Venue: Material Culture
Dress: Saja
Hair and makeup: Oggi Salon & Spa
Suit: Enzo Custom Clothiers
Flowers: Blossom
Wedding Programs and Posters design: Irving Navarro
Posters screenprinting: Jeff “Ralph” Stallenwerk
Catering: Catering by Miles
Band: Toy Soldiers, Stuart McClamb from The Love Language
DJ: DJ Handsome Sam
Officiant: Rabbi Joysa Winter
Ketubah: Jennifer Raichman
Rings: Bario Neal
Ice Cream: Weckerly’s
Donuts: Federal Donuts
Signature drink: Art in The Age‘s Rhuby + ginger ale.
Second photographer: Dustin Fenstermacher
Other details: Couple’s friend Scott Hattis sung Sam Cooke’s “That’s Where It’s At” when they walked down the aisle and friend Andy Dalzell (aka “The Doge”) sang The Zutons’ “Valerie” when they walked back up the aisle.
I knew I was going to like Rachel and Josh’s wedding from the very start. They chose a very unique Philadelphia venue, Material Culture, for their ceremony and reception. It’s basically a huge warehouse filled with antique furniture and other beautiful objects (clothing, incense, statues). I LOVED the idea of it! We started the (rainy) day at Loews Hotel, where we did some photos on the 33rd floor with a great view of the Philadelphia skyline. Then we did some portraits of Rachel and Josh in the amazing rug gallery at Material Culture, which was also where their reception took place. It was truly special. And their celebration was really fun, with good bands, lots of dancing, delicious buffet-style dinner, ice cream and donuts instead of a traditional cake and a hookah lounge. Thanks Rachel and Josh for letting me be a part of your celebration!
A few words from Rachel and Josh about how they planned their wedding:
“Josh and I never really had a vision for our wedding. We just knew that 1) we wanted it to be a really big party with the main focus on all things Philly and food, booze, and music, and 2) we wanted it to not be in a hotel or other common wedding venue. The first time we walked into Material Culture, we knew we had found the place, and we signed the contract and put down the deposit within a matter of hours! The folks at Material Culture were incredibly easy and helpful to work with. Any random/wacky questions and ideas we had – could we get married in the rug gallery, could they provide and build the chuppah using materials in the store, could we have a hookah lounge area – were all met with a “yes.”
Josh and I have lived in Philly for 15 and 13 years, respectively, and we have fallen in love with this City. Our wedding almost became a mini celebration of Philadelphia, and we were happy to show off so many things about the City to our guests. The venue, the food, the flowers, the desserts, the main band, and the rings were all Philly. We also were happy to feature so many of our incredibly talented friends throughout the wedding, from the singers who sang as we walked up and down the aisle to the designer of the programs and posters to our DJ.
Check out Rachel and Josh’s pre-wedding shoot at Reading Viaduct!