Am and Ken's Boston Public Library Wedding

Last Saturday, December 18th, I coordinated Am and Ken's wedding at the Boston Public Library. The day started out with the bride and five bridesmaids getting ready at a suite in the Copley Square Hotel. The bride got her makeup and hair done by one of my favorite stylists, Caitlin Murphy, who created side swept curls, accented with a fresh white gardenia. The bride wore a stunning strapless Vera Wang wedding gown and held an ivory bouquet of peonies, lisianthus, and ranunculus that was wrapped with her grandmother's handkerchief. The bridesmaids wore charcoal chiffon Amsale dresses in varying styles and carried bouquets of soft yellow roses and ranunculus wrapped in satin grey ribbon.

Am and Ken decided to do a first look and have portraits with the bridal party and family done prior to the ceremony. This way, they could join guests at cocktail hour and not have to miss any of it. Lisa Rigby of Lisa Rigby Photography and her second shooter, Li Ward of Fat Orange Cat Studio, documented the entire wedding day and took portraits both inside and outside the Boston Public Library.

The traditional Jewish ceremony for 124 guests was set in the Courtyard Restaurant, with the aisle decorated with yellow roses on the chairs, and a beautiful chuppah at the front draped with organza and fresh flowers. Jennifer Cahill of The Tangled Web created all of the beautiful floral arrangements for the wedding. Classical ceremony music was provided by a violin and cello duo, and the ceremony was performed by a friend of the bride's family, Rabbi James Glazier of Temple Sinai in South Burlington, Vermont.

Cocktail hour was held in the Chavannes Gallery on the second level of the library. A saxophone, bass, and keyboard trio played music while guests were greeted with white and red wine. LED votive candles lined the dramatic staircases, and small yellow floral arrangements adorned each of the cocktail tables. Family photos were displayed on a table along with white phalaenopsis orchids and a library drawer of letterpressed escort cards.

The Popular Reading Room was beautifully decorated for the reception. Tables were topped with LED votive candles, library books as table numbers, and yellow centerpieces of football chrysanthemums, ranunculus, and roses in silver cube vases. Silver Chiavari chairs completed the look of the guest tables and blue uplighting was provided by Ari of Beat Train Productions, who was also the DJ for the night.

Guests enjoyed a three course dinner of a winter greens salad, entrée choice of wood grilled hanger steak, miso roasted black cod, or pumpkin agnolotti, and wedding cake. The exclusive caterer for the Boston Public Library is The Catered Affair, and they did a fabulous job. The wedding cake from The Icing on the Cake was decorated with yellow ranunculus, roses, and cymbidium orchids. When served to guests, the slices of cake were paired with a sprig of mint and berries.

It was a fun night of dancing, especially with the Hora dance starting things off! As a late night snack, freshly baked oatmeal craisin and chocolate chip cookies were passed around to guests. Professional photos from Lisa Rigby will be coming later on, but for now, here are a few photos that I took.

A special thanks to my assistant, Jeff, for helping me set up decor! Am and Ken, it was a pleasure working with you and your families during the planning process, and I hope you have a wonderful honeymoon in Hawaii!!

~Emilie