We started our day with family portraits before her bat mitzvah ceremony in Needham.

After the service, Sammy’s guests had lunch at the synagogue. Everyone reconvened that evening at the Blue Hill Country Club in Canton. A few more portraits before the reception….

The party got underway after a fabulous cocktail hour for the adults and mocktail hour for the kids. Then dancing, dancing and more dancing. Sammy’s brother kicked it all off.

Then Sammy made her grand entrance and did her first dance routine with these two professionals. Her theme for the evening was based on Tiffany and Co, so she surprised all of her guests by popping out of a huge Tiffany’s box. And then going right into the dance. Of course the song she danced to was Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend. She looked amazing.

The hora followed. Everyone in the family had a turn in the chair, but Sammy was first.

Sammy and her dad had a special dance all to themselves….

Well, almost. Some of Sammy’s friends busted in about half way through and they kicked it up a notch- this was planned, of course, but a surprise for the guests. Sammy did her second dance number during this portion of the evening.

The end of the evening came faster than anyone could say "Sammy & Company." But it was clear that all of the kids had a great time.

If you would like to see more from Sammy’s amazing day, you can view her mitzvah PicFlick here.

My first post took us through the ceremony and the start of the portraits, so here I bring you up to speed with the rest of the evening. After a few family, bridal party and couple’s portraits inside the Copley Plaza Hotel. We took a quick spin outside to capture views of Boston by daylight.

Then back inside to the Oval Room for their fabulous party. We kicked it off with their first dance.

See how he smiles while he snuggles up to her…

Once the dance floor was open by our bride and groom, the guests took over and danced all night long.

Yelena and her dad enjoyed a few moments during their father-daughter dance.

And then the wildness of the horah. I LOVE the horah. I love being right in the middle of it. I love the movement and excitement and the joy and thrill of it. I love that first moment when our bride and groom get lifted up …

and all of the emotions they have while they up in the chairs…

and then the relief when they are back on the ground. It is like a lifetime in a few quick moments. Fabulous!

Rob and Yelena were a blast while up in the chairs and just as much fun when on their feet again.

The party atmosphere continued. Rob got down with his mom.

Towards the end of the evening, we stole a few moments with Yelena and Rob to take some photos outside on Copley Square with the city lights around them. First one with the Boston Public Library in the background and cars streaming by.

And then one amidst the square’s beautiful flowers with the Trinity Church, the John Hancock Tower and the Copley Plaza in the background.

Finally a quintessential Copley Plaza shot.

Really, there are simply tons more to share. In fact, we went a little overboard on their slideshow because Yelena and Rob’s wedding was really just too beautiful. We couldn’t help ourselves. So definitely check it out.

And now a chance to thank all of the wonderful people who helped make Yelena and Rob’s wedding day amazing.

First, Lindsay Picciano and the crew at the Fairmont Copley Plaza. Many kudos to you!

And the rest of the fabulous folks involved in their day:
Hair and Make-up by Svetlana Stavtsev
Gown by Vera Wang
Bridesmaids dresses from Flair Bridesmaids designed by Anna Elyse
Groom and Groomsmen’s tuxes by Classic Tuxedo
Cake by Cakes to Remember
Floral Design by Stapleton Floral
DJ Mark Dixon
Maxim Lubarksy and Band for live music
Invitations and Save the Dates by bridesmaid Laura Parrish

And last, but certainly not least, thank you so much to Yelena and Rob and to both your families for including us in your extraordinary day. We are so glad we could be a part of it!

Stay tuned for some great photos from their rehearsal dinner aboard the Odyssey.

They just returned from what looks like an amazing honeymoon in Paris and Morocco. Gotta love Facebook, cause it allowed me to see pix from their grand adventures. Now, I can’t wait to hear the stories. For now, I will focus on sharing the photos from their beautiful wedding at the Hyatt Regency in Boston.

In my last post, we saw images from the getting ready to the portraits in the Public Gardens through their tea ceremony and western ceremony. Everything was perfect. The music throughout their celebration set the right tone. We went from classical string quartet to jazz to Lion Dance drummers to an all round great band and then DJ. Clearly music was important to Scott and Lisa and it definitely brought another layer of magic to their day.

