The Lively, Colorful Globe Dye Works Wedding of a Philly Planner

The Globe Dye Works wedding of Philly planner Allie Beik and Tim Davis / Photography by Redfield Photography

When someone in the wedding business gets married, their celebration is bound to be one for the record books. After all, they spend their lives ensuring your festivities are a breeze, whether it’s delivering the sweetest photos or planning every last detail of your design and day. So when Allie Beik of Chestnut Hill-based Polka Dot Events began planning for her union last year, we listened up. (You can read our piece on her process here.) Her ensuing Globe Dye Works wedding was a lively can’t-miss occasion, as portrayed by Redfield Photography below. We hope it inspires you, too.

Mount Airy couple Allie Beik and Tim Davis didn’t technically have a first date. And Allie, a wedding planner with Polka Dot Events, first brought up the fact that they should get married in July 2019. Tim, a civil engineer, said no because he wasn’t ready yet.

So how did they get to October 30, 2021? Well, let’s back up to their high-school years. Allie attended Masterman with Tim’s best friend Joe. (Tim attended St. Joe’s Prep.) When Joe connected the future couple, Allie had an immediate crush. “It lasted through high school and college, through other boyfriends, until we finally started dating in our 20s.”

They initially hung out casually as friends, grabbing drinks at XIX at the Bellevue and the Continental once a week or so. Then their relationship turned into something more and continued for another four years before they got engaged in October 2020. (Tim managed to pull off a surprise proposal — only a month after telling Allie she could start planning their Big Day.)

One year later, the couple said “I do” at Globe Dye Works, a former industrial factory in Northeast Philly, with 160 friends and family members on hand. As expected from a planner and her love, the day — described by the pair as fun, colorful, communal and nontraditional — was infused with many special touches.

For starters, Allie and Tim stopped for photos at Attic Brewing, ensuring a private moment — and a few beers — before the festivities went down.

It was important to the couple to work with women-owned businesses or those owned by people of color, and to be as sustainable as possible. So they rented almost everything, used seed paper for the menu and place cards (which they later planted in their yard), and had florist Papertini use seasonal, local blooms to create the centerpieces and a ground installation for the ceremony that was later moved in front of the band. (The colors were dominated by goldenrod, with ivory, dusty pink, black and hunter green to complement.)

The people closest to them were a large part of the celebration, too. “Tim and I feel very strongly about our community of friends and family, so we did nontraditional things like mentioning all of our family names on the invitation.” The verbiage read: “The Ierardi-Beik and Mazda-Davis families want you to come party.”

Tim made the seating chart — a map of the venue, with each numbered table named after the groups that were seated at each table. “And then, of course, I alphabetized everyone’s names and listed them under the map so it was easy to find their table number,” adds Allie, ever the planner.

Meanwhile, the bride’s best friend, Nick Biddle — a.k.a. drag performer Biddy Bee — was one of the “flower girls.” “Tim didn’t know Biddy was going to be in drag, so that was a really fun surprise for him,” says Allie. Tim’s college friend, Alec Hurley, officiated the wedding, and honored Tim’s late grandfather, who was Persian, by incorporating Zoroastrian religious elements into the ceremony. And in lieu of a first dance, Allie’s friends sang an a cappella version of “True to Your Heart” by 98 Degrees and Stevie Wonder to get everyone dancing.

Ask Allie what the biggest surprise was for her, and she’ll throw it back to the industry in which she works. “For me, it was how much fun the vendors had. I genuinely felt like Marisa [Rebecca] and John [Awad] from Redfield and the Birchtree Catering team had a fun time with our guests, which made me so happy. Sometimes as a wedding vendor it is very much work, but when you have a good group of people, you truly enjoy the day.”

THE DETAILS
Photographer: Redfield Photography | Venue: Globe Dye Works | Planning/Design: The bride (Allie Beik of Polka Dot Events) | Florals: Papertini; Forget Me Knot (donations) | Catering: Birchtree Catering | Bride’s Gown: Rami Al Ali | Hair: Collab Hair Studio | Makeup: Daneene Jensen & Associates | Groom’s Attire: Indochino | Entertainment: The Morning After of EastCoast Entertainment | Desserts: Milk + Sugar | Invitations: Polk Paper | Transportation: Krapf Group | Officiant: Alec Hurley (friend of the couple) | Ring Designers: L. Priori Jewelry (engagement ring); family heirlooms (wedding bands) | Drag Performer: Biddy Bee |Rentals: Party Rental Ltd.; Nüage Designs (tablecloths) | Photo-Shoot Location: Attic Brewing

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