Hilary and Joe's Elegant Harvard Club Wedding

This past Saturday, Fiona and I were the day-of coordinators for Hilary and Joe's wedding at the Harvard Club in Boston's Back Bay. This venue is absolutely gorgeous and has so much history and charm. The ceremony and reception were both held in Harvard Hall, which has incredibly high ceilings, beautiful chandeliers, and two roaring fireplaces. For the ceremony, there were ivory pillar candles that lined the aisle and the fireplace mantle, Chiavari chairs for 210 guests, and they were married by a Jewish Rabbi and a Unitarian Reverend. All of the flowers were done by Jennifer Cahill of The Tangled Web, including a huppah decorated with flowers, leaves, and berries in fall colors.

The bridesmaids wore Butter by Nadia dresses where they could wrap the satin fabric to make their own unique styles. The bride was stunning in a beaded wedding dress by Badgely Mischka, and her makeup artist was the talented Kimberly Fosher. The ceremony programs were handmade by the bride's mother, and the invitations matched their fall color scheme perfectly. During cocktail hour, guests perused through an amazing collection of framed ancestor photos. A sign that said "Please find your seat" was placed on the escort card table, where the cards were a variety of chairs that were intricately hand painted by the bride's sister. The reception tables were covered in spice orange silk dupioni linens, with olive satin napkins.

The big highlight was the Horah dance at the beginning of the reception. It was a first for Fiona to have to prevent a guest from carrying delicate armless Chiavari chairs into the crowd, and she immediately signaled over to me where I was ready to push in a napkin and two super sturdy chairs with arms for the bride and groom to be lifted into the air. Once I got into the middle of the crowd with the chairs, everyone knew exactly what to do, and the next thing I know, the biggest cheer came out when the newlyweds were hoisted into the air!

After enjoying a three course dinner of butternut squash bisque, baby arugula salad, and cornish game hen, guests were treated to a French croquembouche dessert and chocolate covered strawberries. The profiteroles were bound with caramel, and some others were dipped in chocolate or vanilla icing. Here is a little preview of the wedding, and as soon as the professional photos from Jamison Wexler arrive, I will definitely share those with you as well!

The wedding went really smoothly, and the entire staff at the Harvard Club was extremely friendly and a joy to work with. Hilary and Joe, it was such an honor to be part of your big day, and have a wonderful honeymoon in Italy!

~Emilie