Monday, August 8, 2011

Catherine and Ian's Boston College Club Wedding

On Saturday, July 16th, I was the coordinator for Catherine and Ian's wedding. I actually met Catherine when she was a bridesmaid in another wedding I coordinated last September, and my former bride (hi martha!) was now a bridesmaid in Catherine's wedding! The girls got ready at the Hilton Boston Financial District Hotel, and had their hair and makeup done by Caitlin Murphy, who always makes everyone look stunning! The bride wore a beautiful and modern trumpet style Amy Kuschel "origami" gown, and carried a bright bouquet in varying shades of pink and purple. The bridesmaids all wore different gray colored dresses of their choosing, and carried pink floral bouquets.

The ceremony for 140 guests was held at Boston University's Marsh Chapel, and classical music was performed by a violin and cello duo from Azaela Chamber Music. Catherine and Ian saw each other for the first time on the wedding day as Catherine walked down the aisle with her father.

The cocktail hour and reception were both held at the Boston College Club in downtown Boston. This event facility has amazing floor-to-ceiling views of Boston and the Charles River. In addition to the view, guests were treated to lots of delicious passed hors d'oeuvres such as salmon tartar with cilantro and lime, mini lobster salad rolls, and scallops wrapped in bacon. Childhood photos of the bride and groom adorned the cocktail tables, and paper cranes folded by the bride and groom (yes, I actually said the groom - and he folded most of them!!) were the escort cards. Instead of a traditional guestbook, guests wrote notes on little cards that had either a heart, love, congratulations, or best wishes on the top, and then placed them in mini envelopes that were already pre-attached to the guestbook, and sealed the envelopes with a sticker.

Near the end of cocktail hour in the Grille Room, the bride and groom participated in a traditional Korean tea ceremony, also known as a Paebaek Ceremony. This is a ceremony in which they bow deeply to parents and relatives, in addition to receiving words of wisdom as well as catching dates & chestnuts, symbolizing how many girls or boys they will have in the future. I saw a couple of sneak peek photos from their wedding photographer, Lisa Rigby, showing parts of the ceremony and I can't resist showing you!

Photos from Lisa Rigby Photography

The reception was held in the Harbor Dining Room, with centerpieces of pillar candles and florals by John LaRoche of blueGuava. After the introduction of the bride and groom, they went directly into their first dance, "Such Great Heights" by Iron and Wine. Guests enjoyed a four course dinner which included an appetizer of assorted mushroom bruschetta, a classic caesar salad, entrée choices of grilled tenderloin of beef, roasted salmon, or vegetable risotto, and wedding cake for dessert. The three tiered wedding cake from Enchanted Wedding Cakes was decorated to match the origami pleats on the bride's gown, and had two flavors: chocolate chip cake with cappuccino filling, and yellow cake with vanilla filling.

After dinner, guests were surprised with a photobooth from ShutterBooth Boston, and used lots of fun props for their photos like fake mustaches! Flip flop baskets were placed out on the side of the dance floor and many guests definitely took advantage and threw off their high heels. DJ Nato of White Label DJs kept guests dancing all night long, and literally at one point, Nate and I both wondered if the floor was going to strong enough to support 140 jumping people =) It was a great party, and at the end of the night, guests took home edible Korean treats: Mochi (sweet bean rice cake) and Hwa Gwa Ja (sweet bean cake).

The videographers for the wedding day were two friends that they flew up from Alabama, Paul & Justin. The professional photographer is definitely one of my favorites in Boston, Lisa Rigby of Lisa Rigby Photography. More pro photos will be coming later, but for now, here are some photos that I took!

Catherine and Ian, you were so fun to work with and I hope you come visit Boston again soon!! I hope you had an incredible honeymoon in Cabo, and I wish you both the very best in your marriage.

~Emilie

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