From Studio Foto…

A little while ago we met Ash and Kaitlin in Boston for their Love Shoot. Krystal and I were super excited because we knew that we were going to shoot in the Wang Theatre. What we didn’t know was what Ash and Kaitlin had up their sleeves.  Just as we arrived we heard from Kaitlin that they decided to theme their shoot after their favorite TV show MAD MEN. Many of you know that we don’t really watch TV, so I quickly googled MAD MEN. Who wouldn’t want to shoot a theme based around that show! And the surprises didn’t stop there. When we were introduced to the theatre manager, we were told we could use the entire theater- yes, indeed- the stage, the dressing rooms- all of it! We were pumped needless to say!

Ash and Kaitlin rocked this photo shoot. It’s provocative, sexy, and really, really fun. The Wang is an awesome theatre and could not have been more perfect for this couple’s engagement session. What a place to let yourself really fall into character!?!

These two were fantastic. They totally worked their outfits (love her hot shoes, by the way!) and the Mad Men-esque attitude for this shoot…the results could not have been better. Click here to see even more of the fabulous e-session on Studio Foto’s blog. Thanks to Paul and Krystal for sharing this kiler e-session with us and congratulations to Ash an Kaitlin on their engagement!

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Post tags: Boston, Engagement Shoots, Mad Men, Studio Foto, Vintage E-Session, Wang Theatre
Post categories: Little Black Book Blog

From the amazing staff at Tangorra Wedding Planning…

The took place at the Crane Estate at Castle Hill…during a hurricane!! Luckily for all of us, the inside of the Estate is gorgeous, so even though we went to their “plan B”, no one was disappointed. The rain cleared for just a few minutes before dinner, when Erica and Don were able to sneak outside for some awesome, windy photos!

Erica chose a soft palette of pinks, cream and greens, which complimented the space so well. As it is with every wedding, it was the little touches that really tied everything together. Early on, Erica knew that she wanted to incorporate pears into the day. Guests found their seating cards, shaped as leaves pinned to green pears, which added a nice pop of color to the tables against the pink flowers and metallic cream linens. Their wonderful florist, J. Wrobel included pears into the centerpieces, and they had a pear inspired signature drink!

Here’s a list of the other vendors that were involved: Photography by Sarah Bastille / Video by Seaside Video / Flowers by JWrobel / Music by Hush Band / Menu by Vinwood Catering

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Post tags: Boston, Indoors, Linnea Tangorra, New England, Tangorra Wedding Planning
Post categories: Traditional Elegance

But now that it’s Monday again, back to the hustle and bustle of the workweek, we wanted to share just a few of our favorite still shots from the wedding slideshow …

From Carey and John’s Tennessee wedding by Eric Laurits …

Their love for one another came through loud and clear all day long.

For the whole “story” … Carey and John’s Tennessee wedding from Eric Laurits .  {click on the arrow or controls below}

Don’t you feel better after watching that? Joyful. Classic.

A quote from Eric’s blog: “Never be afraid to show the world how truly beautiful you are. It is the greatest gift you could ever give. Be joyful. Seek the joy of being alive.” We think his photography celebrates just that.

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Post tags: Boston, Eric Laurits, Somewhere Over The Rainbow, Tennessee
Post categories: Casual Elegance, Little Black Book Blog, Wedding Photography

photography by Boston Avenue Photo Co

From Cynthia…

We also went all out with Jessica’s passion for peonies – given that they had a June wedding date, the peonies were in season locally, and just spectacular.  Toronto Florist Fuscia Designs provided dozens of four foot tall manzanita trees filled with peony blossoms and crystals, and lots of low arrangements to fill in the tables for a lush, romantic look.

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Post tags: Boston, Cynthia Martyn, Fuscia Designs, Jessica and Kevin, Rae Dunn
Post categories: Traditional Elegance, Wedding Decor, Wedding Details

Their wedding reception was at the classic Parker House in Boston. Abby is always urging you to do little things to make your wedding reflect your own personality. Let’s see what you think about her little touches at their reception …

Abby wanted a wedding cake that shimmered, but no adornment. She wanted the ballroom to be filled with candles, white feathers and lots of crystals, but all of the flowers needed to be tidy and simple. She wanted the deepest brown linens that we could find, and one show-stopping (white) floral arrangement.

I made one minor adjustment. The cake was beautiful, but it really needed something … so I pulled a flower from a nearby table centerpiece and placed it on top of the cake. I didn’t tell her. She loved it.

