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The amazing crew at Peach Plum Pear Photo are back with another treat, this time in the form of a gorgeous real wedding hosted in the wonderfully unique Philadelphia event space, Material Culture.  Seeking a modern wedding with a more offbeat flavor, Rachel Meadows & Joshua Dubin honed in on the eclectic space with exotic flair & bountiful cultural touches.  With the heart of all things Philadelphia driving the couple as their main inspiration, Rachel & Joshua were able to work with local vendors {many who also happened to be close friends!} to craft a day that personified the tagline “Beer, Food, Music, Philly”.  Forgoing a traditional cake, a doughnut tower from Federal Donuts was a fun focal point with  Weckerlys Ice Cream serving as the perfect accruement.  As far as unique wedding spaces goes, the Material Culture is completely aces as well as being wonderfully inspirational.  Its easy to see why Rachel & Joshua found it to be their perfect place!

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Novella of the Bride…

Wedding Buzzwords ~ Beer, Food, Music, & Philly
Specialty Cocktail ~ Art in the Age “Rhuby” + Ginger Ale

Josh and I have lived in Philly for 15 and 13 years, respectively, and we have fallen in love with this city.  Our wedding 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 band, and the rings were all Philly. Also, because Josh plans a big festival on South Street every year called Bloktoberfest where the tagline is “Beer, Food, Music, Philly,” we thought that would be a great inspiration for our wedding, too.  We had all the wedding guests use the #weddingtoberfest hashtag throughout the event when sharing pictures and videos.  It led to some great candid, hilarious moments that we will treasure forever!

We never really had a specific 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.  2) We didn’t want it to be in a hotel or other standard 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 set up a hookah lounge – were all met with a “yes.”

A Little Help From Their Friends ~ Josh was in an a capella group in college, and so he has many friends who are talented singers. Our friend Scott Hattis sung Sam Cooke’s “That’s Where It’s At” when we walked down the aisle, our friend Andy Dalzell (aka “The Doge”) sang The Zutons’ “Valerie” when we walked back up the aisle, and our friend Sam Huntington was the DJ. Our friend Irving Navarro is a talented graphic artist who designed our wedding programs, as well as a gorgeous silk-screened concert poster that we printed and gave out to guests as a party favor. Another friend, Ben Stango, is an incredibly talented chef, and baked the loaves of challah over which Josh’s grandmother, a Holocaust survivor, recited the hebrew “motzi” blessing before dinner. And even beyond all of that, lots of the people who made the wedding happen – our caterer, our sound engineer, the band – have become our friends over the years in Philly. Having all of them involved made the entire experience incredibly meaningful for us.

Favorite Moments ~The whole thing was amazing – Rachel’s nephew Ethan dancing down the aisle, walking down the aisle and seeing friends and family sitting on stacked up rugs, Stuart McClamb singing during the cocktail hour, the hookah lounge, the speeches by both Josh’s friend Adam and the father of the bride, both sets by Toy Soldiers, Josh’s friends surprising him and bringing him up on stage to sing LCD Soundsystem’s “All My Friends,” DJ Handsome Sam rocking out the the final hour of the party with an amazing DJ set, the fact that 52 people stayed until the very end (1am) and they all perfectly fit on the school bus back to the hotel!

Vendor Love

PhotographerPeach Plum Pear Photo | VenueMaterial Culture  | Wedding DressSaja  | Shoes: Cole Haan  | Hair + MakeupOggi Salon & Spa  | Groom’s Attire: Enzo Custom Clothiers  | InvitationsPaperless Post  | TransportationPhilly Trolley Works  | MusicToy Soldiers, Stuart McClamb from The Love Language, DJ Handsome Sam  | Lighting: Nu Millenium Sound  | RentalsMaterial Culture   | FloristBlossom  | Caterer: Catering by Miles Doughnuts & Ice Cream: Federal DonutsWeckerlys