Taj Boston Wedding Photography :: Daniella + Mark (Part I)

I've been trying to do my wedding blog posts in two parts but I think this one's going to end up as a three-parter as there was SO much going on :) In fact, part II is already written and ready to post so if enough people say hello in the comments, I'll put it up in just a few hours [it's nice to know I'm not talking to myself ;]

We started the day at Taj Boston. The Taj hotel is one of my favorite wedding venues in Boston. Paul and I were guests at a Taj wedding a few years ago and we were wowed by the food, the service and the beautiful surroundings. As a wedding photographer it doesn't get any better than the Taj - you're so close to the public gardens for family formals and Kim and Monique are an absolute joy to work with. Some details in the bridal suite:

Jeannie of www.jeanniev.com was the make up artist that made all of the ladies look even more stunning. Maricruz of www.maricruzhairstyles.com came up with beautiful up dos and soft natural curls for Daniella, the Moms and all of the bridesmaids:

Over in Mark's room it was bow-tie time:

Daniella toasted with her bridesmaids and then surprised them all with necklaces:

Now would also be a good time for me to give a HUGE shout out and thanks to Emilie of Pink Orchid Weddings. Emilie somehow manages to be completely invisible yet everywhere at the same time. From pinning keepsakes on the bouquet, to handing out band-aids, making sure everyone was where they needed to be, even coming up with a pin to help close the buttons on Dani's dress - I highly highly highly recommend chatting to Emilie if you're looking for a Boston wedding planner/day of coordinator. Emilie helped Daniella across the street from the Taj to the Public Gardens for her first look with Mark. Yay for first looks!
- More time together on your wedding day
- You can really talk to one another which isn't possible in church!
- Relaxed family formals are done when hair and make up are fresh (awesome when it's a 90 degree humid New England day)
- You get to enjoy cocktail hour with your friends and family
- More time for pictures!!!
I'll be quiet now and let you see some of my favorites from the first look and couples pictures in the Public Garden (don't forget your permits people!):

Relaxed family pictures and exhausted ring bearer:

One more of the almost-newlyweds, I don't think I've ever seen so much laughter between two people :)  It was then time to drive over to St Ignatius Church at Boston College for the wedding ceremony, I'll leave you with this image of Daniella waiting to go into church: Want to see the ceremony at St Ignatius? Click **here**!!!
Want to see the reception at the Taj? Click **here**!!!

Boston Engagement Photographer ::Public Gardens and Waterfront :: Katie + John

Three blog posts in one day? What's going on??!??! Let's just say there's a lot of diet pepsi with lime involved. Or maybe my new Invisalign braces are giving me super-human concentration skillz. Whatevs.

Up next for your viewing pleasure are some rather splendid pictures of Katie & John. I like to listen to music whilst I edit and today I've had Bruce Springsteen singing "I'm on fire" on repeat - I think it's working.

I met up with Katie and John at the Seaport Hotel in the Boston Waterfront area. We may have had a little cocktail to start off the evening....


We wandered over to the ICA on the waterfront and just hung out for a little bit:


Lots of lovely light. I've been in a big hair color funk after photographing so many of my amazing brides with their gorgeous blonde and red hair.


I can't even begin to tell you how much I LOVE this next picture. I actually spent maybe 10 minutes going back and forth between color and black & white before settling on black and white but believe me when I say the color version is pretty awesome too:


Boston makes for a pretty backdrop:


Nice:


We hopped in a taxi and headed over to the Boston Public Gardens for the last few moments of daylight. The Public Gardens are lovely but they can also be very crowded and hot. I like to challenge myself to shoot something different each time - this time I was mesmerized by the little purple pom-pom flowers:


So Katie & John. Where to start? They met at St Anselm (I'm starting to think it's the school to go to if you want to meet your soulmate) and John explained about the hockey groupies of which Katie was definitely not a member ;) which led to much laughter:


Oh Katie, you're beautiful!


I seriously had so much fun out with these two, their wedding in September is going to be all sorts of awesome...


One last one with the twinkly lights of Commonwealth Ave in the background.

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!