The Lion Dancers kicked off the reception. It was so much fun. The colors and movement are certainly a site to see. They definitely brought smiles of joy and excitement when they entered the ballroom.

Dinner followed their entrance. And Scott steals a quiet moment with Lisa. So sweet!

Their first dance…

The speeches were awesome. I already knew Scott and Lisa were perfect together, but then I learned why their friends thought so as well. Turns out they both dream big. When Scott was in elementary school and all of his friends wanted to be a fireman, he had aspirations of being a CEO. Too cute! Lisa had similarly lofty goals. And each of them is making their dent on the world now, Scott just graduated and will be a praciticing doctor. Congrats, Scott! And Lisa is a lawyer helping people with their estate planning. The other piece that impressed me is how much they both value their friends. You can totally see how they all adore each other. And both Lisa and Scott have known their best friends since they were in grade school.

Then there was even more fun. The cake cutting and, even more importantly, the tasting.

The horah- this was one of the events Lisa was really looking forward to. Looks like it was a blast.

And then lots more partying. Don’t worry all these peeps are doctors, so if they drop Scott, they can take care of him.

Sneaking a few more romantic moments at the end of the evening….

What an all around amazing day! We are so grateful that we could be a part of it. Lisa and Scott, thank you so much for choosing us.

And a huge thank you to all the professionals who added their expertise and talent to create such a fabulous event:
Jennifer Nicholson and the incomparable crew at the Hyatt Regency in Boston
Teresa Fung of Mimosa for her floral design
Paul Therrien of Boston Uplights
Montilio’s for the wedding cake
Greg Capozzi and the talented jazz musicians of CZONE
Christopher Vuk and the exceptional string ensemble of Boston String Ensemble
The Gund Kowk Chinese Lion Dance Troupe

Also want to note the fabulous folks who helped with Lisa and Scott’s look for the day:
Hair: Lypor Leung
Make-up: Katrina Hess
Lisa’s Wedding Dress: Kenneth Poole
Bridesmaids’ dresses: BCBG
Groom and groomsmen’s attire: Joseph Abboud

And a shout out to those who helped with all of the paper products:
Invitations: Cartier
Save the Dates: Etsy.com
All other stationary: lots of hard work by DIYers Scott and Lisa

If you want to see more from Scott and Lisa’s Boston wedding, check out their engagement session, sneak preview and slideshow.

First mini-fam:

Sepi and Homan traveled from New York to get married at the Four Seasons Hotel in San Francisco. They had an amazing Persian wedding ceremony followed by great food and endless dancing. We definitely wanted to capture their city sensibilities during the portrait session.

Homan’s mom, Golie married Nader the following year. And we were able to photograph the intimate ceremony at their home in Los Altos Hills as well as the reception at the Four Seasons in San Francisco.

Second mini-fam:

Mark and Julie celebrated their wedding at the Torpedo Factory Art Center in Alexandria, Virginia.

They brought us Tricia and Paul who had their reception at the Fairview Park Marriott Hotel in Falls Church.

Third mini-fam:

Judie and Luen were married at Tilden Park‘s Brazilian Room in Berkeley, California.

They brought us Sau-Lai and Keith, who had a Chinese Tea Ceremony at their family homes and then a Chinese Banquet at the ABC Seafood Restaurant in Foster City, California.

Fourth mini-fam:

Augie and Lisa got married in Tahiti and came home for a Chinese Banquet at Yank Sing in San Francisco. After the wedding, we had the good fortune to photographer their friend Sofia and Adil’s wedding at the Alta Mira Hotel in Sausalito.

Fifth mini-fam:

Hilary and Scott married at the Los Altos History Museum in Los Altos Hills.

They shared our info with Arianna and Jesse who held their Jewish wedding ceremony in the redwood grove of the Regional Parks Botanic Garden and then the rest of their wedding celebrations at the Brazilian Room in Tilden Park.

Check out more from Ariana and Jesse’s wedding: Engagement Session, Sneak Peak, The Scoop, and Slideshow.

