I almost had the wind knocked out of me when I arrived and saw a most amazing Monique Lhuillier gown hanging before me! A true work of art! I could not wait for Carly to put it on (and neither could she). Everyone watched with great anticipation as Carly had the finishing touches to her hair and makeup done by the always fabulous Claudia Seyler. Check out Dans reaction to Carlys gown. It’s what every bride hope for! Who said it’s not special to see each other ahead of time!

To compliment their Victorian theme wedding day, Marianne and Jared chose to have their reception at one of Philadelphia’s historic Delaware riverfront mansions, Glenn Foerd. The details were just too numerous to show them all. I’ve included a few of my favorites. The guests tables were named after some of the brides favorite period romance novels and movies and the names were attached to antique looking fans. The menus were hand calligraphed in a Victorian style script. The beautiful flowers and décor were by Petals Lane of Philadelphia. It was my first time working with them and I was totally impressed with the gorgeous job they did. After dinner the guests were all invited to the conservatory for an evening of dancing. Event Planner, Angela Malicki totally outdid herself with the beautiful décor. VU Events provided the beautiful purple lighting for the room. I partially love the LED lighting curtain behind the band. It made for outrageously wonderful band pictures. Speaking of bands, It was also my first time working with band Rags and the All Stars of Elan Artists. I’ve never seen a wedding band with such a large string section. They were just magnificent. Marianne and Jared started the evening off to a beautifully choreographed dance and then they danced the night away!

After their ceremony Marianne and Jared what a few romantic portraits around the city of Philadelphia. I felt the images really captured the timeless elegance and romance of Victorian times. Don’t you just LOVE Jared’s cane and Mariann’s fan? I also had allot of fun creating vintage looks with the images in Photoshop.

It’s been several years since I’ve photographed a wedding at the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul in Philadelphia and it is every bit as grand as I remembered it. Is is just so majestic, it brings me back to all the great Cathedrals I saw on my adventure to Italy last summer. I think is was just the perfect setting for Marianne and Jared’s Victorian wedding. Next week I’ll be sharing images of their awesome reception. I can’t imagine how I am going to fit all those details in one little blog!

Marianne and Jared had a strong visual theme for their beautiful Fall wedding. Inspired by historical romance movies such as “The Age of Innocence“, the couple went about creating a very beautiful Victorian theme wedding. With the assistance of Angelia Malicki of Angelia Malicki Events to bring their vision to fruition, the couple truly captured the splendor of Victorian times. Guests knew the day would be special when they received their hand calligraphy invitations. The invitations were hand written by Bernard Meister who worked on such movies as “The Age of Innocence”. The groom designed the beautiful Cameo logo that was incorporated in the invitation and many additional elements of the day. I felt the brides Atelier Aimee gown was so perfectly Victorian. The Atelier Aimee necklace really completed the look. Can you believe that Marianne actually found a pair of white Christian Louboutin high top boots. How perfect is that. I want to give 5 stars out to Claudia Seyler for her hair and makeup design. I was involved in theater for many years and know how difficult it is to do real Victorian up dos. Claudia did such a gorgeous job bringing out the Victorian beauty of Marianne. There are SO many unique details of this wedding. I hope I can do it all in 4 postings. Stay tuned for the couples very grand ceremony at the historical Cathedral Basilica of SS. Peter and Paul!