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Installations that seem to sprout from the ceiling, couture-like accessories — take your pick.
Delivering the latest in style, inspiration, helpful tips and tricks, and everything else you need to know to plan the perfect Philly wedding.
Julia Dewey and Brandon Yoshimura enjoying the raindrops / Photograph by Sweetwater Portraits; planner: the Styled Stem
Statement florals are having a moment, with everything from installations that sprout from the ceiling to couture-like accessories. Here, four ways to make your wedding bloom.
Julia & Brandon
Morris Arboretum & Gardens
Rain couldn’t dampen the beauty of Julia Dewey and Brandon Yoshimura’s late-summer wedding. West Chester’s We Are Wildflowers elevated the already gorgeous landmark Chestnut Hill venue with an abundance of blooms in bright summer colors. One standout element: the custom chuppah, blanketed with a dreamy array of smilax greenery, roses, and other flowers like dahlias, scabiosas, and caryopterides from local farms. “We constructed most of it in the pouring rain,” says the floral studio’s owner, Jessica Cummings, “and we were treated to a full rainbow as we were finishing up!”
Ashley Friedman and Perry Davis surrounded by blooms / Photograph by Philip Gabriel Photography; planner: Lauren James Events
Ashley & Perry
Ballroom at the Ben
For the wedding of Ashley Friedman and Perry Davis, Old City-based Jamie Rothstein Floral Design transformed the Ben’s glitzy Washington Square West ballroom into a winter landscape. “The inspiration was lush greenery and abundant, modern white florals,” Rothstein says. To achieve this, she created 10-foot wisteria “trees” — white flowers, wild smilax, and cherry branches cascading from custom metal tree bases — that appeared to grow organically from the center of dining tables. More flowers (like orchids, peonies, calla lilies, and white hydrangeas) spilled from the sweetheart table; the lavish chuppah from the ceremony was repurposed as a canopy overhead.
Sarah Clark and Brett Gibson’s first newlywed kiss / Photograph by Alison Conklin Photography; planner: Jaclyn Fisher Events
Sarah & Brett
Fitler Club
When Sarah Clark and Brett Gibson recited their marriage vows in the posh Center City venue’s ballroom, they did so beneath a jewel-toned sea of flowers suspended overhead. The idea was dreamed up by Sarah, who works as a florist, and executed by Kerry Fabrizio, owner of Horsham’s Fabufloras. “I wanted to be completely surrounded by flowers,” Sarah says. The showstopping installation featured dark blue delphiniums, magenta hanging wisteria, and orange and red roses. Sarah found the ornate frame at her mom’s house, painted it gold, and used it as a picture-perfect backdrop.
Jared Lowe (left) and Elliot Adler in their wearable florals / Photograph by Du Soleil Photographie
Jared & Elliot
Lark
In the hands of Meagan Cook, the owner of Queen Village-based Botanic Village, flowers become works of art. To wit: the adornments she created for Elliot Adler and Jared Lowe for their union at this luxurious Bala Cynwyd restaurant. Jared took wedding inspiration from Loewe’s spring/summer 2023 collection, which heavily featured the glossy anthurium flower. He had the idea to pin a singular stem to his cummerbund (“It was such a different, chic detail,” he says), while Elliot sported a bold spray of dahlias, ranunculus, alstroemerias, pom-pom cushion mums, rosehip berries, ferns, and bay leaves.
Published as “Petal Pushers” in the summer/fall 2025 issue of Philadelphia Wedding.
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