Philadelphia Wedding: Atenea + Mo's Stunning Material Culture Wedding -

September 23, 2019

Philadelphia Wedding: Atenea + Mo’s Stunning Material Culture Wedding

Material Culture was the perfect backdrop to Atenea and Mo’s stunning Philadelphia wedding. The antique auction house-turned-eclectic event space at night features art and antiques from all over the world. They chose this colorful, rich setting to tell the story of their love because they couldn’t imagine a more appropriate venue to illustrate their uniting families and celebrate her Mexican roots and his Jewish heritage.

Getting Ready

The couple prepared for their big day at the Sonesta, a Rittenhouse Square hotel.

The First Look

One of the most special part of a Material Culture wedding is that you get to choose which of items to surround yourself with to set the mood for your day. The venue’s upper mezzanine is filled with natural light and lush tapestries line the walls alongside many other priceless treasures. That’s where Atenea and Mo decided to stage their first look. Their first look was incredibly special – Mo had to travel during the week leading up to their wedding, so their first look was the first time they saw each other in as much time. It was such a privilege to witness the joy of this moment after being separated for so long.

TISCH, BLESSINGS + KETUBAH

Atenea and Mo’s traditional Jewish wedding ceremony was preceded by the tisch and blessing ceremony. During that ceremony, the bride and groom received their guests in separate rooms. The bride greeted each guest with a blessing while the groom attempted to teach his guests a lesson from the Torah. In keeping with tradition, Mo’s guests interrupted his teaching with rowdy interjections and joyful songs. After Atenea gave her final blessing to her mothers and sisters, the groom and his guests danced and sang their way over to the bride. There the ceremony culminated in the signing of the ketubah.

THE CEREMONY

Every detail of Atenea and Mo’s Philadelphia wedding was thoughtfully planned to celebrate their rich cultures and heritages uniting as one. Their ceremony was performed in three separate languages – English, Hebrew and Spanish. This included the traditional seven blessings, which were delivered by 21 of their closest family members and friends.

THE RECEPTION

For all of the beautiful parts of Atenea and Mo’s beautiful day, the reception was both gorgeous and a ton of fun! The high energy “Hava Nagila,” warm speeches from both sets of parents (in English and Spanish) and the delicious vegetarian menu made for a lovely finish to a stunning day.