Cops shut down wedding at Bartram’s Garden

On Friday, NewsWorks’ Elizabeth Fiedler did the story below on wedding plans that had been scrambled by Hurricane Irene.  Tonight, she went to a wedding celebration of friends’ who insisted on braving the storm for their big day. The evening came to an abrupt end, as Lizz reports here:

Around 7 p.m. police shutdown a wedding of two close friends that I was attending in Philadelphia, just minutes after the bride and groomcut the cake.

The ceremony was held in a small building at Bartram’s Garden in Southwest Philadelphia. After that, about 100 guests enjoyed drinks and hors d’oeuvres under heavy-duty event tents. Friends and family were in good spirits snacking on shrimp skewers, bread and cheese, etc, while little rivers of water flowed along the ground under the tents.

The DJ had just played a personal favorite, MIA’s “Paper Planes,” when a police officer (possibly a state trooper) walked up to the DJ and told him to cut the music. He did, gracefully, in the middle of the song, then made a final joke about having hoped to fit in a song for Irene. End of reception. The police officer told guests to go home right away and stay off the roads after that. The rain was heavy and it was windy.

After the policeman warned the DJ, the happy couple were quick to comply: hugging guests who left with party favors in hand.The car ride home to North Philly was uneventful: lots of rain, veryfew cars, and all businesses closed except one barber shop near 33rdand Spring Garden. (It had its front door wide open.  Inside two menlooked bored, but otherwise it was empty).

Here’s the original story:

Throughout the Delaware Valley people are stocking up on groceries, canceling plans, and hunkering down.  But what about all the couples that planned to get married this weekend? 

While some people were shuttering their shore houses, Mary Combs, the owner of A Garden Party Florist, was high-tailing it to a Cape May wedding that just got pushed up.

“The bride and the groom called us at 5 p.m. on Thursday,” said Combs.  “We had to drop everything that we were doing and drive immediately down to Cape May which is an hour and a half away from our shop in Elmer. We set up the ceremony in like 20 minutes, she walked down the aisle at 9:15.”

Kristin Phalines, is co-owner of a wedding planning company that does work in South Jersey and Philadelphia.

“When the Weather Channel came on I said, ‘Thank God I do not have a wedding to plan this weekend,'” said Phalines.  “Oh I can’t even imagine if I had a bride who was planning her event when there’s a possible hurricane especially with out of town guests.”

Isis Petrie Williams, with Posh Events in Cherry Hill says wedding insurance can help.

“For instance my bride getting married tomorrow wouldn’t be able to cancel today without owing the venue and owing the vendors in terms of contract stipulations,” said Williams.  “Wedding insurance would allow her to put forth a claim, get her deposits back, and any other monies that she would lose.”

Kristina Stone is still planning to get hitched Saturday in Runnemede. 

“Luckily, we were not getting married down the shore or else it definitely would have been canceled,” said Stone.

Her mom, Mary, says out of town guests have sent their regrets, and the trolley canceled. 

“I had to scramble and get another limo,” said Mary Stone.  “It’s just been a mess.  Their concern now too is with the honeymoon.  They were leaving at 6 o’clock Sunday morning for Antigua and they’re not getting a refund if they don’t make it. They put out like over $5,000 for this.  It’s cost us well over $30,000 already and I’m very concerned about that.”

But Stone says, she’s mostly concerned about her daughter not having her special day.