Block party wedding, complete with bounce house!

If a wedding inquiry could ever start off perfectly, it would go something like this:
”We are having a block party wedding on my parents’ block. It's going to be pretty casual but a big fun party and I love your family photography… It also appeals to me to have a photographer that doesn't always do weddings because I would love the photos to be more documenting the day and less posed or typically wedding-y”

Music to my ears!

So what does it look like to have a Philly block party wedding right where you grew up? Well, naturally, first by getting ready in your childhood rowhome, with your siblings causing mischief and mom to help you get into your rad yellow skirt.

Then a quick walk to Madison Square (my fellow Grad Hospital folks will know exactly how charming these garden blocks are in the summer 😍), for a few quiet portraits. Then some group portraits of the whole family together, and a few candid shots of the cute kids on the block getting geared up (and sugared up) for the big event.

For the ketubah signing we headed upstairs with just a few close friends and family. Their rabbi gave a beautiful introduction, everyone laughed and cried, and we got ready to head to the chuppah!

Rachel and Eli had a huge tent set up in the street in front of the house, and when we came around the corner it was completely packed with family, loved ones, and neighbors who had gathered to support them.

They stood under the chuppah, in the dappled afternoon light, exchanged the sweetest vows, smashed the glass, and then it was time to party!

If a donut cake from Federal Donuts isn’t enough for you (I mean what could be more Philly than that!), they had delicious BBQ and a bounce house! The way Rachel and Eli combined the most fun elements of a legit, Philadelphia block party with their super sweet wedding was just so wonderful. Dancing the horah in the street, under the big tent, with the neighborhood kids running around with bubbles and no shoes on from the bounce house (and let me tell you getting photos of people bouncing while you are also being bounced is not easy!), and chalk art all over the street celebrating their big day… it was just the most fun I could imagine a wedding being 😁

Congrats again and again, Rachel and Eli!