Cool, Stylish & Fun Wedding in Philadelphia - with Lots of Meaning

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Today’s real wedding is a special one. It’s quite literally brimming with ideas and advice for giving your wedding both awesome style and serious substance.

Rocking the coolest Rue De Seine wedding dress and a suave suit and sunnies, Krysta & Bradley got married in Philadelphia with a fun wedding that showcased their city beautifully.

The couple created a celebration that wasn’t just a reflection of them and their life together, but a collaboration with their families and a tribute to their late parents too.

From their gorgeous florals and romantic decor to their modern attitude to wedding planning and clever details, swoon over these gorgeous pictures by Pat Robinson Photography, but do make sure you read the story behind the day from Krysta & Bradley too.

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How We Met

Oh boy! We met at work (juicy, I know)…I had just started in the department and quickly became friendly with Brad, who had been with the company for a while.

We had always just been friendly coworkers until we made plans to go to a concert together (strictly as friends). I remember it very clearly… it was a very hot summer night and we were seeing the band Japandroids at a small Philadelphia venue, Johnny Brenda’s.

We had so much fun! We instantly clicked and all the stars aligned, so to speak.

Brad and I started secretly dating after that and we were a couple for nearly a year in secret!

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The Proposal

Brad is from the Pacific Northwest and we take a yearly vacation to Portland to visit his friends and family. My father passed away in March of 2015 so we thought that it would be a good idea to bring my mom, Janet, with us on our trip in June.

We nearly always make plans to see a new part of the PNW so this go around we decided to take a road trip to Crater Lake National Park, a 4-5 hour drive south of Portland. So we hopped in the car on June 1, 2015 with my mom and Brad’s good friend, Aaron (who is a photographer) and took the drive to Crater Lake.

Little did I know Brad had a ring burning a hole in his pocket the entire five hour drive down!

When we got there we immediately hopped out of the car by the lodge to take a look at the lake. It was cold and foggy but quite breathtakingly beautiful. I realized that Brad and I were totally alone and BOOM he got down on one knee and proposed. Of course, Aaron snapped some beautiful photos of the whole thing!

I was in tears, Brad was in tears… it was such a happy moment.

I turned to find my mom when I saw her standing next to a woman in a baseball cap… they were both clapping and I thought to myself “what is this stranger doing?” I then realized it was my sister, Margaux!

Brad helped her secretly plan the trip to Crater Lake via way of Portland without me ever knowing! More tears came after that.

It was such a fun day/night! We popped out Cabo Wabo (my dad’s choice of drink) and had a fancy steak dinner at the lodge. It was perfect.

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Our Wedding

We knew we wanted to mix non-traditional elements with the traditional; Brad and I wanted to create an event that our families would be proud and apart of, but also, an event that reflected Brad and I as a couple.

We are easy going and wanted to create a beautiful and relaxed environment.

White and neutrals have always been my favorite colors to wear so I was immediately drawn to an organic colour palette: nude, creams, blush and smoky greys rooted with natural and vibrant greens with a pop of peachy pink.

Florals were rooted in vibrant green ferns, eucalypts and other natural greenery. The green made the peach and white flowers really pop.

The ceremony took place at the oldest Catholic Church in Philadelphia, Old St. Mary’s. It’s such a beautiful and cozy little church in the middle of old city – perfect for our wedding.

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Advice for Other Couples

Wedding Wire… Green Wedding Shoes… The Knot… all very helpful.

My biggest advice is to find a way to collaborate with your parents and family to create an event that is special for all of you. It’s not just about you and your big day, it’s about everyone.

When I realized that, all the craziness and potential anxiety around planning melted away! It became really easy and fun.

We were able to really utilize our friends and family to help with the big day which also helped with our budget. Don’t feel shy to ask for help!

We also secured our venue while they were running a special and got money taken off our bill. I would definitely look into all of the options before saying yes to a venue.

And when it comes to your wedding party, don’t feel like you have to have a certain number of bridesmaids or groomsmen… if you want three then have three, if you want 20 then have 20!

You want to have all the people you care most about in the wedding.

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The Photography & Videography

Brad and I knew Pat Robinson through work and knew he would be a perfect fit to shoot our wedding.

We had no formal plan of where we wanted to take our portraits; only that olde city Philadelphia would be a perfect place to walk around and take photos (weather permitted).

The church and the venue were only a short walking distance from each other so we thought it would be fun to go with the flow and walk from the church to the venue, finding different nooks and streets to take photos as we went.

