Philadelphia Estate Wedding

If this Philadelphia wedding isn’t the height of intimate elegance, we don’t know what is. Emily and Edith hosted their beautiful nuptials at Cliveden, an estate overflowing with natural beauty and lush scenery. Thanks to The More We See for capturing all of the lovely details!

From the brides, Emily and Edith: We wanted the wedding to feel elegant and intimate. Having delicious food and great music were our top priorities. We also aimed to have a very locally sourced wedding and found wonderful Philadelphia area vendors to partner with. At the time of our wedding, same-sex marriage was not yet legal in Pennsylvania. We had a small legal ceremony on April 27 with our immediate family in New Jersey. What we called our “real wedding” was on May 17 with a larger but still intimate crowd where we exchanged vows and rings. It was important to us that we celebrated our love in front of our family and friends in the city where we met, fell in love and call home.

Flower recipe: Blue thistle, lavender lilac, blush spray rose (“Bombastic”), white astilbe, purple waxflower, snowball viburnum (green), salmon matsumoto aster, fresh lavender, ranunculus (range of colors from blush to salmon), blush/white peonies, Chablis spray roses, hosta leaves, and rhododendron.

The wedding color scheme was green. We were married in May so the trees at Cliveden were a lovely new-leaf green and we wanted to play off that color. We both love nature so we wanted the wedding to feel as outdoorsy as possible. The ceremony was outside, the cocktail hour in the grass and we had a clear topped tent so guests could even be among the trees at the reception. For the favors, Emily made Christmas Crackers for each guest to pop after the toasts. They were stuffed with paper crowns, salt caramels that Emily made and riddles that Edith put together representing the Balentine Ale caps of the beer her dad liked to drink. Emily’s dad and grandmother made Spirytus – a family tradition of polish vodka cut with honey. This was used instead of a champagne toast. Edith’s sister made a gluten free the cake, which was used for the cake cutting. Emily’s sister made props for the photoboth and her dad made lawn games. Edith’s college friend sang during the ceremony.

Any advice for couples planning their weddings now? Stay organized from the beginning! We had multiple spreadsheets to track guests, payments and projects which helped us keep sane throughout the process. Pick vendors that you like and enjoy working with. We had a great team around us which made the planning a lot of fun and the wedding amazing. If you can, have your wedding close to home. We could have done the wedding in a state where it was legal but it was a huge benefit during the planning process to live a few miles away from most of our vendors and location.

See Also

Lush Philippines Wedding With Lilac and Plum Blooms

Wedding Music:
Processional: Over the Rainbow
Ceremony: “Heavenly Day,” Patti Griffin (sung by our friend Carly Walker)
First Dance: “That’s How Strong My Love Is,” Otis Redding
Dad/Brother Dance: “The Way You Look Tonight,” Frank Sinatra
Cake Cutting: “Ice Cream,” Sarah McLachlan
Last Dance: “Feel So Close,” Calvin Harris
Sparkler Send-off: “Non, Je ne Regrette Rien,” Edith Piaf

Wedding Location: Philadelphia, PA / Photographer: The More We See / Florist: DIY by Emily’s mom, sourced through Falls Flowers / Event Planning and Catering: Birchtree Catering / Venue: Cliveden / Wedding Dresses: Maggie Sottero via Bijou Bridal / Hair and Makeup: Edith – Volume Hair Studio; Emily – Follicles Hair Design Center / Wedding Cake: Stocks Bakery and Edith’s sister / Ice Cream: Weckerly’s Ice Cream / DJ: No Macarena / Officiant: Bob Pileggi of Journeys of the Heart / Wedding Invitations: Our friend Chris Beck designed and produced the invitations / Transportation: Philadelphia Trolley Works