I started my day in Emily’s room at The Customs House Hotel with some getting ready and detail shots. I love her shoes!

Emily’s choice of dress was perfect: a silk J.Crew wedding dress that showed off her gorgeous back:

Emily was pretty excited to be ready – and she looked beautiful!

Mike joined us at the hotel for the first look. The back of The Customs House was such a great spot for it – I love all the lines of the columns, and it felt private and had some lovely shade.

After the first look, we headed out together for portraits around Boston Public Garden and the ICA. We got a ton of great shots, and it was hard narrowing down the selection for the blog post – so apologies if today’s post is a little portrait-heavy!

The ICA is one of my all-time favorite spots for wedding photos; and particularly fitting I thought for Emily, who is an architect.

For the group photos, we headed over to the Exchange Conference Center (I cannot tell you how wonderful it was to work with Michele and all the team there – they are so friendly and accommodating).

OK, one last photo from our session at the ICA:

The ceremony was held at MIT Chapel over in Cambridge. It is both one of the coolest chapels I’ve worked at (love the architecture, and especially the “waterfall” above the alter) and also one of the toughest – it’s small, dark, and has the whackiest mixed lighting I’ve seen … definitely a challenge!

Earl captured this great shot of Emily with her parents just before the ceremony began – thank you Earl!

This is the waterfall feature … so cool.

After the ceremony, we all headed back to the ECC, and I grabbed a few more photos with Emily and Mike on Boston Fish Pier:

This next shot is one of my all-time favorite detail shots … and it was captured by Earl. Love the soft grays with the pop of fuchsia pink …

Two of my favorite first dance photos:

East Coast Soul are amazing performers; the three front-men-and-woman not only sing but they do some pretty fabulous dancing too. I especially loved this guy – he was so expressive:

They had some gorgeous uplighting at the reception too:

A sweet moment from the father daughter dance – and a little shout-out here to Ray for being such a fabulous father of the bride – he played a major role in the wedding planning and was an absolute sweetheart to boot!

And to close, one last couple’s portrait at night with the Boston harbor as a backdrop. Emily and Mike, thank you for trusting me to capture your amazing wedding; I hope you like the teasers so far, and I can’t wait to share your slideshow with you very soon!

Leah was totally stylin’ – her shoes were by Valentino, and her dress was actually a two-part ensemble by Oscar de la Renta. Wow.

We were hoping to head outside for the first look and portraits, but the wind was raging, so we held it under the huppa in the grand Oriental Ballroom instead. The first photo here is by my fabulous second shooter Erica; the second, of Leah’s expression, is mine. Love these guys.

Leah’s dress was perfection … and Jim looked pretty dashing too.

A funny moment just before the ketubah signing:

The ketubah signing is always one of my favorite parts of Jewish weddings, as just the very closest friends and family come together to witness the marriage of the couple. Jim and Leah’s signing in the Beijing Room was brimful of emotion:

The image above is by Erica – what a great capture! And I love these sweet, emotional moments below too:

We headed back into the Oriental Ballroom for the main ceremony. I love the opulent gold decor …

The wedding ceremony was full of sweet glances …

… and I LOVE Leah and Jim’s expressions as they walked back down the aisle.

After cocktail hour in the Oriental Gallery, we went back into the ballroom for dinner, dancing and toasts. The room was absolutely stunning (a quick shout-out here to Designing Images Florist who did a spectacular job with all the flowers, from the sweet bouquets to the impressive centerpieces, and to the coordinator at the Mandarin Oriental Boston, Jessica, for her help throughout the day).

The first dance was the perfect combination of sweet and fun:

As, in fact, were the toasts:

Love this image I captured of Leah dancing with her father, Stu:

And then it was non-stop party time for the rest of the night, with awesome music by band Soul City. Thank you Leah and Jim for trusting me to document your day … I can’t wait to share your slideshow with you soon too!

