Maas Building Philadelphia Wedding
A bride and groom with style for miles, a penchant for bright colors, and opted to visit a bowling alley for pre-ceremony celebrations? Sign us up pronto. Alli and Dan’s wedding day was more of a jovial celebration than traditional fanfare, bringing together the talents and offerings of Shannon Collins Photography, Natalie Diener, and Blooms by the Box to produce a true wedding for the books.
From the bride, Alli: When putting together our wedding, Dan and I contemplated for a while on what exactly we wanted our wedding to feel, look, sound, and taste like. We wanted the day to reflect what we loved the most: each other, our friends and family, delicious beer, yummy pizza, pretty things, and goofy dancing. We felt that it was important to make the event laid-back and approachable so the day could really be about the celebration. After sharing our lives together for over eleven years, we knew that the day would not only reflect us, but all the amazing, lovely community that we have shared our lives with over the years. We felt that the day should be an awesome party to share our gratitude to those that have watched us grow together and supported us through both the highs and lows. To extend the day even further, we had originally planned for a picnic in the park for fun games and mingling. The early rain that day had us move locations to North Bowl but it did not put a damper on our spirits. The community event turned out exactly how pictured.
Our wedding was playful, eclectic, warm, and colorful. We didn’t have a theme or a color scheme. We thought it would be fun to have the colors reflect the time of the year. We mixed patterns with colors, but stuck close to hues of pink with splashes of orange, teal, and gold. Given our budget and love for projects, we designed and produced most of the details of the day. My talented sister made the save the dates. We made teaser invites by hand and sent out goofy video invitations ourselves. We created the wedding programs on Paint and Word. We cut and sewed the strands for the backdrop and my sister helped build the structure for the backdrop. We have loved Dan’s mom’s famous Christmas cookies and were so thankful for the hundreds of cookies she provided for our wedding desserts. We painted and planted the succulents that we used for decor and later for guest favors. We created a DIY bar and Dan’s brother served as the bartender. Our Inner Circle that served as our wedding party came the day before the wedding to come set up chairs, tables, and decorations. After recycling vases from my sister’s wedding, we purchased flowers online and our talented friends arranged each of them. All of our friends were amazing in all of their support throughout the entire weekend.
Any advice for couples planning their weddings now? Always keep in mind what is most important to you and your partner. Secondly, though, remember that this special day is a time shared with your lovely guests. That means, mix your music list up, keep your old Aunt Sue refreshed if it’s 99 degrees outside, and provide food for all your Vegan and Gluten Free friends. We spent months preparing the event nearly independently, but we knew that in order to truly enjoy the day, we needed to bring on some help. It was so great to have someone we trusted to take care of setting up the bar and lighting the candles so that we could kick back and relax with everyone.
View all images from this wedding in the gallery
Wedding Music:
Bridal Party Processional: “Marry You,” Bruno Mars
Couples’ Processional: “Tonight You Belong to Me,” Steve Martin and Bernadette Peters
Candle Lighting: “Married Life,” from Up
Recessional: “Crazy In Love,” Beyoncé
Wedding Location: Philadelphia, PA / Photographer: Shannon Collins Photography / Day-Of Coordination: Natalie Diener / Flowers: Blooms by the Box / Succulents: Succulents Galore / Venue: Maas Building / Bowling: North Bowl / Get Ready Location: Wyndham Hotel / Wedding Dress: BHLDN / Floral Crown: Kate Farley Design / Wedding Shoes: Swedish Haasbeens / Earrings: Anthropologie / Hair: BLO/OUT Dry Bar / Bridesmaids’ Dresses: Anthropologie, Kohls, Urban Outfitters, Boden, BCBG / Shirts and Pants: Old Navy, J. Crew, Nordstrom, Urban Outfitters / Bow Ties: TangledTiesBowTies, JustBowties, HaydenHarlowPR, Infiniteabyss / Groom’s Shirt: Nordstrom / Groom’s Pants: Gap / Groom’s Belt: Old Navy / Groom’s Bow Tie: TangledTiesBowTies Groom’s Shoes: DSW / Hors D’Oeuvres: Whole Foods / Food Truck: Pitruco Pizza / Soft Pretzels: Philly Pretzel Factory / Drinks: BJs / Alcohol: Binny’s Beverage Depot and Frank’s Wines / Cookies: Groom’s Mom / DJ: Michael McElroy / Transportation: First Charter Bus
This wedding is so fun and colorful. I love it!
That floral crown is a refreshing alternative to the standard tiaras that you see at way too many weddings! It brings me back to my days in San Francisco and the care-free spirit I miss so much. As an older woman planning my second wedding in a world full of new technology and plastic everywhere, its refreshing to see something as simple and classic as flowers being used in this way.
Nice photography!