Feb
28
Jess and Ivan are fun, cheerful, vibrant people, so it is no surprise that they chose to celebrate their wedding with lots of colors- reds, yellows, greens, pinks, purples. And lots of textures- satin, silk, sparkly stones, dahlias, roses, orchids, bamboo… Plus they wanted to bring their own sense of style and history to their wedding day- an elegant downtown Boston location was the perfect backdrop with stunning views of the city, some special Chinese touches reflecting Ivan’s heritage, all mixed together with a few snippets from their relationship.
For her personal look, Jess chose graceful style. Her dress accentuated her height and included just enough bling to make her feel special.
The sparklies as seen through the veil.
The shoes to match.
The floral was a key component to their day. I love the vivid colors and fresh arrangement of her bouquet.
Ivan holding it- totally cute how it makes him smile.
And Ivan’s boutonniere was a perfect match. (Also note his very distinguished white bow-tie.)
The room decor complimented their personal flowers.
Some floral pieces included bamboo, a touch of the Asian influence on the day.
I absolutely adore couples who share a bit of their relationship with their guests by including personal touches. Ivan and Jess have a special song, "You are My Sunshine." Certainly not traditional, and definitively sweet. They danced for the first time as husband and wife to that song, and they had the title engraved on the inside of their wedding bands.
Bright, inviting food displays matched perfectly with the floral.
Spring rolls- another way to share a taste of their history.
Dave captured this photo of a piece of artwork on the walls of the Harvard Club. Since they couldn’t bring their beautiful beagle, Noodle, to their wedding, it was nice to have this guy there.
The Chinese tea ceremony was an important part of the day for both families.
As wedding favors, each guest received a pair of beautiful chopsticks.
The double happiness character was prominent throughout- from the invitation to the cake design.
Loved the way the Harvard Club served up the cake… several chocolate covered strawberries on the side. Yummy.
And one last treat from Jess and Ivan’s beautiful site- what an amazing view of downtown Boston at night!
The Professionals who brought it all together-
Ceremony and Reception Venue: Downtown Harvard Club
Catering: Harvard Club
Wedding cake: Konditor Meister
Floral: Nellie’s Wildflowers
Entertainment: Entertainment Specialists
Officiant: Justice of the Peace Helen Kerivan
If you want more from Jess and Ivan’s vibrant celebration, check out the Sneak Preview, the Scoop, and their Slideshow. You may also be interested in their Engagement Session.
Feb
24
When Marla and Shawn chose to have a destination wedding in California‘s stunning wine country rather than wed in their Texas hometown, they certainly gave up some control. But they still found several ways to infuse their wedding with their own style and some very important personal touches.
Some things, like the get-away car, they could chose from a distance. The elected to hire Bow Tie Limousines for a vintage auto, completing the classic and romantic tone of their wedding.
Having chosen to have their wedding at Hans Fahden winery, Marla and Shawn were able to give their guests a taste of their fabulous wedding. A bottle of wine was the perfect remembrance.
And it wouldn’t be a fabulous california wedding without amazing food. What a treat for all of their guests!
As a playful farewell, they chose to exit amidst bubbles and found these adorable champagne bottle bubbles.
One of the most special elements was Marla’s something old. The spoon holding their wedding rings in the photo below, and attached to Marla’s bouquet in the next image, is a family heirloom. It was actually a wedding gift given to her great-grandmother over 100 years ago.
The flower girl dresses were especially cute. Check out the black embroidery at the bottom.
Similar style was brought to the design on the cake.
Another special treat, the guest sign-in book. The guests participated in making this book even more special for Marla and Shawn by including their well wishes for the bride and groom within its pages.
Marla selected black magic roses and wine calla lilies for her bouquet and Shawn’s boutonniere. The merlot color scheme fit perfectly with the setting. She also included pheasant feathers, a reminder of her hometown.
One final detail to celebrate… Marla’s veil. I love the delicacy of it, so very feminine.
Despite the long distance planning, Marla and Shawn were able to put their stamp on their wedding and include so many personal touches.
Special thanks go out to all of the professionals who helped them in their efforts:
Wedding venue: Hans Fahden Vineyards, Calistoga
Caterer and Wedding Cake: Knickerbockers, St. Helena
Rentals: Classic Party Rentals, San Francisco
Florist: Claudia K Florist, St. Helena
Officiant: Harry Jackson
Limo: Bow Tie Limousine, Santa Rosa
Feb
16
Your wedding invitation is the first glimpse that your guests will get into the style, theme, vision you have for your wedding. It’s also a great opportunity to personalize their experience.
For our wedding, Dave and I actually created our own invitation (way too much work and we totally should have worked with someone else to make them), but we were really happy with the way they turned out despite (or perhaps because of) all our effort. They included our wedding branding (a double happines with the hebrew for "I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine") as well as a photo we had taken at our reception venue. It was very much our style and totally spoke to what our wedding would be- a marriage of two cultures as well as two people, set in a beautiful natural space.
