by Rebecca Druckenmiller

I was so excited for Rachel and Josh’s wedding on May 30 at the Hilton Hotel on City Line Avenue. 

As you’ll see in the photos, the hotel has gorgeous ballrooms (yes, there are multiple ballrooms making it the perfect place to host ceremony and easily move guests from space to space.)  

 I also loved the religious traditions incorporated throughout the day including the ketubah signing, horah, and crowning.  Rachel was also very thoughtful and found ways to incorporate her mothers gown into the wedding, she used parts of it around her bouquet and also in the canopy of the chuppah. 

She also used her parent’s cake topper for her delicious cake. 

 Gabe from Philip Gabriel Photography  was there to capture all the great details and amazing moments as was Christina and her team from Claire Pruett Videography.  Don Calhoun Draping and Lighting and Carmen Bolin Floristry really set the scene with incredible décor full of reds, purples, pinks and ivories that really popped under the pin-spotting.

I really can’t say enough about the band though, the Starlight Orchestra had kept everyone on their feet all night. What was really cool though was that they would transition from song to song much like a dj would making the sound really smooth. 

I could go on about how much fun this night was but I think the pictures speak for themselves…

Thanks for the images Gabe!

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While we knew that already….we love when our clients send us rave reviews…

Check out what Rebecca’s recent couple Rachel and Josh had to say:

Rebecca and her team hit the ground running as soon we hired them-covering every angle from vendor emails to general wedding etiquette, and design questions.  In the weeks leading up to the wedding, she was always there with guidance and assurance.

On the day itself, she kept my mother and me calm, taking care of extraneous details,while we spent the day getting ready and enjoying ourselves. Hiring QOH was one of the single best decisions I made in my entire wedding process.

During the actual event, they made sure our timelime was executed to the minute, and handled the whole experience with grace and professionalism. So much feedback from our wedding has been from friends saying how ’smooth and seamless’ the night was, That was because of Rebecca and her team! 

Thanks again Rebecca!

Nice job Rebecca! You’ll have to share more about their wedding with us…….

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AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH, where did the summer go?

Generally, July and August are a little slower for our weddings as the weather tends to be a little hot and humid here in the Greater Philadelphia area….it’s catch up time from May and June and get ready time for fall weddings….

July and August here have been INSANE!

We’ve had more weddings than in the past and all totally different – ranging from a fun stylish, military wedding, a rustic outdoor wedding with a ceremony in an apple orchard and a beautiful tented Main Line wedding with amazing personal touches….

Both Rebecca and Kristin had their own engagement shoots….

Christina has been busy with beautiful invitations, menu cards, escort cards and other printed materials for fall weddings….

We’ve all done some continuing education, and even snuck in a little time away

We’re really excited about the new weddings for next year…. clients booking us from all over the globe, vegetarian weddings, and all in all great couples with beautiful design requests…. 2011 will be an AMAZING year…

As we recieve images from our summer weddings we’ll be catching up on some blogging and sharing these beautiful images with you, as well as some great design ideas and more of our famous weding planning tips…

Hope you’ve had a great summer! I know we have…..

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We oftensee struggles with rehearsal dinners more than most parts of the planning process…

Maybe it’s because the groom’s family is often pay for or arranging it and there are times we have little contact with them until this point…

Maybe it’s because there are so many varying points of view or opinions on what it suppose to be….

In either case we wanted to share some sage advice on what we see and how to best navigate rehearsal dinners…

1. The rehearsal dinner should NEVER compete with the reception – it’s a chance for people from various parts of your life to mix and meet…

A local favorite restaurant or something at home –

We were just invited to lunch by Megan Conway of Pit Masters, LLC {who own several local Famous Dave’s} – we recently had a client who used their BBQ for a rehearsal dinner at home around the pool – they can offer something as simple as drop off, add staff to serve (and clean up) or even build a menu for you with things not necessarily on their menu…

We’ve also notices several of the local caterers we work with have excellent BBQ divisions as well

Things can be a little challenging if you are already doing a really informal wedding, but you can still do it… we’ve had couples who hosted a pizza and beer night in their apartment buildings community room

2. There is no real formal structure… a cocktail hour for people to get acquainted and allow for more casual seating….

It’s a great time to show a slide show or short video clip (images from engagements shoots or childhood photos work well)…

It’s also a great time to allow people who might not ordinarily get to toast at the wedding to say something – try to keep wedding toasts to two…

 We often suggest that the couple give their bridal party and parents their gifts at the rehearsal dinner

 3. We ALWAYS see struggles over who to invite…. We find that immediate family, and the bridal party (with spouses) works well…

If it turns into a situation where you feel you HAVE TO invite all of the out of town guests think about hosting a post rehearsal dinner mixer…. Often held in the hotels bar, it can be light hors d’oeuvres and cocktails or desserts and after dinner drinks, it works well for a larger crowd …

Best rule of planning a great rehearsal dinner is just like everything else in wedding planning….

Plan ahead so there are no surprises and allow time to get feedback from all those involved… relax and enjoy your family and friends

  by Rebecca Druckenmiller

I love the elements of a Jewish wedding, they’re steeped in so much history and tradition…..and frankly many of them are so much fun!

Many of you of course know about the horah, but an unfamiliar tradition for some may be the Mezinke Tanz, which is derived from the tradition Krenzl dance.

You may know this tradition as a “crowning”. 

Rachel and Josh had a traditional crowning at their wedding as Rachel was the last child in her family to be married.  It is tradition that when the last son or daughter is married, the mother and father are seated in the middle of the room the couple place crowns of flowers placed on their heads while their family and guests dance around them. 

It’s an incredibly celebratory tradition and really makes you feel the love in the room as you watch their friends and family approach them in the circle to whisper wishes of love and support. 

Mazel Tov!

Congratulations to Rachel, Josh and their parents!

photo by Philip Gabriel Photography