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If your vision is an “elegant, welcoming, dinner party”, then take a look at this urban wedding at District Winery. Morgan and David’s goal was to focus on the details that their loved ones would remember, so they nixed some of the traditional activities to be able to spend the time and money on the aspects they valued. The food looked divine, the wedding party was gleaming, and the florals from Helen Olivia Flowers was the perfect touch to an already beautiful setting. Our favorite part of this wedding, though, was the very apparent love and happiness that shined from every person in these photos.

How did you meet?

At the greatest party Morgan has ever thrown.

What is your proposal story?

Being two irritatingly practical people in love, we simply decided the timing was convenient to wed. With Thanksgiving coming up, we knew we had a perfect opportunity to announce the news to our surprised loved ones. “By chance”, both of our families happened to be celebrating together. On the big day, we patiently sat through appetizers and dinner, only making our move over dessert. After sneaking away to grab a few celebratory bottles of champagne we struggled to gain everyone’s attention, eventually getting the table to quiet down so we could announce the news! The quiet was short lived.

Tell us a little a bit about your wedding (your vision, color, style, and location choices).

Our vision was an elegant, welcoming dinner party. We are both fans of understated design and District Winery was the perfect modern backdrop. With the beautiful walnut wood, metal, and large glass windows we didn’t feel like we needed to have wedding colors or go overboard with decoration.

Tell us about your attire choices.

We both tried to avoid over spending on our attire; We’re not wearing it again; why waste? Morgan’s dress was from BHLDN and Dave’s suit was from Nordstrom Rack.

Was there anything that you chose to splurge on or skip?

Our focus was bringing together our far-flung family and friends for a joyous evening. We skipped some traditional items that didn’t feel meaningful to us (cake, bouquet throw, etc). This allowed us to splurge on having as many of our loved ones attending the wedding as possible.

What were your favorite parts of the day?

We were deeply touched to receive several compliments from guests on how much they enjoyed their table mates. We spent what seemed like an inordinate amount of time plotting the optimal seating arrangement to ensure everyone was sitting near someone they knew and someone new, based on mutual interests, geographies, and hobbies. Relationships are important to us, so a lot of thought went into our seating plan.

Tell us about your wedding flowers.

Flowers were the last wedding design element we had to select, and our florist from Helen Olivia Flowers was a great help in selecting a palette that would complement the venue, and our wedding party attire. The bridal bouquet had lots of greenery in theme with our winter wedding, along with antique roses, anemones, and ranunculus in shades of off-white and light pink.

Tell us about your wedding cake.

We didn’t have a cake – our venue supplied assorted small pastries.

What did you do for favors?

As a nod to our time together in Philadelphia, we handed out bona fide, fresh Philly pretzels. These were a big hit after a long night of dancing.

Please describe any DIY, handmade, or personal details.

We DIYed our own guest book when we couldn’t find a suitable option that held polaroid photos while leaving enough room for guests to sign. We found a plain leather book online and placed a few photo-mounting corners on each page. Guests were able to snap a polaroid, put it in the book, and leave a fun message.

Did you include any family heirlooms or special traditions?

We displayed an amusing collection of framed family photos in the staircase leading from the cocktail mezzanine to the ceremony hall.

Do you have any advice for couples planning their weddings now?

A wedding is just one day in your lifetime partnership. At the end of the day, people remember the joy and love in the room, not the party favor, signature cocktail, or flowers. Don’t be afraid to customize your day–opinions are a dime a dozen and you’ll never please everyone

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