Couples Who Travel Together Will Love This Pretty Pastel Wedding
Globe-trotting Elisabeth and Ethan wed at the Horticulture Center last spring.
Photography by Pat Robinson Photography
What do you get when a globe-trotting couple blends their classic-meets-sophisticated taste with a love of travel? This pretty in pastel wedding, that’s what! Planned to perfection by The Styled Bride and photographed beautifully by Pat Robinson Photography, this spring Horticulture Center wedding has us wishing we could fast-forward through the doldrums of winter, stat.
Ethan Chang and Elisabeth McNeill met freshman year at Boston University, and developed a close friendship before any sparks flew. “I originally thought of him as a good friend,” says Elisabeth. “He seemed so serious, I never thought in a million years he would be interested in me!”
When it was time for things to take a turn for the romantic, Ethan pulled out all the stops, planning a romantic date to a cozy restaurant in Boston’s tony Beacon Hill neighborhood. Afterwards, the pair strolled the cobblestone streets leading to Boston Public Garden, where they shared their first kiss.
Three years and one move to Taiwan later (Ethan is originally from Taipei), the pair was back stateside to visit family and friends. In Boston for a nostalgia-fueled date night, they decided to hit all the places that had been important to them in college. Though Elisabeth was in on the planning, Ethan still had a few tricks up his sleeve.
“He surprised me by pulling out a handwritten card at each stop, detailing the significance of the place and what it meant in our relationship,” Elisabeth explains. “After brunch, watching a movie, visiting an ice cream shop, and eating dinner, Ethan sat me down where we shared our first kiss and proposed. I said yes without hesitation, and afterwards he took me to a friend’s apartment where a surprise engagement party with all of our closest friends and family was waiting!”
The international couple decided on the bride’s hometown for their early Spring wedding at Philly’s Fairmount Park Horticulture Center. (Elisabeth grew up in nearby Broomall.) Pastels dominated the color scheme, and travel — an important theme in the relationship — inspired a favorite detail of the day: an escort card display featuring vintage luggage, framed maps of Boston, Taipei, and Shanghai, and luggage tag place markers.
After exchanging vows in front of 170 guests, the couple turned to their parents with a gesture of gratitude. “We prepared letters and read them to our parents, to honor and thank them for years of love and support,” says Elisabeth.
Dinner included a poached pear salad and pan-seared halibut, and the evening’s featured cocktails were a Nor’easter and a Pear Haymaker. Dessert was done tapas style, with options including key lime tarts and shortbread cookies paired with mini milk bottles, and the couple also cut into a dusty blue cake that perfectly matched the bride’s Jimmy Choo shoes.
Elisabeth and Ethan selected “Easily” by Bruno Major for their first dance, and took a week-long minimoon in LA and San Diego after the wedding. They currently reside just outside of Boston, where he is a software engineer, she is pursuing a graduate degree in speech-language pathology, and both are hard at work planning their “real” honeymoon to Italy later this year.
The Details
Photography: Pat Robinson Photography | Venue: Fairmount Park Horticulture Center | Event Planning: The Styled Bride | Florals: Devon & Pinkett | Catering: Constellation | Bride’s Gown: Monique Lhuillier | Hair: Amanda D’Andrea Hair | Makeup: Beke Beau | Bridesmaid Dresses: Jenny Yoo | Cake and Succulent Cupcake Favors: Nutmeg Cake Design | Transportation: Philadelphia Trolley Works | Videography: Willow Tree Films | Music: Lovesick (DJ) and Drew Nugent & the Midnight Society (jazz trio for cocktail hour) | Invitations: Papertree Studio | Furniture Rentals: Maggpie Rentals | Photo Booth: Poser Photo Booth Co. | Calligraphy: Jliu & Co. | Lighting: Eventions Productions | Hotel: Lokal Hotel
Get more great content from Philadelphia Wedding:
FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | NEWSLETTER | PINTEREST
Getting married? Start and end your wedding planning journey with Philadelphia Weddings' guide to the best wedding vendors in the city.
