Wedding at the Colonnade Hotel, Boston, MA :: Alison + Matthew (Part VI)

All good things must come to an end but luckily this is only the end of the blog post of Alison & Matt's wedding at the Colonnade Hotel in Boston, MA. Long after these blog posts are buried on the interwebs I predict Alison & Matthew will be enjoying a long and happy life together.

So let's recap:

I took some engagement pictures of Alison & Matt at Boston Harbor **here**

The bride and groom got ready in their respective suites at the Colonnade hotel **here**

Alison stepped into her wedding gown and everyone cried **here**

Matt & Alison said "I do" at Our Lady of Victories Church in Boston, MA **here**

We had lots of time for relaxed wedding pictures in the Boston Public Gardens **here**

Guests enjoyed the delicious food art at cocktail hour back at the Colonnade Hotel **here**

In between I've talked about the importance of planning your wedding timeline and how impressed I was with the Colonnade Hotel as a top Boston wedding venue, you can check out their website **here** and then contact me **here** to hire me as your wedding photographer ;)

So we're at Alison & Matt's wedding reception and guests had taken their seats in the Huntington ballroom which is not only a beautiful venue but also has a raised ceiling and good lighting which all make for lovely pictures. Add in the blue and purple uplighting on the awesome band, Manhattan Touch and I was in reception venue heaven.

I've said it before and you know I'll say it again - lighting design makes a WORLD of difference to your wedding - whether it's something as simple as hundreds of votives and twinkly lights for a DIY wedding or stunningly elegant wireless LED lighting designs with lanterns and other unique looks from Boston Uplights (read my interview with Paul from BU **here**) - it will be money SO well spent for the effect on ambiance, atmosphere, mood and of course your photographs.

Off topic again - sorry - here are Alison & Matt making their grand entrance:


The next picture is a great example of what I'm talking about when I mention having interesting lighting at your wedding reception - whether it's integral to the room or additional lighting elements.

I actually just got an email last week from a photographer whose work I really admire asking if I would consider doing a workshop on reception lighting. Whilst I appreciate the kind inquiry I am continually learning and evolving my lighting and wouldn't dream of trying to teach anyone what I know at this point ;) but for those who might be interested...

I mostly use a relatively high ISO (gotta love the minimal noise with the Nikon D3s), a low shutter speed to bring out the warm ambient light of the chandeliers and the band lighting and a fairly wide aperture to throw the background out of focus (and let in more light). I add a kiss of backlight or rim lighting with a couple of strategically placed off-camera strobes and then have an additional strobe on my camera (usually bounced over my shoulder and back to create a softer look). You could also look into gelling your strobes which is something I plan on playing around with next year.

Was that interesting to anyone? I write my blog very much for wedding clients and don't plan on including much technical photography info unless someone out there finds it interesting...

Liking this picture a lot:


And this one, see how the off-camera flash adds a little separation from the background:


And then Matt got his "dancing with the stars" moves on:

Time for salad and I thought you'd like to see the table set up:


I love my eggplant purple Le Creuset for cooking casseroles and hotpot so when I spotted the baby red Le Creuset of fall vegetables that accompanied the beef tenderloin I figured it was too cute not to photograph:


Toasts from Alison's dad, her cousin Ashlee ("Alison is the sister I never had") and Matt's brother John ("I may be the older brother but I've always looked up to Matthew") were heartfelt and funny and very personal:


Alison and Matt's reactions:



I'll often mention when a great band or DJ kept the dancefloor full and it's always true. But Manhattan Touch took keeping the dancefloor full to a whole new level. People were dancing on the dancefloor, off the dancefloor, around their tables. Excellent variety of songs - 60's to soul to current pop - and the perfect combination of slow and fast songs to keep everyone engaged. I believe the image in the middle is of all the girls doing "single ladies". Also love Alison & Matt's Moms watching the dancing in the bottom left:


Except for during the family pictures/couples portraits I try to be as unobtrusive as possible during each wedding. So catching this moment between Matt and Alison as they took a break from dancing required some precise photography ninja skillz:


Alas, I'm not completely invisible all the time. As I downloaded the wedding files, I noticed a bunch of images which made me really laugh. It's like Matt's thinking "Who are you?! Why are you taking my picture?"


