I have met many low key, laid back brides but none of them hold a candle to Mika. She and Joe were married at Philadelphia’s Bartram’s Garden with 10 of their closest family members in attendance.
The oil lamp at their ceremony table was the same one her parent’s had at their wedding.
Just a few highlights about Mika:
- She ordered her dress online and hoped for the best. It arrived a few days before the wedding. It was too long so she took scissors to the bottom of it the night before the wedding. Bonus fact: she wore her mom’s petticoat slip since the dress was a bit too sheer.
- The morning of the wedding she went to the salon and asked for hair and makeup for her wedding. They first thought she wanted a trial and were shocked when she told them that the wedding was just a few hours later.
- The same thing happened at the bakery where she went in for her “wedding cake” and came out with whatever they had available.
Incredible!
They had a self-uniting ceremony (thanks to the wonders of Pennsylvania weddings!) with Sanskrit readings by her Hindu grandmother.
Both moms:
They celebrated with champagne, strawberries, and a blueberry cake.
After some family formals, I had the couple to myself to wander around the lush property. It was the middle of the day and the day was hot. I appreciate that they indulged me in wandering all over the place.
I’m pretty sure this place has it all – from gardens to waterfront views to the Philly skyline.
I learned that they first met 6.5 years ago while living in the same dorm at Georgetown. They were friends first but it eventually morphed into more. Their first date was to a Wendy’s because he couldn’t believe that she had never been to one before.
He lives in DC and she is still finishing law school in New York City, where Joe proposed. He took her to dinner (Le Bernardin but I could be wrong) and got a suite at the Ritz Carlton where the entire staff was in on it.
In September he’ll be leaving for Afghanistan for work with the Foreign Service. When he returns they’ll jetset around the globe together.
“The rhododendrons, plots of wild strawberries, flame azaleas, Solomon’s seal, sweet shrub, mountain laurel, ginseng, Fraser magnolia…create a seemingly infinite green tapestry that surrounds the trail.”
~ William Bartram
