Landmark Love

Mr. Bruschetta and I are phila-Philadelphians. Although we don't live in the city, we have a strong affinity for its culture and cuisine, and we visit often since we're just a quick hop over the bridge.

Once I embraced the idea of a wedding reception in the city, my vision for the day finally made sense. The timeline -- including a 1:30 nuptial mass, and 5:30 cocktail hour start -- will give us a cushion, and with our formal pictures scheduled in the morning, I hope we can use the afternoon gap to capture candid photos incorporating Philly's iconic structures and settings.

Originally, my day-of plans included traveling into the city with our bridal party (before returning to the Main Line reception location of my dreams), and running around Center City -- a bustling section of the metropolis where restaurants, businesses and the arts intersect -- with our photographers and videographer.

I had no shortage of inspiration...

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...but now, I'm exhausted just thinking of how crazy it would have been to fit this in! (Factoring in traffic, I doubt we would have had much time for pictures if the reception had been outside the city.)

After we signed our venue contract, I realized a jaunt through Center City wasn't really reflective of "us" -- we spend much more time in Old City, and this section of Philly (in addition to being the home of our reception location) exudes charm, with its historic landmarks and specialty boutiques, and a sense of timelessness.

I've started brainstorming areas we'll visit between our ceremony and reception, and can't wait to map out our route.