Pat was totally into the idea which made everything stress free. We told him we did not want to miss cocktail hour and Pat got us there right on time!

The weather was beautiful that day and all our photos came out fantastic.

I had done a lot of research on videographers and wanted a company that would capture our day as it was and not add any over the top filters while editing. Wellspun had beautiful videos so it was an easy choice after reviewing their portfolio.

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The Style

My bridesmaids all wore different dresses of their choosing ranging in color from nude to blush to grey. It worked perfectly in our photos. The groomsmen (and one bridesman) wore grey suits that fit perfectly with the rest of the colors in the palette.

Our nephews, Colin and Ben, were heartbreakers in their bowties and checkered Vans slip-on sneakers. Their outfits were one of the firsts I picked out.

At some point I knew that I wanted to wear sleeves…it must have been after hours of searching over blogs and Pinterest that sleeves were it. I had so much fun dress shopping!

I got my dress from Lovely Bride Philadelphia – perfect for boho brides like me! We had so much fun trying on gowns, even gowns I’d never choose just for the fun of it.

I knew all along I wanted Roxy by Rue De Seine. She fit like a glove and was so light – perfect for dancing!

Brad and I went to pick out his suit together, which was a really special bonding experience. I learned a lot about menswear! Brad looked dashing, standing out in navy with a brown tie and brown pocket square.

Instead of gifting him with a watch or cufflinks on our wedding day, I gave him classic Ray Ban Wayfair glasses to top of his look for the day.

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The Decor & Details

The Olde Bar was the perfect venue! It was the first place we looked at and encompassed an old-school Philadelphia vibe.

There were multiple elements to the venue that created such a special environment for our wedding, starting with the beautiful bar with all its original features.

Matt Muscarella understood my style immediately and created a gorgeous setting for our guests, both at the church and at the venue.

The décor was romantic but not over the top; leafy green florals and plants adorned the room that was light up perfectly with café lights. We rented a farmhouse table for our head table which Matt draped with a natural greenery down the middle which served as a runner. It was perfect!

We hired a band, GoGo Gadjet, who literally rocked the house all night! All our guests had a BLAST! They played crowd favorites and some of Brad and I’s most loved songs.

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The Honeymoon

We did not… we actually just planned our honeymoon! Brad and I are headed to Thailand in April!

I’m so glad we decided to take time after the wedding instead of trying to plan a honeymoon right after the wedding. I think I would’ve went cross eyed trying to plan everything! We are indecisive people and went back and forth on a honeymoon spot so many times.

Thailand presented itself to us at the perfect moment and I don’t think we would’ve thought to go to Thailand if we were planning to wedding at the same time.

It also helps with spending too much money at once, ha!

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Favourite Moments

Favorite moments… that’s a hard one!

Both Brad and I lost a parent… Brad’s mother died when he was 19, and my father recently passed away back in 2015. Instead of doing a father/daughter dance and a mother/son dance we did dedication songs.

The band played Thunder Road by Bruce Springsteen in memory of Joe, my dad, and Old Time Rock’n Roll for Glenda, Brad’s mother. All our guests met us on the dance floor and sang every word to each song! It was happy and genuine; so much dancing and love in the room.

We secured a secret room where no one could find us where we spent some time with each other and our wedding party before we welcomed our guests to the cocktail hour. It was really special; just taking the time to be together before the madness began!

All of our married friends told us to spend a moment together alone and it was the perfect advice.

While getting ready at the hotel before the wedding, my good friend Whitney asked to swing by with her gift. She came up, poured some champagne and I opened her gift. It was a custom made embroidered jean jacket that I died over! It says “Mrs. Jones” on the collar and “STA” (which is my nickname) on the back… one of my most cherished possessions now.

My dad was an avid cigar smoker, and on special occasions he popped out the Cabo Wabo to drink with the family.

We had a cigar bar during cocktail hour where we provided our guests with hand rolled cigars from my dad’s favorite smoke shop. All the cigars went in a flash! I was shocked!

We also had Cabo Wabo available at the bar (we had to special order it) for our guests to enjoy. Well, we kicked the Cabo by the end of the night! My sister even incorporated shots of Cabo for us during her Matron of Honor speech.

I got to sing on stage with the band! My friends and I went to see the band play a lot during college and the few years afterwards around Philadelphia.

They would always play “Poker Face” by Lady Gaga when it first came out and would pull me on stage to sing with them. Well, of course they had to play Poker Face at the wedding! And they pulled me on stage! It was so fun!