Beautiful cake from The Icing on the Cake:


Alison danced with her dad:


And Matt danced with his mom:


Sometimes it's the little in-between moments of a wedding that help tell the story of the day, My "bride radar" went off as Matt danced with his mom and Alison watched with her parents:


Always time for a quick group picture with college friends - especially if they've brought a flag:


The new trend in bridal capes:


And that, Ladies & Gentlemen, brings the wedding of Alison & Matt to a close.

There's just time for a vendor list for this most excellent wedding:
Ceremony: Our Lady of Victories Catholic Church, Boston, MA
Wedding venue: The Colonnade Hotel, Boston, MA

Photographer: Leah Haydock Photography
Wedding Dress: Christina’s Bridal of Andover
Bridesmaid dresses: Christina’s Bridal of Andover
Wedding Stationary: Soiree, Andover, MA (Alison gives them top A+++ marks!)
Flowers: Les fleurs, Andover, MA
Hair: Patricia of Salon Matteo, Milton, MA
Make up: Janice from Bobbi Brown, Neiman Marcus, Copley Place
Cake: Icing on the cake
Video: Mavid Productions
Band: Manhattan Touch

Oh go on then, one last picture taken right at the end of the night:


Oh Alison & Matt, what to say? Words can't describe how happy I was to be your wedding photographer. It was such a perfect day and I have no doubt that you're going to be incredibly happy in your lives together. Hugest congratulations to you both!

Colonnade Hotel Wedding :: Boston Wedding Photographer :: Alison + Matthew (Part V)

Why hello there...it's just about time for cocktail hour at the wedding of Alison & Matt in the Colonnade Hotel in Boston, MA.

Spectacular, spectacular.

No words in the vernacular

Can describe this great event.

You'll be dumb with wonderment.

[Sorry - watching Moulin Rouge again]

Why not enjoy a baby cheeseburger whilst you sip a glass of champagne?


As the guests started to arrive for the wedding reception, I took what might just be my all-time favorite wedding picture:


The Colonnade is such an incredibly elegant venue for a Boston wedding. I really can't speak highly enough of the wonderful team, the impeccable service, the beautiful location and lighting, the great places in and around the hotel for pictures and of course...edible food art of the highest degree:

Miniature stawberry lollipop anyone?


The roof top pool deck was officially closed for the season but was opened up for us to sneak in a few minutes of pictures above the Boston skyline. Wouldn't this made the best location for cocktail hour with a view of Boston?


I'm feeling old Hollywood in this image:


We came back down to join cocktail hour with plenty of time to spare. Alison made a beeline for her grandmother:


Everyone appeared to be having a most excellent time:

And finally tomorrow we'll have the first dance! the toasts! the cake cutting! the dancing!

Wedding pictures in Boston Public Gardens :: Alison + Matt (Part IV)

Hello! Did you have a lovely Thanksgiving? I did. And Christmas is coming early for the Haydock's this year as we'll be in the UK very soon and then back to the US to enjoy the holiday's here. Double fun.

Last time we met, click **here** to catch up, Alison & Matt just got MARRIED!!! I promised you pictures of the amazing appetizers at cocktail hour but then I got distracted with trying to eat as much food as I possibly could so we're a day late and I actually want to share some of the family/wedding party pictures we took before we get to cocktail hour.

So let's continue the day with a stroll in the Boston Public Garden. Yes, you can take wedding pictures in the public gardens. And yes, you should get a permit **here**. I know there's often debate about whether you really need to if you're just taking pictures vs. actually having a wedding but frankly, you don't want to risk being thrown out of the park on your wedding day for the sake of $100 (a bargain $50 for Boston residents).

