A Music-Inspired Wedding at a Philadelphia Concert Venue

Devin and Maxwell went to the same high school together, but it wasn’t until they matched on Bumble in August 2018 that they hit it off. Two-and-a-half years later, Max brought Devin to the Four Seasons in Philadelphia on May 13, 2021 for her birthday and he surprised her with a heartfelt proposal.

When they started planning their wedding, they realized that many friends and family were rescheduling their own nuptials that year due to the pandemic. So, they found it difficult to pick a date when most of their guests would be available. They finally landed on September 5, 2021 at The Fillmore in Philadelphia. The couple loved the idea of inviting 175 of their loved ones to the music venue for a gold, black, and white themed wedding. “We wanted to have a traditional wedding with a twist,” Devin says. “We love music and our style is a little edgy, so it made for the perfect venue. We also loved that it would be a place we could go again for concerts and be reminded of our wedding day.”

With just four months to plan their wedding, Devin and Max enlisted planner Ronnie Anderson Events to design all of the decor details, which they admit was easy with her help. “We didn’t want to play too much into trends and wanted everything to look simple yet elevated,” the bride says. The couple enlisted help from artistic family members for personal touches to the decor and incorporated Jewish traditions into both the ceremony and reception.

Read on to see all of the moody design details photographer Minh Cao of Du Soleil Photographie captured at this music-inspired wedding.

The couple’s invitation suite featured black velvet paper with gold lettering from Chick Invitations. 

Devin got ready for the wedding in an ivory Skims pajama set before putting on her BHLDN wedding dress with long sleeves and a plunging neckline. “On a whim my mom and I went to BHLDN without an appointment. Someone had just canceled their appointment so we had 30 minutes to try on dresses,” Devin says, “It was the first dress I tried on, and I didn’t want to try on anything else.” She paired her gown with jewelry and a veil from BHLDN and Sophia Webster shoes. Devin’s mom turned her own wedding dress into an evening clutch Devin used on the wedding day.

“I wanted to look like an enhanced version of myself, so I wore my hair down and had ‘natural’ glam,” Devin says. Leading up to the wedding day, Devin prepared her skin with botox, microderm, and hydrafacial treatments. “I wanted my skin to look smooth and dewy,” she says.

Devin and Max both chose wedding fragrances they could wear for future anniversaries and special occasions. She wore Tom Ford’s F*cking Fabulous perfume. For her walk down the aisle, the bride held a bouquet of white and blush garden roses and orchids.

Max appreciates fashion, so he wore a suit from Boyds Philadelphia. “His favorite part about his suit was the cropped pants look with exposed ankles and no socks,” Devin says. A few weeks before the wedding day, a family member gifted Max a gold watch that belonged to his grandfather. “It’s tradition that they pass it down when someone is getting married and that was really special for Max to have,” Devin says. Max got his first mani pedi on his wedding day, and he wore a Versace fragrance.

Devin and Max shared a first look before the ceremony with their wedding party and family watching on. “I would be too emotional if I saw Max for the first time walking down the aisle,” Devin says, “We also wanted to enjoy our cocktail hour, so we wanted to take pictures ahead of time. 

Devin asked her bridesmaids to choose their own dresses but to avoid shades of red and yellow. “We wanted them to be able to wear them again and feel comfortable all day,” she says. The groomsmen wore navy suits with different pocket squares purchased from Boyds Philadelphia.

The couple invited their wedding party to the green room for a celebratory drink before the ceremony started. “One, it was really cool to be backstage in a green room,” Devin says, “Two, we got to shake some of the pre-ceremony nerves off by spending time with people who meant a lot to us.”

Max’s family is Jewish, so the couple wanted to incorporate Jewish traditions, including being married underneath a chuppah. The chuppah, designed by Carl Alan Florist, featured white garden roses and white orchids. The aisle was lined with candles in glass hurricane holders and a white aisle runner was covered in white rose petals. The venue’s gold and black velvet chairs were set up for guests.

Max and the bridal party walked down the aisle to live musicians playing Lana Del Ray’s “Young and Beautiful.” Devin walked down the aisle to Coldplay’s “The Scientist,” accompanied by both of her parents. 

The couple wrote their own vows and exchanged them in front of their loved ones. ”It was such an incredible experience to share everything we loved about each other with our friends and family,” Devin says, “After our ceremony, people kept telling us how much they loved our vows, and I think it connected everyone in an emotional way.” The couple incorporated the Jewish tradition of breaking glass, and Devin surprised Max by asking him to take a shot of tequila at the end of her vows.

Devin and Maxwell have decorated their apartment walls with their favorite records. Instead of a traditional guest book, the couple asked their wedding guests to sign a record as a nod to their mutual love of music and the wedding venue itself.

The couple’s reception décor fit with the black, white, and gold color scheme of the day. Round tables with gold bases and white tops were placed around the room. Some were topped with floor-length white linens while others were left bare. The venue came with chandeliers and disco balls, and the couple’s planner enhanced the lighting by using tall gold candelabras as the centerpieces.

The week of the wedding, Devin ordered six dresses online, hoping one would work for a reception look. When she fell in love with two of them, she decided to wear both! Her first outfit change was a For Love and Lemons strapless corset dress with a tulle high-low skirt.

“The horah was the best way to start off the reception,” Devin says, “It got everyone on the dance floor, and we've both never smiled so much in our lives than in that moment.”

The couple shared their first dance to “Adore You” by Harry Styles. Devin wore a white denim jacket with an illustration of Harry Styles at their wedding venue on the back.

Towards the end of the evening, Devin changed into her third dress—a long-sleeved sparkly wrap dress from Retrofete . The couple skipped a traditional wedding cake and served a donut tower cake by Federal Donuts. After the ceremony, the couple took a trip across the states to enjoy a honeymoon in Napa, California.

To couples planning a wedding, Devin and Max offer this advice: “Enjoy every moment. It goes by too fast, even the planning part! Stay present and when you feel stressed remind yourself of your love for your future spouse.”