The Flyers season is almost here, the Eagles may have found a franchise quarterback, and the Phillies have given us reasons to be excited about the next few years. There’s palpable excitement in Philadelphia, so Steph and I wanted to help our fellow sports lovers figure out how to pay tribute to their favorite team on their wedding day. It can be hard to do this in a way that doesn’t feel over-the-top, but we have lots of tips to help you show your team spirit. Now, turning it over to Steph!
The Philadelphia Eagles are 3-0. It’s basically Christmas in Philadelphia right now (or at least, until after the bye week, when we can start over-analyzing and worrying about the next game). There are only a few major cities I would say who appreciate their local teams as much as Philadelphians and, personally, I think we are the best.
Kim and I have been sports fans our entire lives. One of the first stories I remember about Kim is our mother telling us how when she was a toddler, she would yell “Come back here, Flyers!” at games when they were on the other end of the ice [Kim’s note: it is my understanding that I was delightful]. I haven’t missed an Eagles game in at least 15 years, even scheduling vacations around bye weeks and making sure to find a local bar when I am away for a game (thank you, ESPN Club at Walt Disney World!)
Both of our significant others are fans, too. Kim converted S to a Philadelphia fan – since he grew up in a place with no local teams, this wasn’t hard. I am fortunate enough to have found a die-hard Philly fan in B – he is 100% superstitious about the Eagles and his mood depends on how the team is doing.
I know a bride who frantically called the Eagles asking for their schedule before it was released to the public because she needed to schedule her honeymoon around games (as per request of her season-ticket-holding groom.) While I don’t suggest rearranging your wedding to watch a game (at least, to watch a regular season game!), there are many ways to include your (or your fiancé’s) love for your favorite Philly team.
As with our tips for using books on your wedding day, remember that moderation is key – too many “themed” elements can leave your reception feeling more like a kid’s birthday party.
Photo credits, clockwise from top left:
Orange cake: Burnett’s Boards
Eagles cuff links: BG Productions
Mini hot dogs: The Knot, from K Thompson Photography
Green heels: Style Me Pretty
Citizens Bank Park engagement photo: Liz Warnek Wedding Photography
French fry cones: Style Me Pretty
Phillies cookies: Whipped Bakeshop
Eagles ice sculpture: BG Productions
Décor
Your color scheme is an easy way to acknowledge your sports allegiances, but is also a very slippery slope. Keeping the overall look classic while splashing your entire reception with Phillies red, blue, and white, or with baseball-patterned linens, is going to be difficult, at best.
Instead, pull out one of the team’s colors and build a palette around that. If Phillies red isn’t fitting with your vision, burgundy (as a nod to the throwback light blue and maroon) might work better. Black and white, plus either silver or gold, could represent your love of the Eagles or Flyers. The classic Eagles Kelly green looks great with white and navy for summer weddings.
Attire
Grooms might want to wear cuff links, a bow tie, or socks that pay tribute to their favorite team, and brides could look for shoes in their team’s color (as with the green heels in the photo above).
A customized jersey or player shirt with your last name and the year of your wedding would make for excellent photos – here are options from the Eagles, Phillies, and Flyers. You can wear these while getting ready (or for engagement photos), and “bride” and “groom” could sub in for your last name, particularly if you’re not changing your name.
Sources: Eagles hoodie, Phillies shirt, Flyers jersey
Guestbook
You could wear your custom shirt or jersey for photos, and then turn it into your guestbook!
Alternatively, have guests sign a home plate (whether rubber or wooden), basketball, or whatever sports-related item that works for you. It is a fun and easy way to have something from your wedding that you can display, vs. a traditional guestbook that might sit untouched on your shelf.
Food
What are your favorite ballpark or stadium foods? Cocktail hour is a great time to bring in mini versions of ballpark classics, like hot dogs (as pictured). What about a Philly soft pretzel bar, or having mini pretzels and mustard as a passed option during cocktail hour?
Kim and I are big fans of Chickie’s and Pete’s crab fries, and get them every time we go to games – you could get some giant buckets of crab fries and have them put into paper cones for your guests. Potentially messy, but absolutely delicious!
Cakes
Grooms’ cakes have become more popular outside the south, so if you’re planning to have a groom’s cake – that is, a second cake (often, but not always, chocolate) in addition to your traditional tiered cake – why not make it sports themed? There are a ton of local bakeries that make gorgeous, “can’t believe they’re cake” cakes – some of our favorites are Velvet Sky Bakery and Whipped Bakeshop.
If you’re not planning to have two cakes, rather than do one of those “ball hitting the cake” cakes, you could bring in your team’s colors. You might have the cake layers themselves colored to match, or incorporate the colors as part of the decorations. The cake in the inspiration board has white and orange elements perfect for a Flyers fan, but still looks incredibly elegant.
Be careful if you want the cake frosting dyed to match, however, as dark colors are likely to transfer to lips and teeth!
Favors
Edible favors are always a good idea, so you might opt for a sports-themed cookie or cupcake to send home with your guests. If you feel like DIY-ing your favors, you could buy team-themed cookie cutters or candy molds and make your own, too.
Venue
For the die-hard fans, why not consider having your wedding where your favorite team plays? You can reserve many of the spaces at Citizens Bank Park, for example, and even have your ceremony on the field!
If your wedding coincides with the season, you could reserve a box (or buy a group block of tickets) for your rehearsal dinner. If it doesn’t, or if that won’t work for your group, think about having engagement photos taken in or around the stadium / arena.
Philly sports fans, we want to hear from you! Leave a comment and let us know how you showed your team spirit on your wedding day.
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