Jenny Yoo Bridesmaid Dresses - August Promotion!

Photo from Jenny Yoo

I hope everyone has been enjoying their summer so far!  With so many couples planning for their big day in the upcoming year, I just wanted to share a great promotion for Jenny Yoo bridesmaid dresses.  They are having their August sale, which gives you 15% off of their lovely silk bridesmaids gowns.  Many the bridal parties in our weddings this year were dressed in Jenny Yoo.  Their designs are always so gorgeous!!

~Emilie

Boston Wedding Coordination: Ashley and Stephen's Boston College Club Wedding!

On Saturday, June 30th, I had the pleasure of coordinating Ashley and Stephen's wedding at St. Leonard's in the North End and the Boston College Club.  Their warm summer wedding day started off with the girls getting ready at the Langham Hotel, with hair and makeup by Style Salon.  The bridesmaids wore long lavender dresses by After Six, and carried lush floral bouquets from Sunnyside Gardens.  The bride wore a stunning Monique Lhuillier gown paired with lavender heels.

The ceremony for 127 guests was held at St. Leonard's Parish in the North End, and the groom saw his bride for the first time on the wedding day as she walked down the aisle with her father to classical music from the AXIS ensemble.  After a touching ceremony, guests lined the path outside the church and gave the newlyweds a fun exit as they made their way into their limo by blowing lots of bubbles!

A trolley from The Original Party Trolley transported guests to the Boston College Club, and there they were greeted with glasses of prosecco and enjoyed hors d'oeuvres such as scallops wrapped in bacon, miniature crab cakes, beer battered chicken, and mini lobster salad rolls.  Dinner was held in the Harbor  Dining Room, with tables topped with tall floral arrangements from Sunnyside Gardens, ivory satin linens, black Chiavari chairs with ivory cushions, and a mix of lavender and purple napkins.  The four course dinner included a lobster bisque, roasted pear salad, entrée choices of roasted swordfish or a chicken stack, and wedding cake as dessert.  The wedding cake from Konditor Meister was gold cake with white chocolate mousse and fresh strawberries, and each slice was also served with a chocolate dipped strawberry on the side.

There were so many personal moments during the night, including a friend playing a few songs on guitar, and a surprise choreographed dance & serenade from the groom and groomsmen to the bride.  It was so much fun to watch the guys dance to One Direction's "What Makes You Beautiful", and guests loved it!

Later on in the night as a tribute to the bride and groom's alma mater, warm Tollhouse cookie pie from Colgate was served to guests.  Nate Oinonen from White Label Wedding DJs kept everyone dancing all night, and purple uplighting around the room from Event Uplights set a fun atmosphere.  As guests left at the end of the night, they picked up champagne glasses etched with A&S, filled with purple and white personalized m&m's as favors.  Lindsey Buchleitner Photography was the professional photographer for the wedding day, and for now, here are some details shots that I took!

Ashley and Stephen, thank you so much for allowing me to be a part of your special day!  It was such a fun wedding with so many personal touches.  I hope you had an amazing honeymoon in Playa del Carmen!

~Emilie

Kelley and Sean's Engagement Photos by Fucci's Photos

Kelley and Sean are getting married this Saturday at the Boston College Club!!  I'm really excited for their wedding, and just wanted to share some of their engagement photos from their photographer, Vail Fucci of Fucci's Photos.  These photos were taken around the campus of Boston College, where the couple met!

Photos by Fucci's Photos

Thanks so much, Vail, for sharing these photos with me!

~Emilie

Grier and Drew's Trinity Church & Courageous Sailing Center Wedding!

Last Saturday, I had the pleasure of coordinating Grier and Drew's wedding at the Trinity Church and the Courageous Sailing Center.  It was definitely one of those mornings where I woke up extra early just so I could take a look at the hourly weather forecast...  30-40% chance of thunderstorms throughout the entire afternoon into the evening.  Despite the little lighting bolts on my iphone app, the skies were completely sunny and gorgeous in the early afternoon, and it looked like the weather would hold out, at least for a little bit :)

The bridal party got their hair and makeup done at Aria Salon, and groomsmen got ready at the Westin Waterfront Hotel.  The bridesmaids wore short navy dresses and carried bright pink and tangerine bouquets.  The bride wore a stunning crystal embellished Priscilla of Boston gown, paired with sparkly pink Kate Spade heels.

