Today's real wedding is fresh, modern, sophisticated and stylish. Philly couple, Max and Teddi brought their friends and family to town for a fabulous celebration at the Ritz Carlton Philadelphia. Playing on the luxurious backdrop of their venue, the couple introduced clean, contemporary styling inspired by their favourite hotel in Miami. Think acrylic ghost chairs, a perspex chuppah, mirrored tables, orchids, palm leaves, and an ocean of floating candles. Tyler Boye Photography captured all the gorgeous style, romantic portraits and thoughtful details.
Max and Teddi had actually known each other for over five years before they started dating, “My best friend from growing up was one of Max’s close friends from college,” explains Teddi. “Max and I were friendly with one another but were always dating other people.” In the summer of 2014, the couple went on their first date in New York, “He took me to a rooftop bar where we both were wearing orange shirts and then we went to Lure Fishbar. It was the most laid back, fun date I have ever been on!” says Teddi, “Max agreed and said that he only gets lychee martinis with girls he really likes - guess I was a keeper!”
After the pair had been dating for a few months, Max made the move back home to Philadelphia to work for his family business, “As upset as I was, the distance grew us closer,” recalls Teddi. “We did long distance from NYC to Philly and visited each other every other weekend. Finally, in 2016 I moved to Philadelphia. We were dating three years before Max proposed in December 2017.” Max popped the question under the guise of a date to the couple’s favourite Philadelphia restaurant, Vernick, “We go there pretty often, so when I received an email from the manager that we were having a chef’s tasting dinner this was not strange!” recalls Teddi, “It was a freezing December night and I insisted on ubering to the restaurant. Max quickly panicked and said that we WERE NOT UBERING!” Keep scrolling to see the beautiful first-look moments!
After lots of back and forth Teddi agreed to walk to the restaurant, “Max guided me through Rittenhouse Square where our families were holding life-size foam letters that spelt out MARRY ME. I was shocked! We then went to his parent's apartment located in Rittenhouse where we had an intimate dinner with our families. At the dinner, Max then surprised me with a trip to Mexico the following morning to kick off our engagement.”
Tying in with the sophisticated vibes, Teddi's beautiful strapless dress and white bouquet with tropical leaves ties in so cleverly with the styling of the day, simple, modern, and luxurious. Teddi's bridesmaids wore beautiful mix-and-match black bridesmaids gowns and carried similar white orchids and rose bouquets to the bride.
The couple said their vows with their parents by their sides in a Jewish ceremony.
Proving inspiration can come from anywhere, Max and Teddi’s wedding look and feel were actually inspired by another hotel the couple love, The Edition Hotel in Miami. “Crisp white, clear lucite and modern arrangements consisting of large Alocacia leaves, Calla Lilies and black and white accents. The Carrara marble was the perfect backdrop to all of our black and white accents including bridal party dresses. The grand stairway leading down to the ballroom was lined with hundreds of candles which set a romantic feeling. We wanted the room to feel more like a restaurant than a wedding - dim surround with pin lighting spotting modern mirrored tables.” Getting married in a grand, yet sophisticated location allowed Max and Teddi to go modern and minimal with their decor, “Max and I are both very simple people and we wanted this to be displayed throughout our wedding,” says Teddi. "With the sleek marble, magnificent ceilings and grand chandelier located in the lobby which hangs down through to the grand ballroom we knew our vision of clean simplicity would come to life at the Ritz Carlton Philadelphia.” For Teddy, having a cohesive look across the wedding was important, “We incorporated different versions of the word LOVE within our invitations, our logo, and different decorations such as our infamous doughnut wall. Tying this back to the Philly LOVE statue.”
Max and Teddi say it’s important not to compare your wedding to anyone else’s, “Focus on what is important to you. Incorporate little details that describe you as a couple. It is the best day ever and it goes by SO quickly so try and take it all in!” Teddi advises, “The best piece of advice that someone gave me was to take a step back at the reception and look into the room. Take it all in and observe how many fun people are having!” The couple loved that their venue gave them the perfect backdrop for their chic city wedding, “The Ritz, a former bank built in 1904, is a reproduction of the Pantheon in Rome and the rotunda was built with 9,000 tons of Carrara marble, and after looking at many venues, our idea of clean, modern sophistication stood out at the Ritz.”
The couple were eager to give their out-of-town guests an amazing weekend getaway in Philadelphia, “We wanted it to be more of a party rather than a wedding. A huge celebration with friends and family. Max and I have a ton of mutual friends so this made it easy to achieve! We made sure to incorporate details of Philly such as Steve’s Cheesesteaks and welcome map of our favourite spots into our wedding weekend.”After the beautiful bash, this pair jetted off to Japan for their honeymoon. “It was THE BEST TRIP,” says Teddi. “We did not want to sit on a beach the entire time and wanted to explore. We went to Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka and then ended the trip in Laguna Beach, CA. We walked around and ate the most delicious food! I would totally recommend it!”
Teddi says wearing her grandma’s gown was one of the most special moments of the day for her, “I changed into her vintage gown at 10 pm for all of the guests to see. It was a beaded long sleeve gown that she wore to my mom’s wedding 30 years ago. I am lucky and fortunate that she was there to see me wear her gown at my wedding.”
Thanks so much to Teddi and Max for sharing your day with us, and to Tyler Boye Photography for sending these gorgeous pictures our way - hit the gallery to see more from this fabulous wedding!
Hey, where are you going? We have so much wedding décor, budget advice, wedding music and more to inspire your own beautiful big day!
