August 26th, 2017
Max & I got hitched and it was nothing less than perfect. It was 76 degrees and 0% humidity. For anyone knows Philadelphia summers, this was nothing short of a miracle. I’m attributing it all to my Mom-Mom’s prayers for good weather. Perfect weddings do exist and this is all thanks to our family, friends, and of course of “friendors.”
Let’s start with the details
Our venue wasn’t even finished being built when we booked it. I know crazy right? But not so crazy because it was a Finley catering venue. If you’ve ever been to a Finley wedding you know they are absolutely over the top & most importantly (to us anyway) the food is INCREDIBLE. Up until our venue, all the Finley locations were in the city. I was so ecstatic to hear they were opening a venue in the suburbs, basically in our backyard! And the team at the Ballroom made the wedding planning / day of coordination a walk in the park. Not to mention, the venue turn out to be absolutely breathtaking.
I totally copied my friends photographer, Jeff Frandsen & her videographer,Birdhouse Weddings. I knew I had to have them both because well you can’t watch my friend’s wedding film without sobbing, literally it should be a movie that’s how perfect it is. And her pictures were SO bright so cheery & not a detail was missed. I could not have been happier with my decision because the truth is these are the people you see the most of on the day! Jeff Frandsen went above & beyond his duties of photographer. He even made the logo for our wedding hashtag, which we used on photo strips & our ice sculpture! Jeff, his wife Liz, Natalie, & her brother George made my day better being there.
Yes, I had help planning my wedding. No, not from my husband (luckily he left the details up to me) and Shannon Wellington. Shannon Wellington was the last vendor I booked I was looking for some help with day of coordination because when I was planning I’d start stress sweating about the stupid little things. “Who will make sure the wrong flowers don’t get delivered? Who’s going to put all my details in place? Who’s going to bring me that thing I KNOW I’ll forget the day of the wedding?” Well, that’s where Shannon came in & after stalking her instagram, we decided her to hire her for design planning too. Shannon was the one who took our ideas of a Boho Glam California like wedding & turned them into a reality. A reality beyond our wildest dreams. Not only that but kept me sane along the way with her humor and awesomeness.
It was through Shannon I met Sue from Fresh Designs Florist. I had a meeting with Shannon at her space at Fresh Designs and Sue came in wearing Free People (loved that) and bubbly as a freshly poured glass of champagne. She asked me what my wedding colors were & returned to the room 5 minutes later with the most stunning boho bouquet I have ever seen. Obviously, I would have no one else do my flowers beside her & her team. And then we have McKenna, from Lynn & Lou. She did all of our programs & paper needs. I know I loved her from the second we first emailed. I asked her to do a signature drink sign incorporating our pets. Not an easy task BUT she nailed it along with the rest of the beautiful stationary we had on our day.
Hair & Makeup. Because you want to feel the most beautiful you ever will on your big day. That’s why I booked Nadia Grier, aka a real life angel sent down from the makeup Gods to make you feel like the most beautiful stunning birde in the entire world. She is a makeup goddess and seriously a total sweetheart. Hair >> Jamie Waldman who also happens to be one of my best friends & she was one of my bridesmaids. I had two hair styles on the day. The second one Jamie had to do in like 12 minutes if that & completely nailed it. Not only that she followed me around the whole night making sure my hair was perfect. My advice hire her & make her your bridesmaid :).
Sorry for spewing all my love for my friendors here but for my brides who have not gotten married yet. I cannot emphasize enough the importance of having a dream team of vendors!
Getting Ready
The funniest part of getting these pictures was seeing how different Max & I’s morning was. My girls, moms, & I spent hours primping obviously. Getting our makeup & hair done and into our dresses. While the boys, apparently lounged around, watched the tube, and then got dressed. Boys will be boys.
Some more details: my dress was from Martina Liana. Shoes: Badgley Misckha. Jewelry & Clutch: BHLDN. I got my bridesmaids robes from BHLDN – Pretty Plum Sugar, along with earrings to wear on the day & a mug from Anthropologie with their initials on it. But what they got me brought tears to my eyes. Besides throwing me a beautiful shower, a kickass bachlorette party, and standing by my side on the biggest day of my life, they gave me a box of letters each and every one of them wrote to me. I couldn’t read it the day of because my makeup was already done and I knew there would be tears.
Max & I exchanged gifts as well, delivered to each other by his best man and my maid of honor because we were not doing a first look. Max got me my something blue, a sapphire anklet with a V on it, perfume I wanted that I told him about months ago (kudos for remembering boo), hats for the honeymoon, and most importantly a picture of our cat & dog, since they couldn’t be with us on the day. I got Max some awesome (if I can pat myself on the back for that) Starwars themed gift including the cufflinks he wore on the big day!
Something borrowed (a charm bracelet from my Aunt Mamie who passed away she had the best Jewelry), Something Old (the ring Max’s Grandfather proposed to his grandomother with), Something New (my dress, duh), & Something Blue (my anklet & the blessed Mother medallion).
The Bridal Party
I cannot thank them enough for standing by our sides as we said our I do’s. Seriously, without them we would not be who we are today.
