Whitemarsh Valley Country Club Wedding by Ashley Bartoletti Photography

A stunning wedding in shades of green in Lafayette Hill, PA

Natalie (a singer and music teacher) and Xavier (a veteran and police officer) exchanged vows in June at Saint Helena's Catholic Church in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania. Natalie wore a cathedral veil for the ceremony and replaced it with a short veil for the reception at Whitemarsh Valley Country Club. The cocktail hour was inspired by the couple's cultures: they had a station with family recipes from Puerto Rico and a station with Italian pastas and desserts. The ballroom was transformed into an incredible summer garden in lush shades of green! Natalie surprised her groom and sang a song for him with the band – “I wanted to share my passion for music with my husband. It was a perfect combination of music and love.” Ashley Bartoletti Photography captured their awesome celebration!

While Natalie was in graduate school at Penn State, an old friend suggested that she join “Plenty of Fish,” an online dating service. Natalie decided to make a profile. A few days later, she went to a local jeweler to purchase a watch for her mom's birthday. The jeweler was showing a couple engagement rings, and Natalie looked at him and said, “Someday.” When the jeweler was finished with the couple, he shared with Natalie an old family tradition of writing down every quality that you are looking for in a ‘love of a lifetime' on a piece of paper, and sleeping on it (literally under your mattress). He said to include EVERYTHING you wanted, even the good-looking part, and that Natalie would meet that person soon.

Natalie decided to write the list and soon after saw a picture of a handsome Latino man in an all white suit on the Plenty of Fish website. She decided to be brave and message him. Xavier said that he received that message and thought to himself, “What is this girl from Penn State doing messaging me when I'm hundreds of miles away in Philadelphia?” However, he messaged back, and the rest is history. For a year, Xavier drove the six hours every single weekend to Penn State to develop the relationship. Two years later, he popped the question at Chris' jazz club in Philadelphia, knowing Natalie's passion for live jazz music.