Wedding Pictures at the Colonnade Boston :: Wedding Ceremony at Seaport Winter Garden :: Katie + Joel

It's Friday!!! Want to see an awesome wedding at the Colonnade Hotel in Boston? You do? You've come to the right place then!!! Let's get to it!
The Colonnade Hotel Boston Sign against a blue sky
The Colonnade Hotel has Boston's only rooftop pool (more of that at cocktail hour) so there are tiny yellow rubber duckies in each room.

The talented Ligia was doing Katie's make up

I photographed some sparkly jewelry and lovely shoes and pretty wedding stationery:
Red wedding shoes with peep toe on yellow background

Katie relaxed with a glass of champagne
...before it was time to get dressed with help from Mom Carolyn and MOH Melissa
Meanwhile the ever-amazing Audrey was hanging with Joel and the guys and caught this one
Katie and Joel chose to do a first look and do all of the formal pictures before their wedding ceremony so they could relax and enjoy cocktail hour later. I don't think Joel could have had a bigger smile on his face seeing Katie (the image on the right is Audrey's too)
All of the flowers were by the incomparable Kerianne and the team at Les Fleurs. Katie echoed the pop of red theme with her cute red peep-toe shoes

We took some relaxed family pictures...

...before heading over to the ceremony at the Wintergarden at Seaport East. I've mentioned before how much I ADORE photographing at the Colonnade Hotel in Boston. Not only is it a spectacular venue but the whole team go above and beyond for their clients. When Katie and Joel mentioned they were a little nervous about going offsite for the ceremony and wondered if they should hire a wedding planner Gabi (Social Catering Manager at the Colonnade and in charge of all of the weddings) not only offered to come over to the Wintergarden but even attended the wedding rehearsal the night before.

Without further ado it was time for Katie and Joel to get married! The super short yet super sweet ceremony was officiated by Katie and Joel's awesome friend with personal vows that managed to be both serious and hilarious at the same time:
The Wintergarden is a stunning space to hold a wedding ceremony. It's like being outside inside. As the name would suggest it's perfect in the winter as you're warm and indoor yet your ceremony feels airy and light. As you can see here, it would also be perfectly appropriate to rename it the Summergarden.

Married!!!

 I've been asked to write an article with top tips for better wedding photographs for a popular blog (more on that in a few weeks) and most of the tips come back to time.

There is literally never enough time on your wedding day! Everything takes longer than you think. I'm very conscious that it's your day and not a photoshoot but if photographs are important to you then it's so important to work with your photographer to find the approrpriate time for family pictures (30-60 minutes depending on how many groups you want), wedding party pictures (15-60 minutes depending on if you just want a couple with everyone smiling at the camera or different locations and arrangements) and of course couples pictures (15-60 minutes, again depending on location).

Katie and Joel had an awesome day planned for their guests and still found the time for the pictures they wanted. After the ceremony, guests were thoughtfully transported back to the hotel to freshen up/have a drink before cocktail hour started at 7pm. The sun was perfectly setting over Boston for the most amazing view AND we had time to get lots of pictures. Here's just a few! I love how Katie was happy for her bridesmaids to wear any black dress they chose - that's a good friend right there! Not to mention that all of the girls look awesome!

I convinced the limo driver to let me sit in his seat for a second :) Katie and Joel had the biggest smiles on their faces all day and night. Love!
Once back at the Colonnade we took a few more pictures at the fountains near the Christian Science Church (although not with the church in the background - expressly forbidden!). Now would also be a good time to mention I was shooting alongside one of my favorite video teams and Boston's best videographers - Long Haul Films - I'll update with a link to the trailer once it's released.
Cocktail hour at many weddings is fairly standard. Drinks, passed hors d'oeuvres, chit chat on the lawn or in a pretty lobby. Not so at the Colonnade. I can't think of a better view of Boston than from the Roof Top Pool. And as if the view wasn't enough the food is RIDICULOUS thanks to Chef Nick. I'd photographed a wedding at the Colonnade just a few weeks earlier and every single appetizer was different. Guests are always wowed (with happy tummies!)
Boston wedding venue for foodies, Colonnade Hotel Cocktail Hour
Guests were given a bubble wand as they arrived at the roof and welcomed the newlyweds with a grand bubble entrance!
Bubble entrance at wedding. Bride and groom with bubbles
Guests came down to the Huntington Ballroom to sign the guest book and be wowed by the flowers and dinner
Loving the cake. But loving the engraved glasses even more, especially knowing that Joel's is perfect for his preferred beverage of Newcastle Brown :)
On a scale of 1 thru 10 how happy do you think Katie & Joel are? :) 
First dance to the awesome song "Just the way you are." 
Happy and emotional toasts (with a surprise t-shirt gift for Joel) were followed by parent dances: 

Reason #789 that the Colonnade Hotel is one of the very best wedding venues in Boston - they'll happily send a security guard up to the roof so you can take pictures. And then they're still happy to call an engineer to turn on the pretty pool lights. 
The dancefloor was well and truly rocking, there may have been a little "Bye bye bye" NSYNC style dancing ;) 
They lived happily ever after. The End. 

Katie & Joel - thank you for trusting me to document your day. What a day it was! You both looked so incredibly filled with joy all day! Wishing you a long and happy life together! 
Happy weekend everyone! I will be relaxing before I shoot straight through every weekend until the middle of October! Next up will be Kristen & John's engagement pictures followed by Emily & Mike's beautiful Boston Harbor Hotel wedding (with some surprise animals on a ship - you don't want to miss it!) 


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