My weddings this year took place in Boston, of course, and all over New England.  And two in Seattle (yeah!)  Some of my favorite venues below include Belle Mer in Newport, RI, Saltwater Farm Vineyard in CT, The Towers in Narragansett, Turner Hill in Ipswich, MA, Castle Hill Inn (another beautiful Newport, RI venue), Taj Boston, Boston Marriott Cambridge, DeCordova Sculpture Park & Museum, The Liberty Hotel, Museum of Science Boston, Four Season Boston, Omni Mount Washington Resort in the White Mountains, The Charles Hotel in Cambridge, Wentworth by the Sea Country Club, Rockport Art Association, Fruitlands Museum in Harvard, MA and a lovely backyard wedding at a private residence.  Enjoy – and let me know if you have any favorites!

In 2011 I had the good fortune to photograph in some amazing places, and the photos below came from Seattle (a super cool indie wedding no less), Wentworth by the Sea Country Club, The Connor Family Retreat, The Liberty Hotel (and the Cambodian ceremony the day before at a private home outside Boston), Turner Hill in Ipswich, MA (possibly my favorite estate venue in the area), Belle Mer (my new favorite Newport, RI venue), The Paulist Center in Boston, a private home south of the city, a winter wedding on the beach in Plymouth, MA, Le Meridien in Cambridge, The Boston Marriott Cambridge (an amazing Indian wedding!), The Taj Boston (love that rooftop terrace), The Omni Mount Washington Hotel in the White Mountains (a fairytale venue if ever there was one), Cambridge City Hall (my most intimate wedding of the year with just the couple, myself and the officiant present), an old favorite – Fruitlands Museum in Harvard, MA, and a number of cute churches dotted around the New England area.  Enjoy!

The photos below come from weddings in grand hotels, such as the Four Seasons Boston and Taj Boston, from couples’ homes, parents’ homes, even tiny rooms in the most modest of hotels and inns … The weddings took place in Boston and all over New England … even two in Seattle … and I photographed Jewish weddings, Christian weddings, my first Indian wedding, my first Cambodian ceremony, and a ton of multi-cultural and non-religious weddings. I’ve experienced the full gamut of emotions, and I hope some of them are apparent below. I’ve seen a whole lot of nervous anticipation, emotional tears, but most of all, excited and delighted couples, full of laughter and huge smiles. Enjoy the highlights reel – with more coming soon!

I started the day in Sophy’s bridal room, grabbing some photos of her having her hair and makeup done, and photographing her many beautiful details.

I was especially taken with her gorgeous Miu Miu gold ballet flats. I need some of these myself! Loved those classy, modern invites too …

Richard arrived a little later to get dressed with his guys in a friend’s room at the hotel. His Paul Smith striped socks were AWESOME. I think all grooms should get to wear fun wedding socks.

Back down to Sophy’s room … I loved that she and Richard kept the red ribbons that were tied on their wrists during the previous day’s Cambodian ceremony:

Love this one of the girls – and don’t they look super cute in their purple dresses?

The weather was not the best that day, so we held the first look outside a conference room on the fourth level. Not a bad space!

I had to work in the cool spiral staircase somehow …

Sophy was keen to take the majority of the portraits over at the Public Garden. The rain held off for us, thank goodness, and we got some really cute photos there.

Rich’s glasses came in handy for a fun photo – I LOVE their expressions here.

The beautiful flowers were by Michele Bernard.

A few last photos from the Public Garden to finish off today’s post … do you like the cute little doggy that we stole for a quick picture? I think these guys might just be as crazy as I am for dogs.   The final installment of this multi-day, multicultural celebration will be coming along after the weekend!

I’ll be back again soon with teasers from their beautiful Cambodian ceremony (my first!) and their gorgeous Liberty Hotel wedding photos.  Watch this space ..!

