Arti and Amar's Sheraton Boston Hotel Wedding

Last Saturday, April 21st, Arti and Amar had their wedding reception at the Sheraton Boston Hotel. A few months ago, they had their wedding ceremony in India, and I highlighted a few of the photos that they shared with me here.  They contacted me in May of 2011 and over the course of the year and especially the last few months, I really cannot believe how well I've gotten to know the couple, especially the beautiful bride, Arti!

I designed all of the wedding reception stationery, which included the monogram for the gobo to shine on the dance floor and on the draping, donation cards, table numbers, and escort cards.  On top of the decor and flowers already provided by their amazing decorator from NY, The Design House, they also asked that I create small centerpieces for their 24 cocktail tables as well as Arti's bridal bouquet to use during portraits.

I've dabbled a little bit with flowers for some of the non-profit events that I've been a part of, but never for a wedding before, so I was a honestly a little nervous about how everything would turn out, especially the bouquet.  But, Arti is my kind of girl and wanted the majority of everything to be pink, and once you have fresh pink flowers, it's really no effort to make them look good!  I created 17 small centerpieces with pink cymbidium orchids in glass cube vases for the high top cocktail tables, and 7 low pink and white hydrangea centerpieces in white matte cubes for the low cocktail tables.  For the bouquet, I used pink cymbidium orchids and pink calla lilies and wrapped everything together with white satin ribbon and a crystal band at the top for a little bit of added sparkle.  Here are a few photos of my first wedding floral creations, all boxed up and ready to go :)

The bride started her morning by getting her hair done at Blue in Lexington.  Then, she got her makeup done on-site at the hotel by the amazing Melissa DiCecca.  The bride's makeup was absolutely flawless even at the very end of the party at 1:30am.  I highly recommend Melissa, especially if you're looking for dramatic eye makeup!  Arti's pink, gold, and silver saree was gorgeous, and she paired it with dozens of crystal and diamond bangles as well as sparkly gold Badgely Mischka heels.  Amar wore a tailored grey suit by Ted Baker paired with a light pink tie and dark pink patterned pocket square.

The couple met for a "first look" in a private hallway in the hotel, and the moment was captured by their photographer, Susan Stripling, and videographer, Michael & Tricia Films.  Following the first look, they continued their portraits at the Christian Science Plaza across the street from the hotel, along with family portraits as well.

Cocktail hour for over 400 guests was held in the Republic Ballroom, and they received their escort cards next to a beautiful display of crystals, hanging glass, mirrors, calla lilies, and candles.  Along with an open bar, guests enjoyed the following food catered by Gourmet India:  Dahi Poori, Cheese Crostini, Chicken Chili Kabobs, Hara Bhara Kabobs, Onion Bhaji, Lamb Seekha Kabobs, Chili Paneer, Samosa Chaat, and Bhel Poori.

The reception was held in the Grand Ballroom and guests absolutely loved this room!  Tables were covered in silver silk and pintuck linens, and were topped with a variety of centerpieces using tons of candles, pink roses, white hydrangea, calla lilies, and white dendrobium orchids.  All of the vases were wrapped with crystals, and large manzanita branches with orchids were placed on pedestals along the perimeter of the room.  The reception stage for the couple was spectacular, and included a canopy of white fabric draping, two mountain laurel trees with hanging floral balls, plush white seating, and more flowers and candles along the front of the stage.  This amazing decor as well as all of the draping in the room was all put together by The Design House.  Azizan and Nauman, thank you so much for all of your incredible work!

To complement the decor, white chiavari chairs were brought in from Tommy Wholesale, along with a white dance floor from Rentals Unlimited.  Room lighting, the plasma screens, and the music for the night were provided by DJs Unlimited South Asia, also based out of NY.

After two dance performances and six speeches, some guests started dancing a others started eating!  They enjoyed a buffet of Indian food from Gourmet India which included items like Dhaba Chicken, Malai Kofta Curry, Mutton Curry, Daal Tarka, Saag Makki, Bhindi Masala, along with a bread station.  For dessert, there was a stunning five tiered wedding cake provided by Jenny's Wedding Cakes.  The cake was covered in fondant with little edible crystals, a detailed paisley design, and fresh pink cymbidium orchids.

There were also many other desserts offered like mini chocolate eclairs, cheesecake, macarons, brownies, sugar cookies, and mini pastries.  Some Indian desserts were also available like Ras Malai, Kulfi Falooda, and Gajjar Halwa.  Along with the three flavors of wedding cake, that's a total of 12 desserts to try!  Here are some detail photos that I took of the night.

Arti and Amar, it was so great getting to know you during the planning process! Thank you so much for allowing me to be a part of your special day :)

~Emilie

Jenny and Keith's Andover Country Club Wedding

On Saturday, April 14th, 2012, I had the honor of coordinating Jenny and Keith's wedding at the Methuen Memorial Music Hall and the Andover Country Club.  It was an absolutely gorgeous warm and sunny day, which was a pleasant surprise for April in New England!  The day started out with hair at Indra Salon in Andover, followed by makeup on-site at the country club by Claudia Moriel.  Jenny's five bridesmaids wore strapless pewter dresses from Priscilla of Boston paired with pink heels.  The bride wore a stunning lace strapless gown from Priscilla of Boston, and carried a lush bouquet of hydrangea, peonies, and roses created by Jennifer Cahill of The Tangled Web, who provided all of the florals for the wedding day.

