Front & Palmer Wedding: Regan & Erik

Wedding season 2018 is off to a fantastic start with the kick ass wedding of Regan and Erik! These two souls are so much fun to be around, it was easy to photograph the funzies all day. Their family and friends are easy going, hilarious, and fun loving as well, and this was another wedding where I wish I was a guest. When Erik first approached me about photographing their wedding, all I can say is that it was a huge honor for me as Erik is a fellow photographer.  (Ok I was a bit nervous too but don’t tell anyone!) Their wedding was held at the uber cool Philly venue Front and Palmer, and hours before any of that good stuff happened, we did a Philly tour for their portraits. Thank you to both Regan & Erik for trusting me with documenting this day. I’m grateful for this experience!

Here’s their juicy story:

How did you meet? It was love at first swipe. Erik and Regan met on Tinder and despite an insane winter storm, had an amazing first date. The early days of dating revolved around day trips to New York and DC, concerts, and most importantly, brunch. After only a few months of knowing each other, Regan took a risk and invited Erik to a wedding in California. Erik took a risk and agreed to travel to the west coast with her. Since then they’ve been travel buddies and once they adopted their corgi, Mallory, she’s joined in on their traveling and brunching.

The proposal: Regan is notoriously hard to surprise, but Erik managed to shock her and leave her speechless. For about four months, Erik planned the scene: he invited some of Regan’s friends from California as well as her parents. There was also a secret Facebook group with maps and timelines. The day of the proposal was the first nice day of spring in April and Erik and Regan had dinner plans with some friends at a sushi restaurant in Center City. As they walked from their place in South Philly, they stopped at the entrance to Washington Square where Erik knelt down and proposed. Excited to be engaged, but equally hungry for sushi, the happy couple continued their way through the park. As they got to the center, right in front of the Eternal Flame, was 30 of their close friends and family. Shocked and overwhelmed with happiness, Regan broke down as the magnitude of what Erik had put together hit her. She had also somehow missed some of Erik’s friends hiding in bushes around the park photographing and filming. They spent the rest of the night celebrating at Bru, the scene of their first date.

What were some of your favorite moments from your wedding day? Even though the whole day feels like a blur to Regan and Erik, the parts that stick out are what a wedding is really about: being surrounded by family and friends while saying their vows and throwing a kick ass party! Other memorable moments include almost forgetting to exchange rings during the ceremony, impromptu pictures in front of Wells Fargo, and wedding pie. Also Regan’s dress breaking and using tiny hands during the ceremony.

What’s next on your calendar as a couple? As with every other year of their relationship, Regan and Erik have a busy 2018. They’ll be going to France and Germany at the end of August for their honeymoon as well as the wedding of the friend who married them. It will be the first trip to Europe for both of them. Besides their big trip, they plan on spending the rest of the year soaking up all the warmth they can at any and all beer gardens they can. Erik is also attempting to convince Regan to adopt another puppy. Regan continues to be unconvinced.

Any advice for future couples planning their wedding? Our only wedding planning advice is to plan a wedding that YOU want. Don’t worry about what you think you SHOULD have or what other people say that you HAVE to have. It’s your day, do what makes you happy as a couple because at the end, it’s only about you two.

Some of Regan & Erik’s other fabulous vendors include:

Wedding Dress: Truvelle, truvelle.com

Bridesmaids’ Dresse: RenzRags Bridal; https://www.etsy.com/shop/RenzRags

Tuxedos: Groom’s suit: Indochino www.indochino.com

Florist: Papertini, Nancy Barbato, info@papertini.com, www.papertini.com

Officiant: Alix Howard, friend

DJ: Synergetic, Bill Berkheiser sslproductions.com; info@sslproductions.com

Makeup & Hair: Shelbi Harmes shelbi1021@gmail.com; Leslie Gilbert https://www.lesliegilbertphotography.com/