At the time she married Tait, she owned Abby Jean Press, a lovely engraved wedding invitation company. So she quite naturally, designed their invitation and all paper pieces that go along with a wedding. Rather than having a guest book, she made cards for their guests to write notes upon. We filled large (inexpensive) vases with feathers nearby for them to be dropped in. We engraved an “L”  on mint julep cups that contained little bunches of flowers throughout the reception space and on the tables. Family took these home as mementos of the day. We found mirrored frames that we used for numbering the tables. We only tried to buy decorative items that could be used as favors or used in our homes after the wedding.  Mostly we found accessories in antique shops, on e-bay and at our local Hobby Lobby! Sarah at Spruce Floral took all of our booty and pulled it together into a glittering reception space.

There’s so much more! With every wedding there always is …

I hope that this glimpse of Abby and Tait’s wedding made you smile, gave you ideas, or just made you feel good.

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Post tags: Boston, Color Palette, Parker House, Table Settings, Wedding Cake, Wedding Colors
Post categories: Real Weddings, Traditional Elegance

Abby and Tait were married in August 2005 at the magnificent Old South Church in Boston. I love the expression on Tait’s face as he sees Abby walking toward him. I’ve seen him look at her like this many times since then, but this time … was the best.

The majority of Abby and Tait’s family live in Massachusetts.  An August wedding in her home town, Houston, would have been out of the question. Everyone in Massachusetts assured us that by the end of August, it would definitely have started cooling off. An unairconditioned church would be no problem … wrong.  This beautiful church was so hot.

Abby had several special touches during her wedding. Her cousin read a love poem written by her aunt who had passed away from breast cancer. A dear friend of hers sang the “Irish Wedding Song”… that brought us all to tears. Abby allowed me to select most of the music, because classical music was such a huge part of my memories of her grandfather. But probably the most special thing that she did was to present me with a lace handkerchief to carry, that was made from the lace on her gown… she’s quite a girl!

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Post tags: Abby Larson, Boston, Old South Church, Vera Wang, Wedding Ceremony, wedding dress
Post categories: Real Weddings, Traditional Elegance

Abby’s bridal party included her sisters, Tait’s sisters, her best friend from home, and many of her friends from Vanderbilt. As we waited in the church library before the ceremony, they all broke into a lively rendition of “Going to the chapel … !” Apparently it’s a Vanderbilt-friend’s rite of passage to sing this right before the walk down the aisle.

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Post tags: Abby Larson, Boston, Bridesmaids Dresses, Color Palette Pink Brown, Massachusetts, Summer Wedding, Vera Wang, wedding dress
Post categories: Real Weddings, Traditional Elegance

Abby and Tait both attended Vanderbilt University, he a few years ahead of her. She knew ‘of’ him and he of her, but they didn’t really know each other personally until a few years later. They both ended up in San Francisco and officially ‘met’ through mutual Vanderbilt friends. It was one of those romantic ‘their eyes locked from across the room’ kind of thing … and the rest is history!

Two years later, we were planning their Boston wedding long distance between California, Texas and Massachusetts. That is when her passion for all-things-wedding began. She’s always loved pretty things, but pretty weddings became her passion. All of her wedding vendors were chosen via the web. If they didn’t have a great website, she kept looking and researching. In 2005, choosing wedding professionals via the internet was a little more difficult than today. But that’s what we did. If their website didn’t pass the test, we moved along. We still interviewed and got references and looked at previous work, but because it was a ‘destination wedding’ for us … most work was done via phone calls and emails. When all things were said and done, Abby and Tait did have their dream-come-true wedding, and Abby made the bold decision to transition from creating wedding invitations to writing a wedding blog. And that, in a nutshell, was the inception of Style Me Pretty!

Before we go any further, I thought I’d share a few of Abby’s passions… bunches of tulips, all-white eclectic decor, a great pair of blue jeans, a great white t-shirt, three four inch heels (my mistake, Abby), gummi candy, a good old-fashioned Texas thunderstorm, being on time, black & white photography … and of course, now Audrey & Tait.

And Tait? He’s practical yet generous. Quiet but opinionated. His passion? Hmmmm… a good cup of hot tea, the Patriots & Celtics, chocolate, computer-talk, and of course, his girls — Abby, Audrey and Chloe (their dog).

I’ll be posting lots more photos from Abby’s wedding throughout the day … (sorry Daria, I owe you one!).
I’ll ask her to check on any questions you might have on Monday.

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2009. | Permalink | 19 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Abby, Boston, Summer Wedding, Vanderbilt, Vera Wang, Wedding Dresses
Post categories: Real Weddings, Traditional Elegance

* * *

Jen and Aaron were both doctors who met in Boston while in medical school. Jen was from New Orleans, where her father was the rabbi of the largest Jewish temple in the city. Originally, their fairy-tale wedding was to have been held in New Orleans; but when their carefully planned celebration (and their deposits!) had been swept away by hurricane Katrina, they decided to go ahead as scheduled. Their wedding was relocated to The Fairmont Copley Plaza in Boston, where over one hundred of their friends and family from all over the world convened for a fabulous weekend celebration.

