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!

The girls had their makeup done by the utterly fabulous Veronica Shin (one of my absolute favorite makeup artists in the Boston area), and it was also a pleasure watching hair stylist Jennifer Fusco work her magic. Jason + Chrissy’s sweet doggy Reggie was missing from the celebrations so I worked in one of his toys for some detail shots. Oh, and the beautiful invites are from Hoopity on Etsy.

Chrissy was glowing:

We then all headed up to Turner Hill in Ipswich, MA to complete the getting ready. I am in love with this venue. Look at it!

Love these photos of Chrissy’s girls helping her into her Private Label by G gown:

Jason’s sister and Chrissy’s sister fixing the veil:

The guys, meanwhile, were fully dressed and playing poker at the other end of the hallway. Love it!

I grabbed Jason to have his boutonniere put on by florist The Singing Flower (whose work was gorgeous, by the way). Jason obviously found something about this quite amusing.

And then it was straight into the first look. This light … wow.

These two are so sweet and natural with each other. It made my job easy!

Time for some bridal party photos! Turner Hill could not be any prettier. I mean, really. And that light was just spectacular …

Love this one of the guys (thank you for being brave, Jason!)

One last teaser before the ceremony and reception … which will likely be along on Tuesday next week. In the meantime, if you haven’t already, head on over to my Facebook page and like it – there are often a few little extra sneak peeks posted there first!

Rob and Shana opened the evening reception with their first dance. They look sooo happy in these photos.

There were some funny moments and some emotional ones during the toasts from Shana’s father, Kate and Rusty:

I pronounce this cake Cake of the Year! I must find out who made it – it was both ridiculously beautiful and utterly delicious (I had to have a little bite to make sure):

The parent dances were full of feeling (and I must say I’m quite pleased with how the light turned out – it’s no easy task lighting a space with such a low ceiling).

My favorite DJ of all time, DJ Nate Oinonen of White Label DJs worked his magic on the dance floor … Nate, it was such a treat working with you again!

And here’s the proof … nice and small so that I don’t embarrass anyone too much

Thank you all for a lovely afternoon and evening, and I hope you’ve enjoyed the teasers! 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!