danced with the princess throughout the night, made introductions to her friends, brought her more potions, the princess was finally ready to reveal herself to the prince. She said, “My name is Princess Lori." But before she gave the prince all the details to her castle, she warned him, “Whatever you do, you must never text me.”

Oh, our poor prince, perhaps under the influence of too much magic potion himself, disregarded Princess Lori’s warning. He couldn’t get the captivating princess out of his head and sent a text at 4:30 in the morning. And just like that, a spell was immediately cast that made it impossible for either to see the other.

Then one day, after several weeks had passed, the princess was reminded of the powerful charm of the prince’s smile at a chance encounter. Second chances were given and spells broken when the prince picked up the telephone to ask Princess Lori out on a sushi dinner date. From that moment on, “the rest” Erman says, “is history.”

Throughout the years, Lori + Erman have continued to find ways to impress and excite each other as they’ve bonded over many shared interests, travelled to and hiked in exotic lands and enthusiastically rooted for the Philadelphia Fliers, Penn State and the Chicago Bears together. They continue to bring out the best of each other as they grow deeper in love.

On the fifth Anniversary of their fateful meeting, Erman and Lori celebrated with a New Year getaway at Woodloch Lodge. Their day was perfect--they adventured out on their first snowshoe hike and enjoyed the scenery of the wintery mountain lake landscape, took naps and relaxed in the hot tub. Over dinner they reminisced about their favorite moments spent together and what they were looking forward to in the future. As the clock slowly approached midnight, they played the A-Z game, listing all the favorite places they had been to together.

Finally, as the count down drew near, Lori and Erman stood up from their game to hug and kiss. Lori noticed that Erman was only embracing her with one arm, so she stepped back to see what was wrong. There, at the start of this new year, Erman went down on both knees, opened a ring box containing the most brilliant diamond ring in all the land, and asked Lori to marry him. Surprised and overwhelmed, she said “Yes!”

“May you continue to be a strong team and may your life be filled with enough sweetness and love so as to last a thousand years.”—Alisa Tongg, Celebrant

When they returned to their room, a banner that read “Lori and Erman forever” had already been hung to announce their plans to live the rest of their lives as husband and wife. And it is this intention, to be joined together in marriage that brings us to this moment…"

Congratulations to Team LAPEAT! 

We all had so much fun working with the Douglas Benedict Photography, who photographed so many bright moments on the way to Lori + Erman's happily ever after.

Amber + Joe, All The Little Things

Amber and Joe, scientists who first met at a local university in 2010, celebrated the start of their married life, surrounded by their family and friends this summer at the scenic Blue Mountain Ski Resort.

"She makes me happier than I've ever been in my entire life or even thought possible."-Joe

LOVE STORY Not long after Amber moved to the area, she was invited to work happy hour-- it was there that she met Joe for the first time. Over drinks, Joe and Amber gravitated to each other, discovering they had a lot in common. Still thinking of Amber, the next day, Joe dropped off a book they had discussed the night before, and being friendly, offered to show her around town.

After that first meeting, Joe and Amber started spending more time together, they’d go running together or grab a couple drinks after work. Joe says, “I guess I started thinking to myself that these were ‘dates’ when on one occasion, I went to ask Amber to happy hour, something we had done several times before, but as I walked to her office, I suddenly realized I was nervous. I reconsidered, turned around, and walked back to my office…at least part of the way,” he remembers, “I think I turned back around two or three times and paced a few steps before I decided to finally knock on her door and ask if she wanted to get a drink.” Amber had plans to go for a run later that evening, so she agreed to go out, but just for an hour.

That night, one hour turned into many. Joe and Amber bonded over all they had in common: family backgrounds, professional interests and worldviews. Conversation flowed easily late into the evening, Joe says “they clicked” and Amber never went for that run.

Processional: Amber honors the relationship she has with both parents by coming into the ceremony with her mother and father.

In the coming days that followed, as these two spent more time together, Joe says, “it became increasingly clear to me that Amber was someone very special…I was amazed at how easy it was to spend time with her…being with Amber felt like the most natural thing in the world.”
 
Amber says, “When it came down to it, I knew he was worth the chance. I had never experienced the kind of connection that we had.” At the end of the night, as they were saying their goodbyes in the parking lot, Joe leaned in and kissed Amber. From that night on, Joe and Amber spent as much time together as they could, and never ran out of things to talk about. 