Dresses: I wanted to mix & match dresses always. I knew I want blush pink and you cannot go wrong with Adrianna Papel. The girls at Bella Bridesmaids in Philly were incredible in helping my girls pick everything out!
The Suits: I laugh at this now but when Max told me he wanted a different color suit then the rest of the guys… I was skeptical. But he justified it by saying, “you get to stand out why don’t I?” He had himself a point & as skeptical as I was, he absolutely nailed it. He looked SO handsome in blue 🙂 and his guys looked just as amazing in their gray suits!
Maid of honor: My life long best friend since kindergarten, Katie. She’s literally been in my life as long as I can remember and has stuck with me through it all. Best man: Jerry, who made us SO nervous when we saw him stand up to give his speech with no papers, no note cards, and no phone but he KILLED it. He’s been Max’s best friend for the past few years. These two both did an amazing job in the MOH & BM duties 🙂
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The Ceremony
My favorite part of the whole entire day because It was the FIRST time I got to see my handsome groom all day. Plus the decor for this part of the day was my absolute favorite. We lined our aisle with succulents & cacti planted by my mom, who did an AMAZING job. This was not an easy task. I bought about 20 large cacti & 50 little succulents for our big day. Let’s just say, Terrian should totally hire my mother. We lined the aisles with gorgeous signs made by Amour Artistique, programs from Lynn and Lou. And the seats filled with 220 of our loved ones.
Call us old fashion, but Max & I both felt very strongly about not doing a first look. And let me tell you, I’m so happy we didn’t. I may have been sweating bullets as I stood behind that door holding my father’s arm waiting to see my soon to be husband. But there was no better feeling than when that door opened, my father escorted me down the aisle & I saw the love of my life standing there.. crying. Yes, he cried. He said he wouldn’t but he did (see below) and ladies & gentlemen, my heart melted <3.
The Story of Us
Cue the awkward 3rd person reference…
Maxwell Vogel is the strong, silent type; always deep in thought. Dashing, handsome, GQ man of mystery. Caitlin Carr is like New Year’s Eve on two legs; flashing lights, balloons, confetti and streamers… Always in motion, most often with at least one man at her side. Here is how this unlikely couple came to be.
Max & Cait had known each other for about 5 years through mutual friends. Truth be told, Cait had no interest in Max, as she thought he was just another guy who was too full of himself. It wasn’t until they, much to Cait’s chagrin, were forced to actually speak to each other one day when she stopped by his place to see his roommate. After that, Cait realized he was the exact opposite of the guy she thought he was. He was sweet, charming, and actually had many of the same interests that she did, including, but not limited to, Game of Thrones. The two began emailing. Think “You’ve Got Mail” 90’s rom-com. If it weren’t for smartphones and cable TV, this couple may never have come to be. Max would ask Cait out constantly and, in return, she would turn him down. One day she decided enough was enough. She sent him a list of all the reasons she could not date him, ready to put an end to this nonsense (clearly she was obsessed with him). Expecting him to understand, she was surprised and charmed as Max’s email back said, “These are all great reasons…. let’s discuss over dinner.” And the rest is history. 🙂
That Reception Though
Max’s one request: a cigar bar. No matter what was going on in life Max & his dad would always take the time when they saw each other to have a cigar. Naturally, Max wanted a cigar bar at the wedding for him, his dad, and whoever else wanted to take a minute to sit down and have a cigar in honor of us tying the knot. Cigars supplied by Max’s dad, so sweet.
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Let’s Dance
Lucky for me, my husband loves dancing as much as I do. This was also one of my favorite parts of the night. Dancing with all of our friends and family. Max and I danced to Leon Bridges – Coming Home. It still gives me goose bumps everytime I listen to it. We attempted a dance class, not placing on the top of our budget list we opted for some studio I found online. When we showed up the woman was 20 years older than the picture online, partially deaf, and wearing a wig. Guys, it was one of the funniest nights of my life to date. So we winged it practicing our dance in our livingroom at home. One of my amazing friends sent us a record player with our wedding album for an early wedding gift! It forced us to practice at home & we had so much fun with it.
However, I did take lessons with someone else. My dad. One night, I went to my dad’s house to talk about what we were going to dance to. He got SO excited and asked to show me a video he found of the song he’d love to dance to. This wasn’t just any video.. It was Jimmy Fallon dancing and lip syncing to House of Pain’s Jump Around. I couldn’t let him down. So we took hip hop lessons so that my dad and I quote “wouldn’t look like an old white guy.” It was so much fun and the dance turned out great.
The Grande Finale
We ended the night with something super unique, a sparkler send off. Okay, maybe not so unique but something I always wanted to do. And just like that event we’ve been planning for a year and a half done. But the start of our live as Mr. & Mrs. had just begun. We couldn’t have asked for a more amazing day. The love we felt not just from each other but from each and every one of the people in the ballroom that night is a feeling I will never forget. I’m so grateful for the day turning out better than I could have ever dreamed of thanks to our friendors, friends, and most importantly, our family because without them we would not be who we are today.
