Jewel tones & sweet music tones at this flower-filled brewery wedding in Philly

Offbeat partner: Danielle

Offbeat partner: Mike

Date and location of wedding: Manayunk Brewery, Philadelphia, PA — November 10, 2018

Our offbeat wedding at a glance: Mike and I wanted to feel cozy and surrounded by the people we truly love. We frequently visit the little town of Manayunk and had always talked about having a small wedding in a brewery. After one look at the industrial setting, we knew the Manayunk Brewery was our place.

Without a doubt, we knew we wanted our wedding to be colorful. I've always been drawn to bohemian decor and rich hues, so it was a no-brainer that we would tie in jewel tones and gold for our small touches. I gave each of my bridesmaids a color and let them go to town. It was fun to see them each choose a dress that fit their individual styles. We kept the guys' attire simple and decided that forest green would be our staple jewel tone color. Mike found some awesome cheap suits on Amazon and the rest was history.

The flowers were our favorite part. Our florist seriously knocked it out of the park and made our venue feel like a DREAMLAND! When it came to the centerpieces we wanted to tie in some modern elements, so we used gold terrariums and surrounded them with gold candles and greenery. We DIY'd the centerpieces and used flowers from a local flower shop near by and put the centerpieces together in my hotel room the night before. Mike made the table number stands and we stuck with classic black and white for our table numbers and seating chart.

Tell us about the ceremony:
Our ceremony was hands down my favorite part of our wedding. Mike chose the song for the bridal party to walk down and it was awesome. If you've never listened to "Bunny and Me" by Big If, you're missing out. The song felt so much like Mike and I really loved that.

My dad and I walked down the aisle to an instrumental version of "Such Great Heights" by the Postal Service (my favorite band/record of all time). My godfather, Joe, officiated our wedding and it was truly moving. He made us laugh. He made us cry. He made us laugh some more. The whole ceremony felt like a dream. Mike and I exchanged our own vows and before we knew it, we were Mr. and Mrs. Joffe. We basically RAN down the aisle as husband and wife to "Wildflowers" by Tom Petty and sobbed and laughed and kissed in our own bubble before we were being greeted by the rest of our bridal party and family. I remember every single moment of our ceremony like it was yesterday and I know it will be a moment etched in my memory forever.

Tell us about the reception:
Our reception started off with a bang. We told our DJ we wanted to get right to dancing, no messing around. Our bridal party and families walked out to their hand-picked songs. Followed by Mike and I, who rocked out to "Sabotage" by the Beastie Boys. Our families and friends stood around us as we had our first dance to "Pinky Swear" by Into It. Over It.

My dad and I danced to "Going to California" by Led Zeppelin and Mike and his mom danced to "You've Got a Friend" by Carole King.

Both my sister, Megan, and Mike's brother, Andrew, slayed their speeches, and dinner began. From there, the rest was history — the dancing began and it was incredibly fun to hear all of the music Mike and I chose. We kept the tunes pretty late '90s and early 2000s pop and pop punk. Our favorite moment was when Mike's long time friend asked the DJ to play "Moves Like Jagger." Back story, Mike and his friends have a long standing joke where if one friend yells "DO YOUR BEST JAGGER," you absolutely have to dance like Jagger. This song started a full on "Jagger off" and there were some dance moves I've truly never seen before (in public).

Our night ended without a cake (Mike and I hate cake), but we LOVE donuts, so we decided a donut wall was our dessert destiny. Mike's aunt also baked beautiful, classic cupcakes for us and there was not a single stitch of dessert leftover. Not to be cliche, but at the end, I didn't feel sad. I really just felt so happy that it happened. It was really the perfect night.

What was the most important lesson you learned from your wedding?
Mike and I tried to stay on top of things throughout the wedding process. We gave ourselves about a year and a half to plan the wedding and just tried to knock out at least two or three big tasks a month. My biggest advice would be to not let anything wait. The earlier you book your venue, florist, photographer, etc., the better.

Just remember, when things get stressful, be mindful about what your wedding is all about. You're going to feel so overwhelmed with love and joy that day, that all of the tiny details will just melt away. Last but not least, I could not recommend a "first look" more. Getting to be with Mike before the ceremony and spending that time together made literally everything easier and better. We also got to enjoy our cocktail hour with our guests and it gave us an opportunity to really spend time with everyone.

Vendors

Photographer: Breanne Furlong • Flowers: Green Meadows Florist • Dress: Dreamers and Lovers • Venue: Manayunk Brewery

Gallery

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