The wedding day started off with a blessing ceremony at the Trinity Church in Copley Square.  This beautiful church was built in 1877 and was where the bride and groom first saw each other on the wedding day.  The short and sweet ceremony was followed by some portraits of the wedding party and family around the Copley area.  At around this time, the skies were still blue and sunny, so I was thinking, "did I worry for nothing??"  Their Jewish ceremony at the Courageous Sailing Center was set to be outside, with the stunning skyline of Boston and harbor in the background and I just wanted the weather to hold out a little bit longer.

A couple of hours later... close family and witnesses took part in a Ketubah signing within a draped off section of the tent and this is when the clouds rolled in and everyone knew that the storm was about to hit.  Keep in mind, the sailing center is right next door and we were able to get updates from the staff with their weather radar monitors on how large of a storm was coming, how long it would last, and if it would break in time for the ceremony.  Once they said...  a big one is coming through and it's red...  I knew there was no way around it.  Then, all of a sudden, heavy rain on the tent drowned out any voices, the wind picked up, and it was a mad dash to tie up all entrances to the tent, secure tables, and hold up sections of draping that were not meant to withstand a huge storm!

Although the worst of the storm didn't last long, more water than I could ever imagine made its way into the tent, so much so that the only dry spots were a few feet wide right in the very center where the ground was slightly raised.  Because it was still raining, we ended up having the ceremony inside the tent by moving some tables around to make as much room as possible in the driest areas.  They definitely had a beautiful and intimate ceremony, that was full of emotion and love.  After the ceremony was over, I couldn't believe it, but the sun came out, and guests were able to enjoy drinks and hors d'oeuvres outside on the dock and witness one of the most beautiful rainbows I've ever seen in Boston. It was a complete rainbow that really had guests in awe after such a crazy storm.

The wedding reception was a cocktail-style reception with stylish white lounge furniture and different sized tables for seating vs. a traditional seated dinner.  Blue Guava designed all of the decor, and used navy blue pintuck linens, bright florals and large blue pillar candles on the tables, paired with pearl Chiavari chairs.  Gourmet Caterers provided all of the food and guests really enjoyed it all.  For hors d'oeuvres, there were truffle fries, watermelon with feta mousse, beef tenderloin crostini, spiced hamachi spring roll cones, lump crab cakes, and BLT stuffed tomatoes.  Stationery displays included a slider station with pulled pork sliders, hamburger sliders, and petite mac & cheese.  There was also a Caribbean station with jerk chicken skewers, jasmine rice, jicama salad, bass ceviche, and grilled calamari salad.  The wedding cake was provided by Sweet Tooth, and include three different flavors:  lemon curd and raspberry, buttercream with fresh strawberries, and chocolate with coconut.  

The band, Ripcord, really were such troopers because they had to completely dry off everything and set up again after the storm hit.  Once they were able to start playing again, everyone hit the dance floor and had a great time.  Boston Wedding Films was the cinematographer for the day, and Maureen Ford of Maureen Ford Photography was the photographer.  For now, here are a few shots that I was able to take on the day!

It was quite an eventful wedding day, and even though it wasn't the most ideal weather, I feel like it somehow brought everyone closer together and made each moment that happened even more meaningful.

Grier and Drew, thank you so much for allowing me to be part of your big day!  I hope you enjoyed your mini-moon after the wedding, and best wishes for the future!

~Emilie

Boston Wedding Coordination: Jess & Derek's Four Seasons Boston Hotel Wedding!

On Saturday, June 9th, I had the pleasure of coordinating Jess and Derek's beautiful wedding at the Four Seasons Boston Hotel. They are such a cute couple together and I just first want to share a teaser photo taken by their wedding photographer, Kate McElwee of Kate McElwee Photography.