The bridal party was driven by Black Tie Limo in a white stretch limousine to the ceremony venue, Methuen Memorial Music Hall.  It was there that the bride and groom met for a "first look" on the wooded grounds of the venue.  The ceremony for 117 guests was held shortly afterwards, with white bows decorating the aisle, and two large floral arrangements flanking the altar.  It was beautifully officiated by Tom Welch, and the venue was really unique with its incredibly high ceilings and organ pipes as the main focal point.

Following the ceremony, guests made their way to the Trumpeter's Room in the Andover Country Club for cocktail hour.  Guests picked up escort cards from a table decorated with a large display of cherry blossom branches.  Hors d'oeuvres included little bites such as cocktail shrimp, scallops wrapped in bacon, miniature vegetable spring rolls, and mozzarella, tomato and pesto crostini.  There were also two stationary displays of antipasto and vegetable crudite.  During cocktail hour, the bride and groom took a few portraits outside and here is a little teaser from their photographer, Jen Ing of Jen Ing Photography.

Photo by Jen Ing Photography

In the reception area, guest tables were topped with white, blush, and spring green hydrangea.  In the pocketfold napkin, the inserted card had the menu on one side, and a description of the traditional Korean Paebaek ceremony on the other.  Favors of individually wrapped chocolate covered pretzels were set at each place setting, and blush pink uplighting created a soft glow to the ballroom.  Guests enjoyed a four course dinner of butternut squash soup, club salad, entrée choice of prime rib or baked stuffed shrimp, and wedding cake served with chocolate dipped strawberries for dessert.  The wedding cake from Dessert Works was a three tier round cake decorated with intricate blush pink and white flowers made of rolled chocolate.

After dinner, guests watched the Korean Paebaek ceremony, where the bride and groom changed into ceremonial hanbok, and bowed to both sets of families.  During this ceremony, families impart words of wisdom to the couple, as well as throw dates (symbolizing girls), and chestnuts (symbolizing boys) that the bride and groom have to catch in the bride's skirt.  Legend says that the number of dates and chestnuts caught will represent the number of children that they will have together.  Ari from Beat Train Productions was the DJ for the evening and also provided the uplighting for the reception.  He kept everyone on the dance floor until the very end, including a few Portuguese songs for the groom's family.  Everyone had an amazing time, and here are handful of detail shots from the wedding that I took.

Jenny and Keith, it was so nice working with you, and you are definitely one of the most organized couples I have ever met :) I hope you are having an incredible time on your honeymoon in New Zealand!

~Emilie

Arti & Amar's Engagement Photos by Susan Stripling Photography

This Saturday, Arti & Amar are going to have a PARTY at their wedding reception at the Sheraton Boston Hotel. Over 400 people will be celebrating with them, and the decor, lighting, and white dance floor are all going to be spectacular... did I mention the 12 different desserts? Their DJ, lighting, florals, and photographer are all coming in from New York, and along with a few of my all-time favorite vendors in the Boston area, it is going to be amazing. As a little preview to the couple, here are some of their engagement photos from Susan Stripling Photography.

Photos by Susan Stripling Photography
To see more photos from their engagement session in New York, check out Susan Stripling's blog here. This Saturday is actually only the wedding reception without a ceremony because Arti & Amar already had a fabulous wedding ceremony in India! They shared their photos from their wedding with me, and I can't resist sharing a few on the blog. I absolutely love all of the colors used, and these photos were taken by Katha Images.

Photos by Katha Images
For the rest of their wedding photos in India, check out the post from Katha Images here!

~Emilie

Jenny and Keith's Engagement Photos by Jen Ing Photography

This upcoming Saturday, Jenny and Keith are having their wedding ceremony at the Methuen Memorial Music Hall and reception at the Andover Country Club. Wedding season has finally begun, and I'm excited to be working with the wonderful Jen Ing of Jen Ing Photography again. Here are a few photos from her engagement session with the couple, taken in Beacon Hill and around the Esplanade.

Photos by Jen Ing Photography
Thanks to Jen for sharing these images! To see more from their engagement session, check out Jen's blog here.

~Emilie

Menus & Table Numbers for Hana & Hughie's Tribeca Rooftop Wedding

In January of this year, Hana contacted me to design and create menus and table numbers for her Tribeca Rooftop wedding in NYC. She wanted an elegant design that used purple as the main color. For table numbers, we decided on a monogram design with a 'C' to represent the groom's surname, along with the bride and groom's first names and wedding date mounted on layered metallic cardstock. The same design was brought onto the menu cards, where black and dark purple inks were used against a lavender metallic cardstock backing. Below are some photos that I took that show the cards in detail.

Now for the best part of this post. Hana was so sweet to share some of the photos from her wedding with me, and I just have to say that she was one of the most gorgeous brides ever. Their wedding day was captured by San Francisco based Poser Image and wow, these images really just blow me away... Can you say H-O-T to this first image??!

Photos by Poser Image
I know you won't be able to resist taking a look at more photos from this wedding here :) I loved working on these cards, and it was wonderful to see how they fit into an incredibly beautiful wedding. Hana and Hughie, I wish you the very best in your marriage!

~Emilie