How about we start with a relaxed family picture? Both families were just amazing to be around - wonderfully welcoming, friendly and so incredibly happy for Alison and Matt.


With each family and siblings:


These pictures of Alison with her cousin Ashlee make me smile:

It wouldn't be a blog post unless I try to impart some little nugget of wedding wisdom and so today I want to share the value of planning your timeline effectively (I've written on this subject before **here** and don't hesitate to contact me if you'd like input on your timeline)

Alison and Matt chose not to do a first look but they still wanted to have time for pictures AND to enjoy cocktail hour so their timeline looked something like this:

12:30pm Detail pictures/getting ready fun

2:25pm Guys leave for church, Leah also leaves to get set up for ceremony

3:00pm Ceremony

3:45pm Ceremony finishes, Alison & Matt spend time talking with guests outside of church

4:15pm Drive over to Boston Public Gardens

4:25pm Family pictures in gardens

4:45pm Wedding party pictures and couples portraits

5:15pm Drive back to Colonnade hotel - relax with champagne and appetizers, bustle dress

5:30pm Head up to roof top pool deck for 5 minutes of photographs

5:35pm Relax and freshen up before cocktail hour (Leah photographing details/room set up)

6:00pm Cocktail hour - time for the newlyweds to greet/mingle with guests

This was such a dream schedule for me as I had plenty of time to set up lighting, get all of the little detail shots that make up the day, heck - even I even put my camera down for 2 minutes to drink a diet coke. And I think the thoughtful scheduling really shows in the pictures. Anyhoo - random timeline lecture over.

The trees were almost bare in the public gardens as you'd expect in the fall/winter time but there were flashes of fall color still to be found:

With the equestrian George Washington statue:


For some reason I want to start humming "I'll be there for you..." when I see this image:


Alison was an incredibly versatile bride going from "laughter" to "statue of liberty" within seconds:


It was about 45 minutes from sunset - the BEST time of the day for pictures - when I took this one:


One more picture before we all piled back into the limos (another helpful tip - consider having your wedding photographer ride in the front of your limo it prevents us getting separated/losing time for parking - but do let me know in advance so I can have my assistant drive/park my car):


I'd say I took around 45-60 minutes to get all of the "formal" family pictures, wedding party pictures and couples portraits. We arrived back at the Colonnade for a glass of champagne for everyone and even had time to head up to Boston's only roof top pool for a few more pictures...but if you want to see them you need to leave a little comment below.


Five comments = Next blog post immediately (it's written and ready to go)

Colonnade Hotel Wedding Photographer :: Boston, MA :: Alison + Matt (Part III)

Hello! We're back at Our Lady of Victories Church in Boston, MA for Alison & Matt's wedding ceremony...I'm keeping the words to a minimum as

a) the pictures speak for themselves

b) I'm in some kind of turkey coma...


Whilst Matt was getting his boutonniere pinned on, Alison's grandmother was catching up with family:


Alison arrived in the limo with her father:


Matt's sister Meredith, Alison's sister-in-law Taylor and Alison's cousin Ashlee wearing the most beautiful navy satin bridesmaid dresses:


Anticipation was high as the doors were closed and then opened for the bride (image on the right captured by Julia Snider):


Matt's mom had a little tear in her eye:


Matt was doing a subtle lean to get a better glimpse of Alison:


Alison looked straight ahead at Matt and her dad looked at her mom :)


This might just be one of my new favorite pictures:


Matt finally saw Alison:


Beautiful church:


It was too early for kissing or handholding but Alison and Matt still found a way to lean into each other and share a little smile:


A minor confusion in the order of service led to these priceless expressions:


By the power vested in me by the state of blog I now pronounce you husband and wife:

Julia shot this image of the lighting of the unity candle from the balcony:


Happy Newlyweds:


As you read this you might be thinking that your pants feel a little tight after your Thanksgiving dinner...all I have to say is that once you see the pictures of the food at cocktail hour tomorrow you'll be ravenous again...