Michelle and Eric went for a leisurely ride in a horse-drawn carriage … and I followed with Josh to get some couples photos near the entrance to the grand resort:

I got back to the hotel to find the most GORGEOUS setup in the Grand Ballroom. Winstons had created some spectacular centerpieces, and I loved all the perfect little details …

Michelle and Eric entered the reception with huge smiles …

… and went straight into their first dance. Love these!

The cake – provided by the hotel – was beautiful (and I thought it looked quite regal sitting there in that wonderful light).

During dinner there were some great toasts by Michelle’s father, her sister, and the best man:

The band was phenomenal – huge kudos to The Marsels for creating an amazing atmosphere and getting everyone up dancing all night long – including throughout dinner! Some parent dances to start …

… and then it was pretty much craziness on the dance floor for the rest of the night. Got to love that!

I’m so happy I caught this sweet moment between Eric and Michelle in amongst the party shots:

Thank you so much Eric and Michelle, and all of your incredibly fun family and friends, for a fantastic evening. I hope you’ve enjoyed the teasers!  And … if you’re a newly engaged couple wanting some kick-ass wedding and engagement photos, view my portfolio here; if you’re more interested in kids and pets, click here; follow me on Facebook here … or contact me here!

I loved Michelle’s choice of colors: dark, rich purple with cream. My own wedding colors, in fact!

Michelle and her mom Patti were having their makeup done in one of the back treatment rooms in the spa. We had to fight for photos in there, but I’m so glad we did:

Once hair and makeup were complete, we all headed back upstairs to Michelle’s room to finish getting ready.

There were a lot of very pretty details to photograph … happy days!

Eric and Michelle didn’t have a traditional bridal party, but they did invite their closest friends for getting ready fun and some group photos. Isn’t this exactly the reaction you’d hope for when one of your best girlfriends sees you for the first time as a bride? Love it!

Michelle’s room was full of champagne and smiles and big hugs and a ton of laughter (these ladies are some of the funniest I’ve met and they had me in stitches all day long).

Once everyone was assembled, we headed down to the South Verandah for some relaxed family and friend photos. Michelle was super cute, showing off her shoes:

Then it was time for me to meet up with the guys.

Love this shot of Eric and his friends:

Michelle’s parents Patti and Dennis are super cute together. And ridiculously funny.

The ceremony took place on the Jewel Terrace at the Omni Mt. Washington … what an amazing spot!

The light on the terrace was insane – even at 5pm it was so bright out there. Thank goodness for back light.

The short ceremony included a few readings, and a mix of Christian and Jewish traditions.

The officiant is actually a close friend of the couple, and it was great being able to get some shots from behind the huppa – not something I am usually allowed to do.

I love these last shots of Michelle and Eric leaving the ceremony and enjoying their first moments together as a married couple … and I can’t wait to share the crazy fun reception photos early next week! Watch this space.

I love this moment between Jason and his almost-mother-in-law:

I have to admit, when Chrissy was describing the “muted color palette” with brown dresses, I wasn’t 100% convinced; seeing it all come together was eye-opening for me. I clearly have no vision.

The ceremony was super short, but packed full of sweet glances and giggles and big, big smiles.

Those first few moments after the ceremony are some of my favorite of the wedding day:

After some crazy big family group photos, everyone moved over to the front terrace at Turner Hill for some relaxed cocktails. This reminds me of my own wedding location, an old country house in the English countryside … *sigh*

The decor in the reception tent was simple but very pretty:

Dinner opened with toasts:

Immediately after dinner, everyone moved to the fourth location of the day: the main house. This is where the party started and remained, and what a great spot for it! The first dance was followed by the parent dances … so many cute moments.

The rest of the evening was spent dancing to band Shine (awesome!) and drinking. Chrissy and Jason, thank you so much for welcoming me so warmly into your amazing group of friends and family. I was sad to leave the reception, and hope that you’ve all enjoyed these few teasers … there’s so much more good stuff to come in the full set of photos!