Rose and Joe's Codman Estate Wedding

On Sunday, July 31st, I was the coordinator for Rose and Joe's wedding at the Codman Estate in Lincoln, MA. Back in 2009, I coordinated Rose's sister Hilary's wedding, and it was so nice to be able to work with the bride's family again!

Rose and her bridesmaids got ready at the Aloft Lexington Hotel, with hair done by James Whittier from Dellaria and makeup by Kimberly Fosher. The bride chose to wear a stunning gold dress instead of a traditional white gown and carried a cascading bouquet of white flowers.

Guests gathered in the Codman Estate Italian Garden for the ceremony, and it was definitely a very picturesque backdrop, with a pool of lily pad covered water down the middle. The ceremony programs and all of the other stationery for the wedding were created and designed by the bride. Following the ceremony, 120 guests made their way over to the Carriage House for the tented reception, with florals provided by Jen from The Tangled Web.

The bride & groom decided to have an afternoon brunch wedding catered by East Meets West, and guests absolutely loved the food. They started out with passed hors d'oeuvres of vegetarian stuffed mushrooms, feta and watermelon skewers with fresh mint, potato pancakes with caramelized apple chutney, and dill crepes with smoked salmon and asparagus. Then there was a plated tropical fresh fruit salad drizzled with a honey-lime dressing, followed by a brunch buffet that included items like brioche French toast served with berries, spiral cut honey glazed and orange zested ham, along with many types of homemade egg frittatas.

Instead of offering alcohol, they instead had fresh squeezed orange juice, ginger lime iced tea, homemade lemonade, and a full espresso bar from Espresso Dave, which included hot and iced espresso, cappuccino, cafe latte, chai tea, and frozen white chocolate mochaccino. If that wasn't enough, there were little extras to add on to the drinks like fresh ground cocoa, crystallized sugar sticks, chocolate shavings, cinnamons sticks, and whipped cream. Yum!!

For dessert, there were French macarons from L.A. Burdick, raspberry & orange sorbet from Christina's, and assorted pastries from Canto 6. Music was provided by DJ Ed, and the professiona l photographer for the wedding day was Jamison Wexler. Pro photos will be coming a bit later, but for now, here are some pictures that I took!

Rose and Joe, it was so nice to work with you both and I wish you all the best in your marriage together!

~Emilie

David and Justin's Engagement Photos by Closed Circle Photography

David and Justin are getting married tomorrow at the Lenox Hotel, and I am so thrilled that they are the second same-sex couple for Pink Orchid Weddings! They really are one of the cutest couples I have ever worked with, and I just had to share some of their engagement photos, taken by Kelly Griffith of Closed Circle Photography.

Photos by Closed Circle Photography
~Emilie

Jason and Richard's King Hooper Mansion Wedding

On Saturday, July 23, I had the honor of being the coordinator for Jason and Richard's wedding. Their wedding was the first ever same-sex wedding for Pink Orchid Weddings, and I could not have been happier to have been a part of their special day!

Jason got ready at his parents' home in Swampscott, while Richard got ready at the Intercontinental Hotel in downtown Boston. The two grooms traveled by black escalades to the ceremony, while guests rode in a shuttle bus provided by Able Limousine.

The ceremony was held at Chandler Hovey Park in Marblehead, which is right next to the Marblehead Lighthouse. The views of the water are amazing, and we used that as the backdrop for the ceremony, with garden chairs set out for all of the guests. Reserved signs were tied onto the chairs with silver satin ribbon, and ceremony decor included two large hydrangea arrangements on pedestals and a bed of rose petals for the grooms to stand on. All floral arrangements for the entire wedding day were created by Flowers by Darlene at North Shore Fruit Basket. Ceremony music was provided by a string quartet and vocalist from Music Management, and the first time that Jason and Richard saw each other on the wedding day was when Jason walked down the aisle with his parents to "Heavenly Day".

After the ceremony, there were some portraits taken next to the lighthouse, and then guests traveled over to the reception venue, King Hooper Mansion. The cocktail hour was held in the King Hooper Garden, where guests enjoyed passed hors d'ouevres and a raw bar. Then, guests made their way into the mansion to the third floor for the reception. Large white hydrangea centerpieces adorned the tables, along with fruitwood Chiavari chairs, and pewter pintuck linens. Catering was provided by East Meets West, and dinner included a salad course of seasonal greens, followed by an amazing entrée of poached lobster tail and filet mignon. The dessert course was a delicious Boston Cream Pie from D'Amici's Bakery. Live music for the evening was provided by the same quartet from the ceremony from Music Management, as well as a pianist. Photos will be coming later from their professional photographer, Will Tangorra from William Tangorra Photography, but for now, here are some photos that I took!

It was a truly a pleasure working with both of you on your wedding and I hope you had an wonderful honeymoon in Sweden and Greece!!

~Emilie

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

Patty & Nate's Four Season Boston Wedding Featured on Style Me Pretty!

Oh, how I swoon over weddings on Style Me Pretty! So happy to share that Patty & Nate's elegant Four Seasons Boston wedding is featured today, with gorgeous photos by Kate McElwee Photography.

Photo from Style Me Pretty
This stunning wedding was coordinated by Fiona, and if you're interested in a full recap of details, you can find them here!

~Emilie

Donnaree + Chris Featured on Beantown Bride!

It has been a busy busy wedding season so far, so I apologize for the lack of blog posts! I have some incredible July weddings to recap, including my first same-sex wedding, but for now I just wanted to share that one of my favorite wedding blogs, Beantown Bride, featured Donnaree and Chris's wedding today! It was such a fun and colorful wedding at The Villa, and the beautiful photos were taken by Melissa DeSchamp Photography.

Photo from Beantown Bride~Emilie

A Fourth of July Party in Marblehead

A few weeks ago, Brittany Blando of Beantown Bride and BKB Photography asked if I could design and create some table cards for a fourth of July party that she was throwing at her residence in Marblehead. I put together table names, and signs for the flip flop basket, cigar bar, and self service drink bar all with a silver metallic backing and some fun fireworks graphics. Here are the professional photos from the event!!

Photos by BKB Photography{vendors}

• Photography: © BKB Photography
• Styled by: Brittany Blando
• Farm Tables: New England Country Rentals
• Chalkboard Table, Cocktail Tables & Linens: Be Our Guest Rentals
• Table Cards: Pink Orchid Weddings
• Paper Products: Etsy
• Lighting: Creative Uplighting
• Flowers: The Flower House
• Catering: Blue Ribbon BBQ
• Music: Siman Entertainment