At the most recent Baystate Bridal Show and the Great Bridal Expo, I had the opportunity to meet a few different stationers (Cordially Yours Invitations & Calligraphy, Emerald Invitations, and Goosefish Press) all of whom offered exquisite invitations. I love the creativity and unique qualities. Goosefish Press creates amazingly sophisticated one of a kind letter press invitations. Cordially Yours and Emerald Invitations offer a wide range of styles and colors to chose from.
They also offer other ideas such as programs and thank you cards.
And perhaps my favorite invitation of all- perfect for a Bachelorette Party!
Feb
08
As a bride, there are lots and lots of details to consider on your wedding day. One of the most important is your personal look. The first thought for most brides is the dress. And honestly I can’t blame you. We think about the dress from the moment we are indoctrinated into weddings. Really, truly. We see them when we are little girls and we see the princesses (aka brides) and we know that we want to be a lady like that one day. But another component, perhaps a bit more subtle, but with a huge impact is your hair and make-up.
As photographers, Dave and I have seen hair stylists and make-up artists who can make any bride feel like a super model on her most special day. I, for one, am not an easy person to deal with when it comes to my hair. Honestly it has plagued me since I was a child and I still have my moments when I would just prefer to cut it off. (Just to give you a sense of my obsession, I actually wrote a college admissions essay about my hair.) So finding the right person to tackle that project was very important to me. On the other hand, I am quite happy with my skin and rarely wear much make-up; plus having theater experience I am pretty knowledgable about how to apply my own make-up. So I had the two extremes going on.
When I went in for my trial, I had planned only on having the stylist do my hair. She did a phenomenal job; so I figured I might as well see what she could do with my make-up. I was blown away. In the end, I had her do both and was generally quite happy with the results.
I say all this because I understand how important it is to find the right person to take care of you and make you look your personal best. I happened to meet Jacki Norrie of Wedding Tresses a few weeks ago and I would absolutely trust her to take care of me on my wedding day. She is an artist. She understands face shapes and how to balance them, accentuating the positives and toning back features you may not like as much.
Jacki is the ultimate professional. Having worked from Newport to Cape Cod to Boston and beyond, she and her team make it their top priority to give you the look you want. They will guide you through the process, helping you find what works for you and will help you plan so that your getting ready time will be calm and pleasurable. As a member of the Boston Wedding Group and a blogger for Wedding Aces, you know you are in the hands of someone who has expertise, but is also continually learning and growing her craft. Ultimately, she wants you to be "exhilerated by your choice." And she will go the extra mile to ensure that you are. What could be better than that?!
Plus she would be a lot of fun to have around as you and your girls are getting ready.
Feb
04
The past two weekends were spent being inspired. We attended two bridal shows, the Baystate Bridal Show and the Great Brial Expo at the Boston Park Plaza Hotel. There were so many amazing people at each that I just had to share a little bit of the fun.
First of all, the stories I heard from brides and grooms were absolutely wonderful. This is the biggest reason I enjoy the shows. It gives me a chance to meet so many wonderful people and get a taste of their romantic stories- like the gentleman who proposed on a gondola in Venice, Italy.
Or the young man who asked his fiance to marry him while they were taking a road trip to Chicago, on their way to see her best friend and then to see her family for Thanksgiving; it was like a proposal and engagement party all in one.
Or the gent who swept his love off to Disney World for a get away, planned a fabulous dinner at the Grand Floridian. At the end of the evening, he snuck her out for a private cruise on the lagoon where a special dessert awaited them. Beneath that evening’s fireworks, he popped the question.
Yes, it’s true. I am a total romantic and a complete sucker for these stories, both grand and intimate. Love it! And I got a quite a fix at the shows.
Also at the shows, I got to meet some amazing vendors. I spent a good deal of time with a few of them. Namely, the wedding cake bakers. Yummmmmmmmmmmmm. Not only do these artists create a sweetness from the heavens, they make their cakes absolutely beautiful. So while I can’t share the taste, I thought I would share a few of the more creative cakes.
A few of my favorites from Konditor Meister…
Feels like something you would find in France. Love the script on the sides of the cake.
Perhaps Russian inspired like a Fabergé egg.
From the sea.
Springtime cake.
Autumn cake- love the rich colors; very unique.
Asian influence with bamboo.
And a couple from Ivy’s Fine Cakes…
Very sparkly – crystals galore.
Feels like a surprise from Tiffany’s.
Congrats to all of the wonderful couples and many thanks to these two vendors for sharing samples of their amazing work.
