Have you seen the Anthony Wayne House? It’s utterly charming. A historic home set on a large open property that has been beautifully landscaped. Close to Philadelphia, but also quiet and removed so you feel like you are in the countryside. It’s the perfect place for a heartfelt wedding, big or small. I love the Anthony Wayne House any time of year, but decorating this natural space withe flowers in the fall, especially our own farm’s dahlias, is such a treat! I was so thrilled when Samantha and Glen asked us to be part of their A+ vendor team!
All the flowers in this wedding were grown at our farm in Philadelphia, making them truly locally-grown, sustainable, seasonal wedding florals.
All photos in this post were taken by the ever-sweet and talented Maria Mack Photography. Her use of light is just sublime, isn’t it?

The Wedding Planning Process

I have to tell you, I meet with a lot of couples. A lot. But I’ve never seen a groom so in love with his future wife as Glen was with Samantha during our first meeting together. He’s such a gem! Samantha also quickly became one of my favorite brides ever. Her laugh and smile are infectious and you’ll never meet a more trusting and laid back soul. They had me at “we loooooove everything we’ve ever seen you do so we totally trust you! Just do whatever you think is best with the budget we’ve given you.” They even let me pick the colors based on what would be in bloom at our farm. I chose “autumn pastels with punctuations of copper and rust”. The only “must have” were dahlias. And, boy, did we deliver!

The Ceremony

Since the weather was perfectly autumnal — a bit of a chill but plenty warm in the golden sunlight — the ceremony was held outside in front of the existing pergola at the Anthony Wayne House. The pergola is such a great structure as it is, we decided not to go too heavily on the floral here, but rather just enhance the natural beauty. Gatherings of dahlias and fall foliage were tied to the chairs along the aisle to add a special touch.
Samantha’s bridal bouquet featured several personal elements. She and Glen are foodies with a veggie garden at home so I wanted to put in lots of nods to that, including native persimmons, fennel, basil flowers, rosemary, lavender, and sage. And of course it was full of dahlias! I also made her a matching hair comb for her gorgeous auburn locks. Glen’s boutonniere also featured a baby persimmon, fennel seeds, sage, and basil flowers. It all smelled so good and made me hungry while designing!

The Reception

Cocktail hour was held out on the expansive lawn, with lots of hi-tops scattered around, showcasing apothecary bottles holding seasonal blooms and delicate grasses. The golden light hit them just right for photos!
The reception was inside the permanent tent at the Anthony Wayne House. Farm tables were set with fruitwood chiavari chairs. Half of the tables featured three gold cylinders of lush, overflowing autumn flowers. The other half of the tables featured one long overflowing rustic wooden box spilling out with autumn flowers and lots of vegetables too! We wove bits of vine directly along the center of the tables as well for an abundant and natural look.
My favorite element of this wedding, besides the utterly delightful couple themselves, was the wedding cake. I had so much fun putting all those foodie-inspired elements onto the cake Jeffery Miller Catering provided! I’m glad I wasn’t still there when it came time to cut the cake since it was almost too pretty to eat!

If you’d like to see more of our autumn floral designs, check out this post and this post! Autumn really is the best season for our farm’s flowers!