A Natural Spring Wedding at Power Plant in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Alyssa Connell and Dave Haslam brought old-Hollywood glamour to Philadelphia’s historic Old City, drawing inspiration from the spring season. "Our color palette came from the hunter-green-striped awnings and window boxes with deep purples, hyacinth blues and chartreuse greens of a neighborhood restaurant that caught my eye," Alyssa says. "It felt like spring without pastels." Their venue, Power Plant Productions, is an industrial-style space with plenty of bright-white colors, natural wood and an urban aesthetic—and this nicely juxtaposed the couple's vibrant color scheme. The ceremony took place inside the venue, where the couple stood beneath a whimsical arch with branches, anemones, astilbes and other flowers. Alyssa wore a classic formfitting gown and a simple veil, and her bouquet boasted deep purple blooms that popped against the white fabric. Dave and his groomsmen wore blue suits and whimsical boutonnieres. The reception continued the industrial and romantic theme. "Mini-centerpieces" with dramatic flowers, metallic votives and gray tweed linens dressed up the tables. The couple included nods to Scotland, the first country they visited on a major vacation, throughout the night. "We named the tables after all of the distilleries we visited on that trip and used a map of Scotland as our seating chart," Alyssa says. "We also fell in love with whisky while we were there, so we had a whisky tasting bar with six kinds for everyone to try." Guests ended the night with cake, ice cream and doughnuts from Federal Donuts, which is where the couple ate on their first date.
Our favorite #MakeTradition moment: "Since we live in Philadelphia, we incorporated the Quaker tradition of the self-uniting license into the ceremony," Alyssa says. "We didn't have an officiant, but instead married ourselves with our two moms as witnesses. Our bridal party ran the ceremony together—each of them read a part of the script that we wrote and that they personalized. In a nod to that tradition, we also had the vows that we wrote and read to each other, alternating lines, printed out on a large piece of paper that each of our guests signed after the ceremony. It's being framed to hang in our house."