By: Rebecca Richman

The Harlem Renaissance served as inspiration as we were helping Maria and Al with planning their Philadelphia wedding at the Ritz Carlton this past fall. We helped them find subtle ways to weave in art deco elements into their wedding decor, utilizing deep red florals and ostrich feathers for texture. The ceremony was at St. John the Evangelist where they honored the African American tradition of jumping the broom. The celebration continued at the Ritz Carlton, a truly historic building that had hints of art deco influence with it's palm trees and columns.  Maria's family is from Louisiana so it was important to incorporate their love of creole food and culture into their reception.  A seafood gumbo was served with little mini tabasco's (the bride's aunts told me that the gumbo far exceeded their expectations and was on par with the real gumbo of New Orleans, a cudos to the chef and staff at the Ritz Carlton). The crab cakes were also accompanied by a spicy roumaloude. Their red velvet cake was designed and baked by Chef Dana Herbert (an old fraternity friend of the groom's and winner of Cake Boss on TLC) and guests danced the night away to the music of CTO 5th Avenue. 

We were so happy that MunaLuchi Bride featured this beautiful wedding, click here for the full feature! http://munaluchibridal.com/harlem-renaissance-philadelphia-wedding-maria-al/

The Huffington Post also featured their wedding
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/05/black-love-wedding-announcements-1_n_1255635.html

A big thank you to Amie Schroeder for sharing their incredible images below, click here for the full gallery.