A Summer Wedding at The Bellevue: Lindsey and Jonathan

Jonathan hugging Lindsey on the XIX balcony at The Bellevue with the Philadelphia skyline behind them

I photographed Gordon’s wedding before this one. Gordon was Jonathan’s best man, and that is how Lindsey and Jonathan found me. It’s my favorite way to get hired. By the time the band started playing, I already knew a few people on the dance floor.

They got married at The Bellevue on Broad Street in the summer, back when it was still the Hyatt at the Bellevue. Both of them got ready at the hotel. They did their first look up on the XIX balcony, we went out for portraits at the Rodin Museum and Rittenhouse Square, and the reception was in the big ballroom, the one with the balcony that wraps all the way around the room.

Cescaphe runs that ballroom now and calls it the Grand Belle. They put in new floors and new chairs when they renovated it, so it looks a little different today, but it’s the same room.

The Bellevue opened in 1904 at Broad and Walnut, a short walk from City Hall. The ballroom still has its original ceiling moldings, and up on the 19th floor, XIX has a balcony that looks out over Center City. If you’re comparing rooms, it’s on my list of the best Philadelphia wedding venues, and Rebecca and Nick’s wedding was at The Bellevue too.

Getting Ready at The Bellevue

Both of them got ready in suites at the hotel. Jonathan went with a bow tie and suspenders. Lindsey wore a lace Mira Zwillinger gown from Mark Ingram Atelier and Jimmy Choo heels.

The palette for the whole day was white, ivory and green, and it starts right here with the details. I shot a lot of the morning and the portraits on film, which is why those frames have that grain.

Jonathan getting dressed with help from a groomsman in a suite at The Bellevue in Philadelphia, black and white

Jonathan in his tuxedo facing a groomsman across a suite at The Bellevue, black and white

Lindsey's lace Mira Zwillinger gown hanging in a doorway, with a close view of the lace

Lindsey's jewelry and Jimmy Choo heels laid out on linen before the wedding

Lindsey in her lace gown beside a framed print in her suite at The Bellevue, black and white

The lace hem of Lindsey's gown as she gets dressed, black and white

Lindsey putting on an earring by the window, black and white

A close portrait of Lindsey touching her engagement ring, black and white

Lindsey sitting on the bed in her gown, smiling toward the window light, black and white

A First Look on the XIX Balcony

XIX is on the 19th floor, and the balcony looks right out over the city. Jonathan waited out there with his back to the doors. Lindsey walked out, he turned around, and that was it.

I love doing a first look up high. You get the whole skyline behind them, and for a couple of minutes it’s just the two of them.

Jonathan waiting on the XIX balcony at The Bellevue with the Center City skyline in front of him

Lindsey walking through XIX toward the balcony doors for the first look

Lindsey stepping through the balcony doors of XIX toward Jonathan for their first look

Lindsey stepping out onto the XIX balcony toward Jonathan, the city behind them

Lindsey and Jonathan framed by the tall balcony doors of XIX, the skyline outside

Lindsey and Jonathan at the iron railing of the XIX balcony, rooftops and towers behind them

Portraits at the Rodin Museum and Rittenhouse Square

From there we headed out for portraits in two places. The Rodin Museum has those big iron gates and a reflecting pool out front, and Rittenhouse gives you long shady paths under the trees.

Lindsey had two bridesmaids and Jonathan had three groomsmen. A small wedding party always leaves more time for the two of them, and we used every minute of it.

Lindsey and Jonathan walking through the marble hallway of The Bellevue with their wedding party, black and white

Looking up at the front of The Bellevue on Broad Street with its flags out

Broad Street looking toward City Hall from outside The Bellevue

Lindsey and Jonathan standing in the open iron gates of the Rodin Museum in Philadelphia, black and white

Lindsey and Jonathan reflected in the pool in front of the Rodin Museum

Lindsey and Jonathan at the top of the steps behind the fountain at the Rodin Museum, reflected in the pool below

Lindsey and Jonathan kissing on the steps of the Rodin Museum above the stone fountain

Lindsey and Jonathan face to face in a garden of pink astilbe and hostas

Lindsey's lace gown and white peony bouquet with Jonathan's hand at her waist

Lindsey and Jonathan in front of a wall of ivy

Jonathan standing beside Lindsey as she sits on a stone bench against the ivy

Lindsey's hand on Jonathan's arm, her engagement ring against his tuxedo sleeve

Lindsey and Jonathan on a shaded path in Rittenhouse Square

Lindsey walking in her lace gown along a sunlit path in Rittenhouse Square

Lindsey lifting her skirt beside an old brick wall with trees overhead

Lindsey and Jonathan with their two bridesmaids and three groomsmen on a path in Rittenhouse Square

