wedding-something: a phiLOVEdelphia story: Moments After We Wed

So, the Turkeys had made it official and with that declaration of Mr. and Mrs. came an excitement in the air that I can’t quite describe. We stood in the wings of the church and watched our friends and family exit, heading to the celebration that we had carefully planned for 14 months. The fun was about to begin!

The original schedule called for a couple more family pictures in St. Patrick’s including grandparents. However, between all our excitement and some quickly departing relatives, we went with the flow and headed out of the church towards the Rittenhouse Hotel.

All photos are by Philip Gabriel Photography.

Husband and wife!

When we reached the bottom of the steps at St. Patricks, we were greeted by Bruce, Director of Banquets from the Rittenhouse, looking very "007" outfitted in a black tuxedo and earpiece. After congratulating us, he asked what drinks we would like and called in our orders via radio.

Gabe, on the other hand, yelled from across 20^th Street for Mr. Turkey to pull a dip move.

Love that you can see Best Man / Brother M clapping on the right

Whereas Mr. Turkey’s one wish had been to attend cocktail hour, mine was to walk from the church to the reception. With our change in venue, it was less than 2 minutes from the church to the reception.

Posing in front of the rectory, just down the block

With the weather gods on our side, this was possible and Bruce radioed over to the hotel (so cool) that the trolleys did not have to make a return trip to pick us up. In fact, the trolleys were fairly empty, as many guests opted to make the stroll from the chuch, through Rittenhouse Square to the reception (I cannot tell you how happy this made us).

Freaking LOVE this picture (Bruce is just ahead of us)

After the hustle and bustle of 20^th Street, Mr. Turkey and I seemed to have the short Locust block to ourselves before we reached the park.

Yes, ladies, I was still wearing my heels

At that intersection, another tuxedoed Rittenhouse staffer greeted us. He had been directing our guests to the reception (nice touch), but now stopped traffic to let us cross into the park for a few moments “alone”.

Reminiscent of a photo from our engagement session in Washington Square

Despite multiple trips to the square this day, this was our first picture in front of the iconic guardhouse

It was then that someone appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, with our drink orders on a tray. That’s right, we were handed our first beverages of the night inside Rittenhouse Square! Ah-maz-ing.

A beer for Mr. Turkey, a signature cocktail (blueberry lemonade) for Mrs. Turkey

Although this "detour" took less than 10 minutes, it did wonders for Mr. Turkey and my nerves. Both somewhat “hyped up” about what had just happened, this quick walk kept us from being bouncy and speed talking to our guests. It also allowed us to, just for a few moments, bask in the glow of our newly married status.

But don't worry, the quiet time didn't stop our goofy smiles.