After a year of wedding planning, this gorgeous Bride and Groom promised each other that on their big day, they wouldn’t let the other out of their sight. From the romantic ceremony in one of Royal Sonesta Boston‘s beautiful ballrooms to dancing the night away to the tunes of Radiance, this Bride and Groom remained attached at the hip, celebrating their big day together. See it all from Zev Fisher Photography and Fade And Focus in The Vault!
From The Bride…Alex and I met in college at the University of Michigan, where some of our fondest memories to date were formed. We were set up for a date party – in typical fraternity-sorority fashion – and instantly hit it off. Soon after that night, our affinity for each other grew into more and we spent the remainder of college falling in love with each other and the city of Ann Arbor, where three years after graduating, we returned with friends for an alumni weekend and Alex popped the question.
When we got engaged, we knew right away we wanted our wedding to be in Boston (where I grew up) both because we love the city and because we wanted to provide our many friends and family from New York with an easy Labor Day weekend getaway. We looked at eleven (yes, eleven!) venues in one weekend and quickly decided on the Royal Sonesta Boston Hotel in Cambridge. We loved its beautiful views of Boston and its gorgeous setting directly on the Charles River. We also loved its boutique style and the contemporary art collection that permeated the space. Above all else, we cared most about our wedding feeling like us, and we felt the Royal Sonesta’s effortless vibe did exactly that.
The idea of the wedding feeling like us was our number one inspiration in the planning process. We knew it was going to be a big wedding no matter what (a whopping 260) so we focused on making it as personal and intimate as possible. We wanted it to feel warm, romantic, and inviting and accomplished just that by focusing on the details.
We used this concept to inform our choice of a summery color-pallet filled with blush, lavender, and soft grey. My eight bridesmaids wore those three colors in Monique Lhuillier’s tulle collection to achieve the romantic look we were going for. To complement my lace-detailed Pronovias gown, I wore the same veil my sister (and Matron of Honor) wore when she walked down the aisle a few years prior, which felt so special and personal to me. Alex wore a charcoal grey Hugo Boss tux, which was the perfect way for him to just ever-so-subtly stand out next to his groomsmen wearing black.
To continue with our vision of warmth and romance, we wanted the flowers to be loose and whispery and our florist did an incredible job helping us to achieve this look. Our chuppah was constructed of curly willow and lavender limonium for a full yet simple feel. In the ballroom, wooden boxes and delicate vases showcased dreamy floral arrangements filled with stunning flowers like white hydrangeas, faith roses, and seeded eucalyptus. Mercury votives and floating candles complimented the flowers on each table, and a combination of sheer fabric and bee-lighting draped from the ceiling to create an elegant look. We also decided to bring in long, wooden farm tables that lined the dance floor to help create a more intimate feel in the room.
From our wedding invitations, programs, and menus we helped to custom design, to our homemade hotel welcome bags filled with our favorite goodies, to UMichigan paraphernalia incorporated throughout the wedding night, we infused the wedding with personal touches. Our vanilla-mocha wedding cake was topped with a Michigan Wolverine bride and groom, baby pictures of us hung on each bathroom door, and wooden feathers I found from my favorite Cape Cod home-décor shop were used to enhance our cards and gift table.
On the night before the wedding, Alex and I made a pact with each other (thanks to advice from very wise friends!) that we wouldn’t let each other out of our sights on our wedding night. Though we had planned our wedding together all year long, this plan was undoubtedly the best one of them all. When I look back to the wedding, it was everything we could have possibly dreamed of and more—the love in the room, the warm speeches and remarks made throughout the night, and the infectious energy was beyond our wildest imagination. But in the end, being attached at the hip throughout the night proved to be the best possible way we could have celebrated, and was inevitably the most perfect way for the wedding to feel like us. My advice to brides-to-be would be to spend your wedding night side-by-side with your new spouse. It is so easy to get sidetracked by all the love your friends and family will have for you on your wedding night, but experiencing that incredible feeling in tandem with the best friend you just MARRIED is truly what you’ll remember forever.
Photography: Zev Fisher Photography | Cinematography: Fade And Focus | Floral Design: Charlotte Design Flower Boutique | Wedding Dress: Pronovias | Invitations: Paula Winicur Design | Bridesmaids' Dresses: Monique Lhuillier | Catering: Catering by Andrew | Lighting: DesignLightCo. | Band: Wilson Stevens | Groom's Attire: Hugo Boss | Officiant: Rabbi Marc Baker | Ceremony Music: Berach Orchestra | Venue: Royal Sonesta New Orleans | Rentals: Rentals Unlimited