Photo by Kate McElwee Photography

LOVE it!! :) It was an absolutely gorgeous day, and the bridal party all got ready in a suite with their hair & makeup done by Jenna and Susan from Salon by Naomi. They even had some fun sights to see out their window because the Pride Parade went right past the hotel on Boylston Street that afternoon!

The bridesmaids all wore flowing floor-length raspberry pink dresses and carried bouquets of roses, sweet peas, and mini cymbidium orchids. The bride wore a stunning Priscilla of Boston gown from Kleinfeld Bridal, sparkly Jimmy Choo heels, and carried a beautiful white bouquet of ranunculus, peonies, and cymbidium orchids.

The bride and groom opted to do a first look on the grand staircase at the hotel, and it was truly a very special moment when they saw each other for the first time. They were also able to do the majority of their wedding portraits with family and the wedding party prior to the ceremony so they could spend as much time as they could with all of their wedding guests during the cocktail hour and reception.

The wedding ceremony for 113 guests was held in the Grand Ballroom at the Four Seasons Boston Hotel, and Mimosa Fresh Flower Design set up decor using large manzanita trees with dendrobium orchids, white draping, and submerged orchids. The ceremony was short and sweet, with music from a string quartet from Music Management, and was followed by a cocktail hour just oustide in the foyer.

Jess and Derek did not want their guests to go hungry, and they really went ALL OUT for food, starting with cocktail hour! Along with an open bar, guests enjoyed passed hors d'oeuvres such as baby lamb chops, Philly cheesesteak spring rolls, sesame chicken, lobster spring rolls, mini crab cakes, and herbed goat cheese stuffed mushrooms. There was also a cheese display along with baked brie in brioche with sugared grapes and spiced pecans. Plus, an amazing seafood display set in ice sculptures that highlighted their wedding monogram, J&D. This included cold colossal shrimp with cocktail sauce and lemon, oysters on the half shell, Alaskan snow crab claws, and cracked Maine lobster. It was quite a feast and definitely one of the most impressive cocktail hour displays I've ever seen!

Following cocktail hour, guests were invited to be seated for the dinner reception in Aujourd'hui just down the hallway. The guest tables were covered with chocolate pintuck linens, and various floral centerpieces made of hydrangeas, peonies, orchids, ranunculus, freesia, and dusty miller. Glass pedestals of LED lights and submerged flowers, and votive candles also surrounded the florals to create a really fun lighting effect for the dining room. Walnut Chiavari chairs surrounded the tables and ivory hemstich napkins held personalized menu cards.

A bottle of limoncello was set at each place setting along with a favor tag that read "Salute!" on the front, and "Enjoy this Italian limoncello in celebration of Jess and Derek's honeymoon on the Amalfi Coast" on the back! It was so much fun to design and create all of the stationery for the wedding day with Jess, which included the escort cards, welcome brochures in the out of town bags, favor tags, menu cards, and some signage for their guestbook and adorable thumbprint tree!

For dinner, guests enjoyed a four course dinner of creamy fontina risotto, baby arugula salad, an entrée choice of striped sea bass or a beef trio, and a wedding cake from Jenny's Wedding Cakes for dessert. In addition, there was a delicious dessert buffet of assorted confections later on in the night, as well as cookies and ice cream sandwiches passed out on the dance floor. Ari from Beat Train Productions provided the blue uplighting in the room and had guests dancing all night long, and if guests had any more room to eat at all, they were treated to late night bites like sliders and flatbread pizzas at midnight! Ben from McElroy Weddings was the videographer for the wedding day, and here are some photos that I took of the details!

It was a fantastic wedding day, and here are a few more detail shots of some of the stationery items that were designed in-house by Pink Orchid Weddings.

Jess and Derek, it was so great working with you both of you, and congratulations again!! I hope you are having a wonderful honeymoon in Italy!

~Emilie