Wedding Romance Blossoms at the 200+ Year Old Bartram’s Garden
Philadelphia Pennsylvania seems like a large and bustling city, so when Joe and Lexi decided they wanted to have a quaint and classic garden wedding the challenge was to find the perfect venue. Bartram's Garden checked all their boxes and more! As the oldest botanical garden in the United States this lovely venue is full of history and cute little nooks and crannies that made this wedding day absolutely unforgettable!
You can catch all the wedding romance as it blossoms at the 200+ year old Bartram's Garden when you visit the full gallery here! If you loved the beautiful photos that captured the love on this sweet summer day be sure to check out Brittney Raine Photography.
Old Garden New Love
From Brittney Raine Photography: Lexi and Joe threw a June garden party wedding! They wanted their day to showcase the historic elegance of Philadelphia in a romantic, fresh way - and they did just that. They started off getting ready at the classic Hotel Monaco, had their church wedding at Old St. Mary's, and wandered around Old City for photos before ending up at the reception.
Bartram’s Garden is a hidden gem nestled in the western part of the city - with an old stone patio, city views, meadows, and quaint gardens, and it was such a gorgeous space for Joe and Lexi to celebrate with their closest friends and family. Their goldendoodle, Tate, even had a guest appearance, bow tie and all!"
Favorite Wedding Moments
From the Bride: One of our favorite parts of the day was after cocktail hour but before the reception took place. We were waiting outside of the ceremony in the garden for a few minutes before we were "announced" for the first time and were completely alone. This was the only time we were truly by ourselves the entire day and got to just talk and take it all in for a few minutes before the celebration began!
Throughout our day we would also intentionally take a few seconds here and there to just look around and appreciate being surrounded by all of our loved ones who came to celebrate with us. We knew it was one of the only times in our lives when all of these people would be together, so we tried to take in all the faces and little moments.
Popping The Question
In love with this adorable couple and their big day in Philly? It couldn't have happened with out one little question. Are you curious to find out just how Joe asked Lexi to marry him? Just keep reading to get the whole romantic and adventurous story!
Joe carried the ring for ten days around Nicaragua before he proposed on the very last day of our trip after hiking to a secluded beach on a tiny tropical island. To get to the island we had to take a small plane, then a cargo boat (rough seas had cancelled the usual speed boats) with the locals. It was well worth the effort and a perfect end to our adventure!
Some Solid Advice
From the Bride: Always overestimate in general, which we thought we did but didn't realize scotch and desserts would be such a big hit. We bought all of our own alcohol which is always a challenging task for a large party, and ran out of scotch. At the time it seemed like a big deal but then we realized the people who are drinking that much scotch probably wouldn't care if they switched to bourbon . We also had a dessert table with cake and a lot of delicious small bites which went really fast and we probably could have used more. Joe and I didn't get a chance to try most of them and wished we had put some aside beforehand!
Joe wished he would have broken in his dress shoes more since he got some terrible blisters (from so much dancing)!
There were a few family friends who came to the wedding who we thought weren't coming simply due to miscommunication. They sent their RSVPs back in the mail and replied "yes" but they never made it to our house and a family member told us they couldn't make it. So when we saw them on the day of the wedding we realized we didn't have a placecard or table for them which was slightly stressful. Thankfully our caterer/coordinator took care of it right away and it wasn't an issue at all as we had space at some our the tables. Make sure you check and re-check your guest list.
The transportation from downtown Philly (where our ceremony was) to our reception was late so cocktail hour and reception timing got changed a bit. There was not much we could do about that on a Friday evening with heavy traffic. If you're planning a city wedding always assume there will be traffic and delays if any travel is involved and factor that time in.
- Cake Topper: Lovebirds Goods
- Cakes & Catering: Diverse Catering
- Cakes & Catering: Whipped Bakeshop
- Dog Bow Tie: Four Black Paws
- Fashion: Bride: Watters “Penelope”
- Fashion: Bridesmaids: Jenny Yoo "Bridgitte"
- Flowers: Love 'n Fresh Flowers
- Groom & His Men: Groom: Enzo Custom
- Groom & His Men: Groomsmen: Jos A. Bank
- Health & Beauty: Daneene Jensen and Associates
- Lighting & Entertainment: Bachelor Boys Band
- Paper Goods & Calligraphy: B.T. Elements
- Venues & Officiants: Bartram's Garden
- Venues & Officiants: Hotel Monaco
- Venues & Officiants: Old Saint Mary’s Church