"Amber, the man whose hands you hold loves you very much. He’s romantic, adventurous, nerdy and goofy, protective of your heart and a little bit of a neat freak. He absolutely adores you."--Alisa Tongg, Celebrant

Both Joe and Amber realized that their feelings for each other were quickly deepening. It wasn’t long before Joe told Amber that he loved her, and Amber said she felt the same way. He says, “we both fell hard and fast. Once those words were spoken, we started making plans for a future together.”

Amber and Joe hardly had the chance to settle into life together before Joe’s work called him to Minnesota for a research position. They were forced to decide how to handle a long distance relationship. “Never wavering in their commitment to make their relationship work”, they tried to see each other at least twice a month—taking turns on who would make the weekend flights between Minnesota and Pennsylvania.

Passing The Sign Of Peace: "Today two families and a great group of friends are all coming together for Amber and Joe..."-Alisa Tongg, Celebrant

Amber remembers that they talked everyday too. They used Facetime and Skype to greet each other in the morning, and send kisses to each other at night.

Sometimes they would even leave Facetime or Skype on in the background when they were at home. Amber says, “it just made it seem like we were in the same room, even if we weren’t even in the same state…we’d have Skype dates where we would cook dinner at the same time, and then sit down to eat with each other.” They’d even watch movies together, trying to synchronize the start times so they could react to the same scenes together. “It wasn’t always easy,” Amber says, “and we missed each other a lot, but we did a pretty good job of making the best of the situation.”

After living apart for six months, Joe found a job back in Pennsylvania. Since then, they haven’t been apart.

Ring Warming: Amber and Joe invited all their guest to bless their rings before they exchanged them. During the ceremony, family and friends passed their rings, each adding their silent prayers, hopes and wishes for the couple and their marriage.

About a year after returning home, Amber and Joe went out for dinner at the same restaurant where they shared their first kiss and their relationship began. On the way out, they talked about how difficult it was to imagine life without each other, and discussed what they wanted for the future. At that moment, Joe got down on his knee and asked Amber to marry him. Amber said, “Of course I will!”

“Joe, the woman whose hands you hold loves you very much. She’s silly but determined, generous and trusting, she has an incredible intellect and caring attitude toward everyone she meets. She makes you happier than you ever thought possible.”—Alisa Tongg, Celebrant

To demonstrate their commitment to nurture their bonds and invest in their family, the couple planted a flowering dogwood tree in their wedding ceremony. Around the roots of this tree, they used soil brought from their childhood family homes in Michigan and Pennsylvania.

Amber says, “I hope we always treat our relationship as something that needs to be actively cared for and cherished…and that we always grow.”

Amber says that, “I don’t think romance requires one grand gesture after another. For me it is all about the little things and Joe does so many little things everyday to show me how much he loves me… He makes all the hard and bad days easier and all the good days so much better.”

SEVEN STEPS INTO THE SUNSET Joe and Amber have thought quite a bit about what they hope for the future. I love how serious and thoughtful they are when considering all the things that life may bring. When I asked Amber what her hopes were for the future, she said,"I hope we will travel together to lots of interesting places and experience lots of new things. I hope that we will maintain the relationships that are important to us and that we will make many new friends together. I look forward to continuing to build a home together. I hope to move to a house with a bigger yard so Joe can have a dog. I hope we keep running together and help each other stay healthy...More importantly, I hope that we always treat each other with kindness, love and respect. I hope that we always make time for each other, even when all other parts of life make it hard to do so. I hope that we always support each other in whatever personal undertakings we try, but that we always grow together...I hope that we are patient with each other and with ourselves. I hope that we always turn to each other when things get hard or one of us gets sick. And I hope that we always keep our hearts open to each other."

As a grande finale to their ceremony, seven friends were selected to each bestow a special blessing upon Joe and Amber--guests enthusiastically tossed rice and lavender as Amber and Joe took their first seven meaning-filled steps into their married life together.

Amber says, “Joe is my best friend and he is the one I want by my side through all of the good and bad parts of life. With Joe, I feel secure; secure in myself, secure in him, secure in us and our future together.”

Thank you to Denise Weaver for sharing these sweet photographs of Joe and Amber's thoughtful wedding.