Jan
06
Last May, we had the good fortune to photograph Sara and Mike’s gorgeous wedding at Kennolyn in the Santa Cruz Mountains. We adore Mike and Sara for lots of reasons, but one of the things I liked best about their wedding choices was their commitment to being super environmentally friendly. Sara worked really hard to select a florist who could enact her green vision, with local and seasonal floral arrangements. She chose Amanda from Laughin’ Gal Floral and then gave her free reign with choice of flowers and color, and the end result was amazing.
First up, take a look at Sara’s colorful and textured bouquet.
Next, you have got to love the variety and detail in the boutonnieres. Each was color coordinated to match a bridesmaid and her bouquet.
And the ladies’ bouquets, also coordinated with the ribbons they wore at their waists.
The flower girl carried an assortment of all of these flowers in her basket…
She then sprinkled them down the aisle.
Amanda continued her theme of vibrant colors and textures in the room decor. My personal favorite, sunflowers, decked the walls.
One of the table centerpieces…
A cocktail hour arrangment…
And finally the cake- I love when real flowers are used to decorate the cake. These are such a nice way to tie in the whole look.
These flowers totally blew me away. If you would like to see more photos from Sara and Mike’s special day, definitely check out their sneak peek, the scoop and their slideshow. And if you are interested in more Green Wedding Ideas, check out Being Green on the Way Out.
Dec
28
Dave and I had the opportunity to visit Castle Hill on the Crane Estate in Ipswich and all I can say is WOW!!! One of my friends had gotten married there a few years ago and was telling me about the venue, I was so excited to see it as he had nothing but positive reviews. But honestly it is even better than he described.
First of all there are multiple fabulous options for an outdoor wedding. I know it is hard to think about that right now with the first serious snow just melting and more on the way, but that was always the way I pictured my wedding. I am pretty sure I am not alone on that one. So if you are like me and felt an outdoor wedding was your first choice, you have 3 great options: on the lawn facing the beach, on the lawn facing down the hill towards ocean views, and in the Italian Garden.
A few photos of option 2:
A few from option 3 (I think this is what I would do- I love the feeling of this secluded garden space- feels like ancient ruins)
Laura Daly and her team are great. They will also have a perfect back up plan, in case the weather doesn’t cooperate. We got a peek at the indoor option and it truly is lovely.
The best spot for cocktail hour, in my opinion, is on the back patio. I love this location because you get to enjoy the sweeping views of the water and have the gorgeous architecture as a back drop. Plus if you wanted to do a group photo it’s an excellent location for that.
Side note, awesome story, these two griffin statues were given to the Crane family as a gift from their servants. They had the sculptures custom made to protect the house. All I have to say is that the Crane’s must have been amazing employers to generate that kind of love from their staff.
Then you have two options for your reception as well. You can host the party indoors- the spaces are grand and elegant. Or outdoors on another patio. You could even tent the outdoor space.
And I just had to share a few of my favorite details from the site.
Dave and I enjoying the view.
I almost missed these bas relief sculptures of the cranes. Very cool and very appropriate.
All in all, I was amazed by the beauty of this wedding venue and the thoughtful consideration of their events team. I also really appreciate that they are making efforts to be green and provide environmentally beneficial resources, plus when you have a wedding at a historic site like this, your rental fee contributes to the greater good. Not a bad way to celebrate, in my opinion.
Sep
08
Consider this my Earth Day in September post.
I’ve worked in events for a long time. I actually started as a planner, coordinating events for a non-profit in 2001. Always loving photography, I was thrilled to continue working events, documenting all of the moments that make them special when Dave and I started our business in 2004. Why this focus on events? Whether it be for a wedding celebration to raise awareness for a non-profit or for corporate cameraderie, special events are, well, special. They are occassions when we take some time away from the regularly scheduled program of our lives and honor, rejoice, engage. I love the connections and interactions, the sheer humanity of them.
But one day, I got a bit upset. I realized that these wonderful opportunities for creativity and togetherness have an awful lot of waste attached to them. In particular, I noticed the flowers that got thrown away. And it saddened me. For two reasons, I never like when things end up in landfills. And I LOVE flowers. It just seemed a huge shame to throw away things that are so pretty. I thought, "Wouldn’t it be wonderful if the flowers from an event could be brought to people who could appreciate them a little longer? Not just for this one night." It occurred to me that a hospital would be an ideal place to bring the flowers. To do this, I imagined an army of volunteers who had trucks and could make these deliveries. I was not an army and I did not have a truck. So I let this thought go.
Until tonight. When I mentioned it to one of my peers, Jeri Solomon of Jeri Solomon Floral Design. We shared a mutual distaste for the wastefulness and I explained how I had this idea. Guess what? Someone else also had this idea. And fortunately, they did something about it. They created a business that rescues and repurposes items left over from events. How amazingly perfect is that!? And not just flowers, anything and everything. Flowers, food, candles, extra gifts, cans, bottles, decor items… You name it, they can probably find someone who will appreciate it. From hospitals to hungry families to artists to theater companies. Someone will use what you no longer have a use for- your event leftovers. They will keep it out of the landfills at least a little longer, and perhaps forever. Plus if the items are donated to a non-profit, you will probably be able to get a tax write off. It’s an all-round win-win situation.
