This wedding is near and dear to my (Carolyn) heart, because it is my sister’s! On top of that, she got married in our grandparents’ very unique home – the Dome. It’s also going to be a long post filled with lots of words and photos, as I just want to share it all (and have so much information), so buckle in!
It was important to Keli and Jeff to instill as much meaning as possible into their wedding, through the incorporation of many elements that represented them, their relationship, and their families. From Keli:
The theme of our wedding was “Tiyende Pamodzi” – a saying from Zambia that translates to “We go together.” (Jeff and I met while Peace Corps volunteers in Zambia.) It was important to us that our ceremony framed marriage as an ever-growing decision to live our lives as partners. We spent a lot of time personalizing our ceremony to reflect our relationship and thought carefully about how to include our families and our larger community. Having everyone you love in one place may only happen once in your life; it was an experience we wanted to honor and appreciate.
We had many personalized touches that made the space and ceremony very special. We got married over the pool, on a deck that my dad designed and fabricated. My brother-in-law’s mother is a mosaic artist and made us a personalized family mosaic to permanently hang in the courtyard. Jeff’s dad made his famous BBQ wings for our rehearsal dinner. Our officiant was a good friend and one of Jeff’s mentors.
It was also important to them to have a rousing good time reception with delicious food and drinks, and a fantastic dance party!
Our reception was held at Tom’s Town Distillery. The decorations from Ultrapom Event Rental and the flowers from Hitched Planning & Floral gave the space an outdoor garden feel that was warm and inviting. We had a family style dinner from Moxie Catering to give our friends and family the opportunity to sit down to a meal together. The beautiful naked spice cake and cupcakes were made by Cami’s Cakes, topped with a cake topper made by my aunt Lee. Following the toasts my sister surprised me with a impromptu “Sisters” rendition from our favorite movie, White Christmas. We love dancing and are lucky to have a good friend who is a professional DJ.
We had a perfect day. Our day was made great by all the loving help we received from family and friends. We felt surrounded and supported all day. Exchanging vows in front of our community was even more meaningful than we imagined.
Keli asked me for recommendations for every vendor, so I gave her a list of all my top vendors in each category, and she picked the ones that were the best fit for her. That meant we got to have a vendor team that was filled with my favorite people!
Wedding Venue: Private Dome
Reception Venue + Bar: Tom’s Town Distillery
Photographer: Morgan Miller Photography
Florist: Hitched Planning + Floral
DJ: Rebecca Strzelinski
Caterer: Moxie Catering
Cake: Cami’s Cake Co.
Hair & Makeup: Molly McPheter with Roots & Branches Salon
Invitations: Bride!
Rentals: Ultrapom (of course)
Dress: J.Crew
Suit: Suit Supply
This shoulder garland is all the heart eyes, amazing work, Hitched Planning + Floral!
I love a blue suit
A traditional Pennsylvania cookie bar, with cookies made by all the family
Elements of the decor reflected the structure of the Dome.
(personal photo)
All photos (except one!) by Morgan Miller Photography
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