Michelle & Daniel’s Wedding Day Highlights

My absolute favorite moment from Michelle and Daniel’s wedding was the moment they shared a kiss on Broad Street as they stood waiting for the light to turn green. They both wrapped one arm around the other and shared a perfectly normal every day kiss – these two are so happy in their city of Philadelphia together!

Most of our wedding day with Michelle and Daniel (Neil) took place at the Hotel Palomar in Philadelphia. Every floor in this hotel seems to have different decorations (to jive with the Art-Deco theme of the building). Such a cool place to get ready, get pictures, get married, and get partying! Michelle deemed the Hotel Palomar “weather-proof” – meaning there were a ton of great places to snap pictures throughout the building,

The bride and her four bridesmaids finished hair at Mirror and Mantel early enough to grab some sandwiches on their way back to the hotel (grilled cheese anyone?). Alana, a friend of the bride, did the makeup in the bridal suite as the ladies laughed and joked, mostly at Neil’s expense, and the morning seemed to melt away with many smiles. Michelle was anxious to get into her Paloma Blanca designer gown, purchased from Angela’s Bridal, and to meet up with Neil for their first look!

Just a few floors below Michelle, Neil was starting to get ready. As he got ready, the room had an incredible sense of calm. Don’t get me wrong, it was clear Neil was excited to see his stunning “wife to-be” but at the same time there was a feeling of ease as we calmly donned his Men’s Wearhouse tuxedo. With a little help from his groomsmen Neil fastened his tie, put in his cuff links and headed up to the top of the building to see his fiancé for the first time. With a few minutes to spare, Neil sat for a few individual photos while we talked about their plans for their honeymoon and jobs after the wedding. After a few images, Neil headed to a large window which overlooked the city. As he overlooked the city you could almost see he was thinking of the their first date, and the journey they had taken together to get to their wedding day.

Their first look was perfect. Michelle gently grabbed his arm and pulled him to turn towards her. Before he even started to turn towards Michelle, Neil’s face turned into a smile as soon as he felt her touch on his arm. He pulled her in for a first look’s kiss and then checked her out from head to toe. Of course her gown was spectacular. Her jewelry highlight piece was a custom made necklace that was short in the front and dangled down her back to highlight the open back of the wedding gown. Her earrings, as well as her wedding rings, were purchased from Northeastern Fine Jewelers.

We made great use of the empty top two floors for photos of the almost-weds. We explored their ceremony space as well as the space that would later be utilized for cocktail hour. They were really excited to head over to Rittenhouse Square with their family and bridal party. It was particularly important to the bride and groom to take photos in the park because it is a place they often spend time together on the weekends in the city. The air was brisk, but everyone in the bridal ensemble was excited to take a walk around the city (even on a cold day). Since it was such a chilly November day, we finished quickly at the park and took our quick detour spot over to the Broad Street medium for a photo of Michelle and Neil. This is their “anniversary” spot for photos so it was very much appropriate to snap a few shots of the duo in this very iconic spot. As I mentioned in the first paragraph, this is where we snapped my favorite photo of the day – I just love how casual Neil is holding onto his almost-wife and her Maura Rose bridal bouquet.

We headed into the ceremony on a very happy note. Though she was nervous, Michelle carefully had her long veil pinned into her hair and took her father’s arm to be escorted down the aisle at the Hotel Palomar. The ceremony was sweet and to the point – Reverend Kathleen did an amazing job capturing the personalities of the newlyweds in the words she shared with the 80 guests. Once they sealed their vows with a kiss, it was time for them to exit into cocktail hour and mingle and greet all their friends and family.

The ceremony space at the top of Hotel Palomar was quickly transformed into the reception hall. Tables were rolled in and set with beautiful simplistic center pieces – orchids and cala lilies floated in water. The room was perfect for the party that the newlyweds were ready to have that evening. DJ Dance Daddy was ready for the dance crowd at the wedding. By far the best decision by the newlyweds (besides marrying each other), was to forgo the traditional wedding cake and opt in for Beiler’s Donuts instead (yes, those are those amazing donuts you oogle every time enter Reading Terminal Market. What a delicious treat to share with their guests!

Michelle and Neil, what can we say? Thank you for sharing your wedding day at the Hotel Palomar with us! You’re surrounded by so much love from your family and friends, we know you two will find great adventures everywhere you go together!

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