PHILLY
EVENTSBouquet: The 411
- Steve Legato
FOOD & FAVORS
Sweet Tooth
Adorable Ambler bakery The Flour Pot now has completely customizable, super-yummy bridesmaid-dress sugar cookies that come with a tag reading “Will you be my bridesmaid?” They’re $10 each; order at least two days in advance (flourpotcookies.com). … At Naked Chocolate’s new Rittenhouse location, you can hold showers and bachelorette parties on their second level. They’ll decorate with your color scheme, and provide high tea—or high chocolate! — with oodles of sweets and pastries; you provide the champagne and wine. There’s a $300 food-cost minimum (usually about 15 to 20 people — though it holds 45) for renting out the space (nakedchocolatecafe.com). … Newly debuted Peregrine Coffee will work with you (and your baker!) to bring in single-origin beans from Hawaii, South America, India, Africa — anywhere! — that complement your wedding cake. They’ll brew it at your reception, or drop off the beans for your caterer — they’ll even provide little bags of your chosen beans to give as favors. Prices start around $200.
VENUES
Cool Spaces
Manayunk’s beautiful, ornate Artesano Iron Works Gallery is now holding weddings. The space fits up to 200 people for a seated dinner or 400 for a cocktail reception. You can bring in your own caterer and florist, and rental fees start around $3,300. And, yes, they’ll let you know what artwork will be up on your wedding date. … The old Arcadia Theater has been revamped into the Chestnut Club at Arcadia, run by Love Productions. Hold your ceremony in the old theater, then party on the second story, with its exposed brick walls and floor-to-ceiling windows. The space suits up to 200 guests, and prices begin at $4,000. You can bring in your own vendors, and they’ve even kept the self-playing 1930 Steinway grand piano to add old-world charm to your cocktail hour (1529 Chestnut Street, 610-962-0111).
OPENINGS
On the Storefront
Jack Kellmer’s jewelry stores may have closed their doors this past winter, but grandson Jeff has recently reopened them at two private office locations of Jeff Kellmer Private Jeweler — one in Center City, one in Conshy. Customers can still come, by appointment only, to order rings, wedding bands and custom creations, or to buy estate jewelry. … You’ve probably heard of their florist and event-decor businesses, but now, Donna O’Brien’s Beautiful Blooms and Kendall Brown’s Eclatante Event Design both have brand-new retail locations, across from each other on Liberties Walk. Find flowers by the stem, plus gift items like candles, soaps and vases inside Beautiful Blooms, and books, gifts, and keep-you-organized planning binders at Eclatante.
DRESS READY
All About the Dress
New-on-the-scene Philly custom gown designer Darcy Law Couture can take your dress dreams and stitch them into reality. You’ll discuss style, body type, season, silhouette and fabric, and after a few muslin fittings, you’ll have your perfect gown. Prices start around $2,500 and include a veil and any personalization (like your names and date embroidered into the hem). Give her at least six to eight months to get cracking. … And to look slammin’ in that frock? Versa Fit Studio in Voorhees now has the too-good-to-be-true VacuStep system: Two hundred bucks gets you 20 sessions on the elliptical-like machine (which targets the hips, butt and thighs), plus a trainer to supervise and measure inches lost; average losses are between 3.5 and 9 inches. Sign up with your ’maids and you get 25 percent off.
Sweet Tooth
Adorable Ambler bakery The Flour Pot now has completely customizable, super-yummy bridesmaid-dress sugar cookies that come with a tag reading “Will you be my bridesmaid?” They’re $10 each; order at least two days in advance (flourpotcookies.com). … At Naked Chocolate’s new Rittenhouse location, you can hold showers and bachelorette parties on their second level. They’ll decorate with your color scheme, and provide high tea—or high chocolate! — with oodles of sweets and pastries; you provide the champagne and wine. There’s a $300 food-cost minimum (usually about 15 to 20 people — though it holds 45) for renting out the space (nakedchocolatecafe.com). … Newly debuted Peregrine Coffee will work with you (and your baker!) to bring in single-origin beans from Hawaii, South America, India, Africa — anywhere! — that complement your wedding cake. They’ll brew it at your reception, or drop off the beans for your caterer — they’ll even provide little bags of your chosen beans to give as favors. Prices start around $200.
VENUES
Cool Spaces
Manayunk’s beautiful, ornate Artesano Iron Works Gallery is now holding weddings. The space fits up to 200 people for a seated dinner or 400 for a cocktail reception. You can bring in your own caterer and florist, and rental fees start around $3,300. And, yes, they’ll let you know what artwork will be up on your wedding date. … The old Arcadia Theater has been revamped into the Chestnut Club at Arcadia, run by Love Productions. Hold your ceremony in the old theater, then party on the second story, with its exposed brick walls and floor-to-ceiling windows. The space suits up to 200 guests, and prices begin at $4,000. You can bring in your own vendors, and they’ve even kept the self-playing 1930 Steinway grand piano to add old-world charm to your cocktail hour (1529 Chestnut Street, 610-962-0111).
OPENINGS
On the Storefront
Jack Kellmer’s jewelry stores may have closed their doors this past winter, but grandson Jeff has recently reopened them at two private office locations of Jeff Kellmer Private Jeweler — one in Center City, one in Conshy. Customers can still come, by appointment only, to order rings, wedding bands and custom creations, or to buy estate jewelry. … You’ve probably heard of their florist and event-decor businesses, but now, Donna O’Brien’s Beautiful Blooms and Kendall Brown’s Eclatante Event Design both have brand-new retail locations, across from each other on Liberties Walk. Find flowers by the stem, plus gift items like candles, soaps and vases inside Beautiful Blooms, and books, gifts, and keep-you-organized planning binders at Eclatante.
DRESS READY
All About the Dress
New-on-the-scene Philly custom gown designer Darcy Law Couture can take your dress dreams and stitch them into reality. You’ll discuss style, body type, season, silhouette and fabric, and after a few muslin fittings, you’ll have your perfect gown. Prices start around $2,500 and include a veil and any personalization (like your names and date embroidered into the hem). Give her at least six to eight months to get cracking. … And to look slammin’ in that frock? Versa Fit Studio in Voorhees now has the too-good-to-be-true VacuStep system: Two hundred bucks gets you 20 sessions on the elliptical-like machine (which targets the hips, butt and thighs), plus a trainer to supervise and measure inches lost; average losses are between 3.5 and 9 inches. Sign up with your ’maids and you get 25 percent off.
Originally published in Philadelphia Wedding, Fall/Winter 2009
