Forget Tiffany's: Breakfast at the Ritz

I wanted to start this series out with something elegantly swellegant! Traditionally weddings were in the morning followed by a fabulous wedding breakfast, so I figured, where better to do this than at the Ritz Carlton — where tradition is not a lost art? And I don't know about you, but I could eat breakfast both night or day.

I called Stephen P. Jackson, the Director of Catering at the Ritz-Carlton, Philadelphia. By the time we were done dreaming, we both wanted an invitation to this wedding! (A lovely upside to a breakfast wedding is that you get the Ritz-Carlton experience at slightly friendlier prices. There's a good deal!)

We considered a couple of a certain age who wanted a small and lovely wedding. The Ritz-Carlton is a landmark in Philadelphia (built as a replica of the Parthenon by McKim, Mead and White with 9,000 tons of white marble). One of the rooms we chose (The Exchange) not only has open hot and cold kitchens, where you can watch the chefs preparing your meal, but also overlooks City Hall. Start your morning here, with close family and friends, drinking champagne cocktails and dancing to a small combo. Or get married in the balcony above the lobby in the rotunda for a private but plein air experience. The ring of crystal, the rattle of silver on china and the harp music will let people know something special is happening right above them.

Marriages grounded in their community have a far better success rate than others. A relaxed, intimate wedding like this is guaranteed to bring your guests closer together and build community and memories. And you'll have a chance to visit with all of them. Just think, a chance to enjoy your wedding reception and have time to eat!

Think brunch meets tea meets cocktail reception. (Did you know you could have champagne cocktails to match your napkins and your flowers?) Choose a buffet or a sit-down meal. Enlist the food in recounting the tale of this great romance: choose family favorites, ingredients from your favorite trip or the place one proposed and the other accepted. Build a storybook that includes why you chose food and colors and flowers. Let the waiters pass quail eggs benedicts and miniature waffles. Let the Ritz-Carlton's dessert chefs create a fantastical dessert display as lovely as any wedding cake. (and maybe better!)

Ladies, really, a fabulous hat would be perfect! How often do you have the chance? And after you've retired upstairs for a short nap, you have Philadelphia at night to explore! 

One more way to move from "I do" to happily and healthily ever after!