Sixth mini-fam:

This one is a little hard to say who came first. Perhaps they are more like twins as both couples found us around the same time.

Teresa and Kyle were married at the Mission Santa Clara de Asis at Santa Clara University and then celebrated their reception at the Hotel DeAnza in San Jose.

Angela and Michael celebrated their wedding at The Lodge at Sonoma and followed with a private portrait session at Chateau St. Jean.

Check out more from Angela and Mike’s wedding: Sneak Peak, The Scoop, and Slideshow.

Seventh and final mini-fam:

Another mini-fam of twins. I believe Elsa and Tim found us. When Elsa came in to meet with us, she brought Emily along. So we actually met them both at the same time.

Elsa and Tim held their wedding ceremony at The Palmdale Estates, in their lovely gardens. They followed this with a lovely Chinese Banquet at the ABC Seafood Restaurant in Foster City.

Check out more from Elsa and Tim’s wedding: Engagement Session, Sneak Peak, The Scoop, and Slideshow.

Emily and Erik were married at the Mad Art Gallery in St. Louis Missouri. This totally hip art space is a converted jail designed in art deco style.

Check out more from Emily and Erik’s wedding: Engagement Session, Dress Fitting at Vera Wang, Sneak Peak, The Scoop, and Slideshow.

To kick off the sneak peak, here’s one of Juliet during the hora.

The girls singing and dancing.

Watching the slideshow that Juliet put together with Animoto.

Candlelighting ceremony with her cousins and Aunt from NYC.

Juliet even blew out the candles at the end.

The DJ from Siagal Productions brought along a photo booth set-up. It was a huge hit.

Lots more dancing.

Thumbs up from the crowd.

This was just a sneak peak. There are tons of great pix from the party. The rest will follow soon.

A HUGE thank you to Sarah Kang for joining me in photographing the event.
And also much gratitude to Kimberly and the staff at the Doubletree for taking such great care of everyone.

Mazel tov to Juliet and her family! Thank you so much for including me in your celebration.

Want more? Check out Juliet’s Rock Star Portrait Session.

I am thrilled to share the reception portion of Jesse and Ariana’s wedding day. As you may recall, they held their ketubah and bedeken ceremonies in the Berkeley Botanic Garden and then celebrated their huppah ceremony on the Brazilian Room patio, all in Tilden Park. The reception continued immediately following the ceremony. Because we took the formal portraits down in the Botanic Gardens, Ariana and Jesse were able to kick-back and enjoy the cocktail hour.

The fun really got started once everyone headed inside. I so love the Israeli dancing. They kicked off several of my favorites with the Horah. I think this series of images totally captures their experience from before they get lifted through the dance to the relief when they are once again safely on the ground.

First, the look- “Oh my, what are we in for? Well whatever it is, we are in it together.”

Togetherness- “Hey, we got this covered! No problem.”

The relief- “We’re alive! Wasn’t that fun? Let’s do it again.”

Perhaps it is a bit like a roller coaster. And Ariana and Jesse added an extra element of the unpredictable. They were sitting in foldable chairs. Their friends were great, though, and totally kept them safe and secure.

After dinner we were serenaded by some very talented friends and family. What a treat!

Ariana and Jesse’s love was certainly infectious. And this couple has the distinct honor of having introduced Ariana and Jesse on the fateful Alaska backpacking trip.

Ariana’s dad was quite the dancer. He took her out for a turn on the dance floor.

And later enjoyed a dance with Ariana’s mom.

The evening closed with the traditional prayer after the meal. A group gathered around the candle-lit table to chant together.

The Brazilian Room is such a gorgeous venue. It looks beautiful at any time of day or night.

Congrats again to Ariana and Jesse and huge thank you’s! You had a super amazing, beautiful and fun wedding day- we are so glad we could be a part of it.

Check out more of Ariana and Jesse’s photos: engagement session, sneak preview, and wedding slideshow.

In the meantime, here’s a sneak peak. This was during the end of the Horah. They stole this kiss while all their guests danced around them.

You can also check out their engagement photos on our blog here and the slideshow here.