Be still my nautical loving heart. These gorgeous Boston nuptials by Benoit & McCarthy Photography have taken my maritime favorites (twine, a vibrant yellow and navy color palette and, of course, seashells) and wrapped them all up in a traditional ballroom affair as grand as they come. Swoon. With the gorgeous floral design by Flou(-e)r, lemon-filled centerpieces and a pair of Manolos that just might be my favorite shoe of all time, this wedding is, in one word, amazing. Don’t miss a single moment. See all of the pretty here!
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From the Bride… From the moment we got engaged, there was no question that Boston, Massachusetts would be the the ideal backdrop for our wedding. We met at Northeastern University in Boston, had our first date eating a cannoli in a small playground on the harbor when we realized that we had both spent many afternoons in that very park as children. In the very same location, seven years later, Chris popped the question and proposed to me… and although I didn’t answer verbally right away, my clear unspoken answer was “YES.”
I knew I wanted a clean and more minimalist approach to the decor of our day, so when planning the colors I chose navy blue, which beautifully encompasses the New England coastal elegance and the punches of yellow added a vibrance of summer in the city. The vendors: This is when the difficulty of planning a Boston wedding from NYC became apparent. Planning our wedding on a budget we didn’t have the funds for a wedding planner, so I relied on blogs and other websites when searching for photography, florists and music. My co-worker had recently been married in Boston and suggested our photographer. She spoke very highly of Benoit and McCarthy, and their shots from her wedding were gorgeous, so we booked them quickly. As far as the music for our reception, we absolutely knew we wanted a club-style DJ given my husband’s night-life background. We found DJ Nato, who has a tremendous reputation of spinning beats that exude all night dancing to his mash-up tunes. Not only is Nate unbelievably talented, but the entire process of working with him to plan our party was completely stress free largely in part to his professionalism and laid back demeanor.
And for the flowers, I knew exactly what types of flowers I wanted – Hydrangeas, Peonies, Ranunculus and Orchids. My biggest challenge was my budget. Gregory at Flou(-e)r was beyond helpful. From my first phone call, he was giving me advice whether I booked his services or not. And once he helped me with my choices and worked within my budget, that was my sign to sign a contract with him as soon as possible. After I had all of my vendors booked, it was smooth sailing for planning all of the little details…I worked with Caitlin Gardiner at Adrian Keyes on all of my paper goods. She really helped me fine-tune my vision of city/coastal elegance. All of the stationery was accented with a nautical style twine to weave the nautical dimensions throughout. We chose navy blue and floral yellow accents for the invitations, place cards, table cards, programs, menus and favor boxes. I was so happy that our vision came to fruition so beautifully and put together. The important stuff, and the reason we were planning this momentous occasion…bringing two lives, two families, two cultures together in love.
Our day couldn’t have been more perfect and our night ended with our feet soaking from our dancing shoes. It was the greatest day of our lives.
Wedding Photography: Benoit & McCarthy Photography / Venue, Catering + Lighting: Boston Long Wharf Marriott / Bride’s Gown: Alita Graham for Kleinfeld Kollection / Bride’s Shoes: Manolo Blahnik / Bridesmaid Dresses: Priscilla of Boston / Floral Design: Flou(-e)r / Ceremony Music: Riverview Chambers Players / Reception Music: White Label DJs / Wedding Cake: Montillio’s / Stationery: Adrian Keyes by Caitlin Gardiner