So let me reiterate the benefits, in case they weren’t clear:
Less waste in the landfill= good for the environment
Enjoyment by people who need it- perhaps hungry people, perhaps some cheer to someone ill, perhaps an opportunity for creativity
Tax write off- the fee for the rescue may actually cost less than the amount saved by the write off
So I guess the question is why would you not do this? You can find out more on their website. Check out The Special E and fill out their form. Find out if it will work for you. Why not?
Okay, hopping off my Soap Box for now. But coming soon… some tips for Being Green on the Way In, ie- before the event.
Aug
09
When I walked into the Boston Mandarin Oriental, the gentleman at the door greeted me with, "Welcome home!" and boy, oh, boy had I come home. The Mandarin is a lovely modern hotel with amenities like you wouldn’t believe. To start, their standard rooms are larger than most older hotel’s junior suites. This brand is known for quality, luxury, excellence- all with an Asian flare. You will discover that they go the extra mile with all of their events as well.
Located in the heart of the Back Bay, the hotel is perfect for the cosmopolitan bride and groom who want an urban feel and access to some of the traditionally beautiful architecture of Boston. It is an easy ride over to Commonwealth Ave‘s tree-lined pedestrian way, and perfect for guests staying at the hotel to enjoy great restaurants and shopping when they are not partying it up at your celebration.
The first thing you notice, after the greeting, is the Mandarin‘s modern architecture and decor- clean lines and exquisite materials. Even the floral arrangements in the lobby speak to the aesthetic.
The entrance….
The complete view…
I can’t help gushing about the event spaces and staff. Once again, you will be wowed with service and style. All of the rooms have beautiful furniture and artwork on the walls. It feels like you are in a place where people might live. Very welcoming.
And the details of each space are lovely. My favorites are the light fixtures…
And the fabric walls. A really nice touch.
And then there is the service. I met up with Rachel, who is the Catering and Conference Services Manager responsible for weddings and social events. She is fabulous; she and her staff will totally take care of all your needs. Even the needs you didn’t know you had. For instance, the staff brings out Japanese slippers before dancing so that ladies can wear something a little more comfortable for that portion of the evening. Also they bring warm scented towels between dinner courses and cool towels during dancing. Amazing!
And for the bride and groom who want to make the space extraordinary, Rachel’s team will take care of it. They can change the lights on the panels in the back of the ballroom (pictured below in yellow) to be almost any color. There are also spotlights that they direct on the tables. They can change the color of these as well as put gobos (which create shadow patterns) in them. All of this is included! I was floored.
Another awesome bonus- there’s a great salon (Mizu) in the hotel. Super convenient!
But I save the very best part for last. This is brand new, hot-off-the-presses information- the Mandarin has secured the rights to have weddings outdoors in the space behind the hotel. So now you can have your fabulous outdoor ceremony and your super-chic reception all in one location. To top it off, check out the view. The John Hancock Building and Boston skyline are totally within reach.
If you are looking for a Boston wedding site with understated elegance and service that will knock your socks off, you have to got to check out the Mandarin.
Jul
15
Lisa and Scott really did a fabulous job pulling together so many details for their Boston wedding. They wanted to celebrate and honor their family traditions- both Jewish and Chinese- as well as add their personality to the day.
They were both really excited about the argyle socks for the boys. Note the purple diamond in the mix, one of their colors.
Check out Lisa’s dress- sparkly gorgeousness. Lisa fell in love with the dress for its own merits, but also enjoyed the fact that it was designed by the Project Runway winner Kenneth Pool because she loves the show.
Lisa and Scott poured their heart and souls into the paper products. They did a great job creating a consistant feel using their colors of aubergine, eggplant and fuchsia.
The program…
The reception table seating cards…
The labels for the candy take-away boxes…
The labels for the gift bags for guests staying at the hotel…
Her invitation suite was purchased through Cartier. Love the simple elegance of it.
Lisa and Scott had seen our engagement sign-in album when we first met them at the bridal show. They later selected to have us create their guest book from their New York City engagement session. The images were great; I am glad they chose to use them in this way.
One of the most exciting details of the wedding was all of the music. Jazz musicians of CZONE performed during the cocktail hour and during the reception.
And the lion dancers of Gund Kwok kicked off the reception with pomp and circumstance.
If you would like to see more details from Lisa and Scott’s wedding at the Boston Hyatt, check out their flowers and food.
And still want more? Check out their engagement session, sneak peak, the scoop, and their slideshow.