White roses from Winston’s decorated every room, from flower-laden chuppah at the Brookline Temple where Jen’s father officiated the ceremony to the cocktail and buffet tables at the reception. The groom, who looked as comfortable in tails as in a t-shirt, helped his dad and all his groomsmen tie perfect bow-ties. Sacramental kiddush cups were brought to be used during the ceremony – one had come all the way from Europe from a grandparent, and one from New Orleans with Jen’s father. Aaron wore the same yarmulke his father had worn on his wedding day, and was married with his late grandfather’s enormous wedding ring. Jen had a patch of lace from her mom’s wedding gown sewn into the underskirt of her new gown.

This whole family was fabulous on camera: Everyone was full of stories about the couple, the day, the courtship, marriage… it couldn’t have been better. Aaron, for all his tie-and-tails sophistication, was one of the funniest grooms we had ever met. Throughout the reception, he swigged on his own personal bottle of bubbly. Everyone cried and laughed on camera within inhibition.

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Post tags: Boston, Fairmont Hotel, Generations Videostories
Post categories: Wedding Cinematography

* * *

People often ask me when we started GENERATIONS videostories; and why, after multiple careers including teaching English and counseling individuals and couples, I wound up making wedding films. My partner Jack had been a videographer for a while, mostly in the corporate world, but also doing the occasional wedding for friends and family. In May 2004, a photographer friend invited us to share a table with her at Boston’s first gay wedding expo, co-sponsored by The Lenox Hotel and Bloomingdale’s. We arrived at the show excited about the impending Supreme Judicial Court Decision and thrilled to be supporting the many gay and lesbian couples who would now be able to tie the knot just like other couples in love.

During the week preceding the expo, Jack and I had come up with the name GENERATIONS videostories to distinguish our company as creating wedding films that focused on the generations of people present at a wedding celebration as well as those who would, in the future, have the chance to get to know a bit about their grandparents, great-grandparents, and family friends who celebrated at the wedding.

Chad and Kevin’s wedding was a wonderful mix of cultures and styles. It was absolutely amazing to be filming a wedding designed by one of the truly great wedding planner/designers! I wasn’t quite sure how a Tibetan Buddhist ceremony was going to work with a group of Mariachi players and teenage gymnasts at the BayClub in Mattapoisett… but, suffice it to say, Chad and Kevin pulled it off. All of Kevin and Chad’s female friends were given floral bouquets, and their best friends were all part of a Nepalese silk scarf ritual during the ceremony itself. Harp and flute played as guests entered the private home that was the site of the ceremony, and a luxury bus transported the wedding party to the the Bay Club for the stunning reception. Guests were serenaded by the happy sounds of the Mariachi band; the wedding, held on Cinquo de Mayo, was in honor of Kevin’s profession as a teacher of the Spanish language.

I asked Chad about the red tulips spilling all over the Bay Club reception and was told that after his first date with Kevin, this wonderfully romantic man showed his immediate interest by sending over 100 red tulips. Needless to say, Kevin was smitten. At the wedding reception, Chad continued to charm by grabbing the band’s mic and singing Dolly Parton’s Islands in the Stream to him.

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Post tags: Bay Club, Boston, Generations Videostories, Lenox Hotel
Post categories: Wedding Cinematography

For my hair, I wanted it to be up, in a disheveled bun for the ceremony and photos, then I wanted to take it down for the reception. This easy up-do was perfect for me because it felt so soft and romantic, but in that really non-prom-ish way. My cousin set it without using rubber bands so that I had no creases when we took it down.

For my make-up, I wanted to look natural…all eyes and a subtle lip. When I tell you that I loved what our make-up artist, Lynne Avallone did, it just might be the understatement of the year. I felt beautiful, but I felt like myself. Lynne used warm neutrals with touches of pink, champagne, copper and chocolate. She also applied subtle false eyelashes that made my eyes pop in pictures. My maids all chose their own hair and make-up styles…some wore low, loose buns and others just had some waves put in. Everyone looked and felt gorgeous.

If you are in need of more beauty inspiration, check out Lynne Avallone’s site…she is an absolutely incredible make-up artist, who I cannot recommend highly enough!

And, I am so excited that Nikol of Fresh Beauty in Florida, is stopping by a little later today to share some of her best make-up tips and ideas! Don’t forget to check back in!

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2008. | Permalink | 12 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Boston, Fresh Beauty Studios, Lynn Avallone, Wedding Beauty Tips, Wedding Hairstyles, Wedding Makeup
Post categories: Wedding Fashion