Water Works Wedding | Philadelphia, PA | Jenna & Achraf

July 9, 2019

Last weekend, I photographed Jenna and Ach’s romantic Water Works Wedding in Philadelphia. These two had an outdoor tented wedding on the riverfront of the Schuylkill River and their day was filled with pink and gold tones with tons of flowers and of candles. Cescaphe always does such an amazing job with weddings and Jenna and Ach’s Water Works wedding was no exception.

Jenna and Ach are high school sweethearts! They first met during the first couple years of high school, but didn’t get to really know each other until ceramics class her junior and his senior year. He sat next to her and was a huge flirt! It took a few months until she decided to go out with him but looking back on it, it was the best decision she ever made. Their first date was Valentines Day 2008 and they went to the movies to see Fools Gold. Jenna remembers it like it was yesterday, Ach was late and he showed up in an old gold mini van, which thankfully was not his car. When she got into the minivan, there was a rose on the seat for her! He explained why he had the minivan and he was so embarrassed to be picking her up in it! Jenna and Ach have now been together for over 10 years, so it’s hard to recall exactly when she knew that he was the one. But it feels like he was never not the one, she has wanted to marry him from the beginning when they began dating as teenagers and went through so many life stages together, it was not always easy but they truly believe it made them a stronger couple.

Water Works wedding in Philadelphia Engaged on 7/30/17, the proposal from Jenna: “We were in Malta on vacation and we decided to go to this nice restaurant with a beautiful view for drinks. According to Ach the night didn’t go as planned because he wanted everything to go down during sunset and hoped for less people. After a few drinks he bought a bottle of champagne and we walked down by these rocks by the Mediterranean Sea and there were fireworks going off he started saying romantic things to me and then got down on one knee. I never knew what ugly crying was until that day!” Last Summer, I had the opportunity to meet these two for their engagement session!

Jenna and Ach had a gorgeous sunny Summer day for their outdoor tented wedding. They decided to be traditional so the first moment Ach saw his beautiful bride was when she walked down the aisle. I loved that their ceremony blended both cultures and was highly personal. They wrote their own vows, their friend was the officiant, Jenna’s brother did a reading, there was a second reading by Ach’s brother that was read in both English and Arabic and a sand ceremony where they both poured sand from important places to them – Ocean City, NJ for Jenna and Tunisia for Ach.

Their Water Works wedding reception began with one of the most fun Middle Eastern traditions I have ever photographed. A Zaffa band led the bride and groom to the dance floor for their introductions and it was like a mini-parade! Jenna and Ach were escorted into their wedding reception to a troupe of musicians, drummers, and a saxophone player. They were led through the room while all the guests cheered them on. Eventually all the guests joined Jenna and Ach on the dance floor and it was one HUGE party! I cannot think of a better way to make your grand wedding entrance!

Now that these two are married and are currently honeymooning in Bali, their dream is to have a big family. Jenna wants 5 kids and Ach wants 3 so they may have to meet in the middle at 4! They also hope to continue traveling. Thank you to Jenna and Ach for allowing me to photograph your beautiful Water works wedding!