Friday, November 5, 2010

Katie and Doug's Wedding at the State Room

On Friday, October 15th, I was the day-of coordinator for Katie and Doug’s wedding. The day started out in a lovely two room suite at the Langham Hotel, with one room for hair stylist Michelle Arruda DeVoe of Demiche Beauty and her assistant, and the other room with makeup artist Katrina Hess and her assistant.

Six bridesmaids wore satin purple Jim Hjelm dresses and carried light green bouquets. The bride wore an elegant cathedral length veil and a bouquet from Winston Flowers made of white calla lilies and wrapped in ivory satin ribbon. Oh, and the dress… wait, let’s try it again. ohhh, and the most fabulous dress EVER. That morning, I walked into the suite and the after saying hello to everyone, it was like my feet couldn’t stop walking towards the corner of the room where the dress was hanging. I kind of wanted to just hug it, it was so pretty. The Kenneth Pool ivory strapless dress was made of royal duchess satin with a chic crumb-catcher neckline and perfectly placed crystal beading in both the front and the back.

Everything was going really smoothly in the morning, and it was about to get better. Let me explain in three words: Lisa Rigby Photography. Simply put, Lisa is one of my favorite photographers ever, and I was so excited to work with her. Lisa came by the bridal suite with second shooter, Li Ward, of Fat Orange Cat Studio and started her photo magic. After getting shots of the both the groomsmen and bridesmaids getting ready, the Katie and Doug met up for a first look and then took a trolley over to the Boston Public Gardens with the entire bridal party and parents for portraits. This is one of Lisa's teaser photos taken at the gardens.

Photo by Lisa Rigby Photography

Three trolleys took guests from the Hilton and Langham Hotel in downtown Boston to St. Mary's Parish in Charlestown for the ceremony. The front steps of the church were decorated with lanterns and white carved pumpkins with the couple's names and Doug's last name initial, L. Two floral wreaths were hung on the front doors, and little bunches of hydrangea and glass tealight holders were tied to each pew along the aisle. After a full Catholic mass, guests then took trolleys over to the State Room for the reception, and the newlyweds rode in a white 1939 antique Cadillac limousine.

Upon arriving at the State Room, guests were greeted with two wishing trees made of white manzanita branches and white orchids created by John LaRoche of blueGuava. Family photos were scattered throughout the branches, and wishes were hung alongside the photos. Cocktail hour was held in the upper level of the Great Room, and before joining guests, the bride switched out her cathedral length veil for a stunning crystal headpiece designed by Maria Elena.

For the reception in the lower level of the Great Room, the tables were covered in bengaline shell linens, with centerpieces created by Custom Floral Design by Karen Street made of hydrangea, calla lilies, and orchids surrounded by candles. The sweetheart table was covered by a damask linen and topped with lots of pillar candles in varying sizes. A small table on the bride's side of the sweetheart table held a photo of Katie as a baby and her late father, along with an arrangement of irises, which were her father's favorite. Pin spot lighting on each table and amber colored uplighting on the walls by High Output added even more drama to an already spectacular room with amazing views of Boston.

The bridal party entered the reception in pairs, and the newlyweds were introduced to the song "Won't Stop" by One Republic (thanks to Katie, this song has been my favorite for the past month!). The song continued on as they went directly into their first dance, and afterwards, guests enjoyed a four course dinner of an endive salad, lemon-thyme sorbet intermezzo, entree choices of braised short ribs, roasted chicken, or balsamic glazed salmon, and a variety of desserts. The four tiered wedding cake from I Dream of Jeanne was decorated with fresh white tulips and a silver monogram topper. The cake was served next to an elaborate dessert bar, which included treats like mini caramel apples, apple walnut crisp, mint chocolate chip ice cream sandwiches, and apple crème brule.

The band, Men In Black, was amazing and really got the crowd dancing even before the salad course was served. Later on in the night, the uplighting changed to purple, and the dancing continued on until the very end of the evening. On the way out, guests picked up a bag of chocolate pecan turtles from Mrs. Nelson's Candy House as favors. Photos from Lisa Rigby will be coming later, but for now, here are some that I took!

It was a really beautiful wedding, and the staff at the State Room and all of the vendors were really nice to work with. Katie and Doug, thank you so much for allowing me to take part in your special day, and I hope you had a wonderful honeymoon in Hawaii!!

~Emilie

2 comments:

Moni said...

What a gorgeous wedding! I love the bride's gown, she looks stunning in it. I am also amazed that the couple used 3 different florists? All the floral pieces were beautiful!

Shang said...

The wishing trees are lovely!