Monday, October 31, 2011

Maressa and Ben's Goethe-Institut Boston Wedding

On Saturday, August 27th, I was the coordinator for Maressa and Ben's cocktail style wedding at the Goethe-Institut Boston. The bride got her hair styled at the Will Charles Salon on Newbury Street, and carried a simple bouquet of yellow calla lilies. This August weekend was the weekend of Hurricane Irene, and even though the ceremony and reception were both held indoors, the weather impacted travel plans to the Boston area, and unfortunately a few people out of an intimate 75 person guest count could not make it. But, after hearing about other weddings that had to be completely cancelled due to power outages or mandatory evacuations, I think we were pretty lucky!

As guests walked in for the ceremony, they were greeted with Prosecco and sparking water. The bride and groom really wanted people to feel like they were part of a cocktail party even before the ceremony started! The groom's sister officiated the ceremony, and it was short and sweet. A pianist and bassist filled the room with jazz music as hors d'oeuvres were passed and the bar opened with beer, wine, and two signature drinks: the Old Fashioned & the Gimlet. There was also a delicious raw bar for guests that included a selection of New England Oysters and shrimp.

For dinner, the cocktail style reception continued with small plates that were served on side tables: sake poached salmon, wild mushroom and fontina arancini, summer salad, and cormal crusted snapper on a spicy corn and pineapple salsa. All of the food was catered by MAX Ultimate Food, including the wedding cake, which was a yellow cake with chocolate fudge frosting, served with fresh berries.

Not having a sit-down dinner with seating for everyone really make it great for guests to be able to mingle with each other, and work their way around the room. There were lots of high and low cocktail tables in the room covered with grey dupioni and pearl grey bengaline linens. Each table was topped with candles and yellow floral centerpieces that were created by the bride's mother.

Toasts were announced by just a simple clinking of a glass, and instead of a DJ or band for dancing in the evening, the bride & groom pre-selected songs on an ipod to play. It was officially my first ipod wedding, and it worked out great! Jen Ing of Jen Ing photography was their wedding photographer, and here are some photos that I took of the night.

Maressa and Ben, it was so nice to get to know you both through the planning process, and I hope you had an amazing honeymoon in Italy!!

~Emilie

1 comment:

Moni said...

Beautiful venue! The mod chairs and modern floral decor made a unique contrast.