When a bride and groom breaks away from the traditional wedding venues, I really find it to be special, especially when it's beautifully done like this Philadelphia wedding. Janice and Tim wed at The Franklin Institute, which photographed beautifully in my opinion. With so much history and character in the venue itself, this museum wedding was every bit chic, sophisticated and breathtaking. Not only was the venue beautiful, but Ethan Yang brought his gorgeous photography into the mix! I absolutely love his sophisticated cinematography style - his photography with this venue was meant to make history!

From the Bride...Tim and I are co-workers turned friends turned husband & wife. We met six years ago at work in New York City and became friends whose common bond was music. Every so often, we would go to concerts in the city together - including Jay-Z, Lady Gaga, Usher, and Bon Jovi. I was clueless for a while, and assumed we were just friends. However, 3 years later, it dawned on me that Tim could be the perfect guy for me, and he finally admitted to me that he had had a crush on me for the past 3 years! And as they say, the rest is history...

While Tim and I met and live in NYC, Tim grew up outside of Philadelphia and loved the idea of getting married in the City of Brotherly Love. After hours of research, there was only one venue I could envision us getting married in - The Franklin Institute, a science museum in the heart of Philadelphia.

One of the most unique things about The Franklin Institute is the option of having the wedding ceremony under the stars in the planetarium. We loved the idea of getting married in such a romantic environment, and our florist Robertson's created a canopy of sheer, white fabric and lined the aisle with pillar candles.

Our reception took place in Franklin Hall (the main lobby of the museum), which has the most spectacular architecture with a larger-than-life statue of Ben Franklin, all marble floors and walls, and a beautiful dome. Our flowers were white and blush-colored blooms with gray accents, using peonies, hydrangea, ranunculus, sweet peas, and garden roses. We also added mercury glass vases and votives to the tables to add some sparkle and shine.

My wedding dress was an easy decision for me - a Lazaro gown with a silver-beaded bodice, sweetheart necklace, and an A-line organza skirt that looked like a sea of floating flower petals. On my bridal bouquet, I pinned a locket containing a picture of my late mother on her own wedding day. My 7 bridesmaids wore beautiful blush-colored gowns by Vera Wang for David's Bridal and chandelier earrings. Tim and his 16 groomsmen (yes, 16!) wore black tuxes with suspenders, pink novelty socks by Happy Socks, and white shoelaces on black shoes.

We paid homage to Ben Franklin's famous key & kite experiment and incorporated keys in our letter-pressed wedding invitations, our escort cards (skeleton keys hung on large wooden doors), our gift card box (with a key-shaped hole in the top), our custom wedding program & menu chalkboards, and my gifts to my bridesmaids (delicate gold bracelets with key and lock charms). Instead of a traditional guest book, guests wrote their well wishes & best pieces of marriage advice on vintage Philly & NYC postcards, which will be mailed to us (by my maid of honor) throughout our first year of marriage.

Given our love of music, the one thing that Tim and I were really focused on was making our wedding one big dance party. Our first dance as husband & wife started off with Stevie Wonder's "You Are the Sunshine of My Life", but quickly segued into a surprise hip-hip routine to "Fancy" by Iggy Azalea. Our amazing band GoGoGadjet (a well-known pop cover band in the Philly/NJ/Delaware area) kept our guests on their feet throughout the night. GoGoGadjet threw out glow sticks to the audience, sang an a cappella version of John Legend's All of Me, had a 4-person drum performance, and ended the night with a huge sing along to Piano Man (this was one of our absolute favorite wedding moments). As a final surprise, we had a snack waiting for everyone outside the steps of the museum - a Philly cheesesteak truck!

Tim and I truly had the best day of our lives! A few pieces of advice: 1) treasure every moment of the day because it flies by even faster than you think it will! 2) once the wedding day arrives, don't worry about the details and just focus on having fun! 3) it's ok if you don't get to spend time with every guest (they understand) 4) be sure to take a few moments during the wedding to be alone with your groom/bride!

Photography: Ethan Yang Photography | Florals/Decor: Robertson's Flowers | Wedding Planner: Two Little Birds Planning | Ceremony/Reception Venue: The Franklin Institute | Catering: Frog Commissary | Food Truck: Spot Burgers | Band: GoGoGadjet | Photobooth: We Love Photobooths | Invitations: Cheer Up Press | Program/Menu Chalkboards: Beth + Borrow | Shoes: Jimmy Choo | Wedding Dress: Lazaro | Bridesmaids Dresses: Vera Wang for David's Bridal | Bride/Bridesmaids Robes: Silk & More | Bride's Earrings: Dana Rebecca Designs | Bride's Clutch: Bespoke Edie Parker | Hair: Ariel Kerber of Amanda D'Andrea Hair | Make-up: Beke Beau | Groom's Tux: Brooks Brothers | Groom/Groomsmen's Socks: Happy Socks | Gift Card Box: BHLDN