Jonathan and his three groomsmen in tuxedos in a leafy garden, black and white

Jonathan twirling Lindsey on a path in Rittenhouse Square, black and white

The Ketubah and the Ceremony

Back at The Bellevue we did family photographs in the hall right outside the ceremony room. That floor gets gorgeous window light, so I don’t even need flash, and I love doing family photographs there. Then they signed the ketubah with their families around the table, and Rabbi Elliot Strom married them under a chuppah covered in white flowers and greenery.

The ceremony wasn’t in the ballroom. The Bellevue has a separate room they use for ceremonies, and Brian Kappra and the Evantine team did the flowers in there. They were really, really nice.

Lindsey and Jonathan with their families in a wood paneled hall at The Bellevue

Lindsey and Jonathan's papercut ketubah on a wooden table

Lindsey smiling beside Jonathan at the ketubah signing, black and white

Lindsey and Jonathan signing the ketubah at a wooden table with their families around them

Jonathan laughing as he signs the ketubah beside Lindsey

The ceremony room at The Bellevue set with clear chairs and a chuppah of white flowers and greenery under a chandelier

Lindsey walking down the aisle with her parents in the ceremony room at The Bellevue

Lindsey and Jonathan smiling under the white floral chuppah

Jonathan placing the ring on Lindsey's finger under the chuppah

Lindsey and Jonathan's first kiss under the chuppah of white flowers

The Ballroom That Is Now the Grand Belle

Then everyone went into the ballroom. Evantine filled it with full trees, tall silver candelabras and white flowers on every table, and used clear chairs so nothing competed with the room itself. There were 245 guests.

The escort card table at The Bellevue lined with white flowers and candles in front of gilded doors

Handwritten escort cards among white flowers and candles

A place setting with a gold beaded charger and a monogrammed menu

White orchids and hanging greenery over the reception tables

Tall silver candelabras and white flowers along the reception tables in the Bellevue ballroom

A tall arrangement of white flowers over a round table in the ballroom

Full trees, white orchids and floating candles over a long table in the ballroom

The Bellevue ballroom set for the reception, trees and white flowers under the balcony that wraps around the room

A column of white roses and hydrangea at the edge of the dance floor

A round table with a tall white centerpiece under the trees in the ballroom

Candelabras and white flowers along a long table, the ballroom glowing behind

The white wedding cake by Classic Cake lit by candles

First Dance, the Horah and a Packed Dance Floor

They had their first dance under the chandelier, with guests all around the floor and a few more watching from the balcony. Then the Bobby Attiko Band took over, the chairs went up for the horah, and the dance floor stayed packed.

Classic Cake made the cake, and the cake cutting turned into a laughing fit, which is exactly what I hope for.

Lindsey and Jonathan's first dance with guests watching, black and white

Lindsey and Jonathan's first dance on the white floor in the middle of the ballroom, black and white

Lindsey and Jonathan's first dance under the chandelier and ornate ceiling, guests on the balcony above, black and white

Lindsey and Jonathan lifted up on chairs during the horah

Lindsey laughing at the table with Jonathan and a guest during the reception, black and white

Lindsey dancing with guests on a packed dance floor

Two guests leaning into the camera mid shout on the dance floor

Groomsmen dancing low on the dance floor while guests cheer

Lindsey and Jonathan sharing the first bite of cake

Lindsey and Jonathan laughing through the cake cutting

Lindsey and Jonathan kissing beside their cake

Ready to Start Planning?

Getting married at The Bellevue, or anywhere in Philadelphia? Tell me about your wedding and I will get back to you the same day.

Vendor Team

Venue: The Bellevue Hotel, reception in the ballroom now called the Grand Belle
Planning and florals: Evantine Design
Officiant: Rabbi Elliot Strom
Band: Bobby Attiko Band
Cake: Classic Cake
Gown: Mira Zwillinger, Mark Ingram Atelier
Shoes: Jimmy Choo
Groom’s tuxedo: Boyd’s
Hair: Jason Matthew
Makeup: Ashley Bohl
Invitations: The Papery
Photography: Jordan Brian Studios

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