Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Diana and Jae's Boston College Club Wedding

On Saturday, October 23rd, I was the coordinator for Diana and Jae's gorgeous fall wedding. The day started out in a suite at the Langham Hotel, where the entire bridal party got their hair and makeup done by Lypor Leong and her assistant. Lypor is always so much fun to work with and all of the girls looked flawless all day long! The bridesmaids wore short burgundy dresses by Jenny Yoo, and the bride wore a beautiful dress designed by Mark Brower for the Vineyard Collection at Priscilla of Boston. The bride accessorized with silver shoes by Enzo Angiolini and pearls.

The ceremony for 130 guests was held at the Highrock Church in Arlington, MA. The altar was decorated with two huge branches of vibrant fall foilage, along with arrangements of white calla lilies and roses. There were also floral arrangements attached to the pews with long burgundy ribbon bows. The four-layer program included a lovely quote from the musical "Wicked", music and lyrics by Steven Schwartz:

Like a comet pulled from orbit as it passes a star
Like a stream that meets a boulder half way through the wood
Who can say if I've been changed for the better
But because I knew you, I've been changed for good

The first time Jae saw Diana on the wedding day was when she walked down the aisle with her father to "The Swan from Carnival of the Animals". After the ceremony, a white rolls royce and tiffany limousine whisked the newlyweds and bridal party away in style for a portrait session at their alma mater, Tufts University. Later on, they joined their families for portraits at Post Office Square in downtown Boston, and then everyone walked over to the Boston College Club for the start of cocktail hour.

The cocktail hour was held in the Grille Room at the Boston College Club, which provided guests with stunning views of the sunset over Boston. Cocktail tables were decorated with family photos, candles, and flowers. The wedding cake from Konditor Meister was on display as well, decorated with fresh flowers. Before heading into the Harbor Dining Room for dinner, guests picked up their escort cards which stood in little cork stands, and had the meal choices punched through the card with a gold metallic backing.

The reception also had stunning panoramic views of Boston. The tables were set with mahogany chiavari chairs, floor length ivory silk linens, and chocolate napkins. Handmade recipe books favors were set at each place setting and included recipes from the bride and groom's families as well as a special recipe at the end for a happy marriage. The table number and menu cards were designed and created by Pink Orchid Designs, and were made of ivory cardstock and a crimson red metallic backing.

The centerpieces were a mix of large arrangements for some tables, and a set of three smaller arrangements and a pillar candle for other tables. The flowers were beautiful and included things like apples, roses, calla lilies, cymbidium orchids, hydrangea, and berries. Votive candles in mercury glass holders surrounded all of the centerpieces, and all of the flowers for the wedding were provided by Lyh-Rhen Lam.

Guests enjoyed a plated dinner of salad, a main entrée choice of swordfish, chicken, or vegetable risotto, and then wedding cake for dessert: strawberry grand marnier, marbled chocolate, and lemon citron flavors. The cake cutting at this wedding was actually the first time I've ever had a couple try to smash cake into each other's faces! Both succeeded, but the damage was pretty minimal, and was taken care of with a few wipes of a napkin. Another Pink Orchid Weddings first happened right after the parent dances. Jae went up to the microphone, and said that he had a surprise for Diana, and sang "Ain't That Love" by Ray Charles with the band, Soul of Boston. Everyone was so surprised, and absolutely LOVED it. I knew ahead of time that this was going to happen, and since they didn't have a videographer, I made sure to capture the entire song on video on my iphone, and sent it to the Diana and Jae the next morning. It was definitely the highlight of the night!

Brittany Blando of BKB Photography, and Jules Ko of Jules Ko Photography were the professional photographers for the wedding day. I loved working with both of them, and Brittany was actually the photographer for my own wedding back in 2008! Here are some photos that I took of the day.

Diana contacted me back in August of 2009, so not only did we have over a year to work together, she was definitely one of the most organized brides I've ever had. Everything flowed perfectly during the day, and both families were incredible. A big thanks to my assistant, Rachel, for helping me set things up!

Diana and Jae, I hope you had a wonderful and romantic honeymoon in Italy, and I wish you the very best in your marriage!

~Emilie

1 comment:

de Lovely Affair said...

Gorgeous photos! Brittany over at BKB is a real talent! The tablescapes are perfect for the setting and time of year. The design adds a nice touch of whimsy and grace. Well done!