Massachusetts Weddings

What could be lovelier than lavender? This New England wedding uses this beautiful bloom in a multitude of ways, from tables covered in organic greens and sweet pops of purple to fresh sprigs adorning the three-tiered cake. Karla Cassidy Designs created the effortlessly elegant feeling of a summer garden party with her floral work, and Lynne Reznick Photography perfectly captured the charm of the day in her artful imagery. Visit the full gallery for a closer look.

From Lynne Reznick Photography… To complement the natural beauty of the grounds at Lyman Estate, the couple incorporated lots of greenery and soft neutrals, with pops of lavender for a touch of Tali’s favorite color. Matt’s mother Grace built the chuppah especially for them and they decorated it in lush florals.

During the open-air cocktail hour, guests enjoyed strolling the grounds, sipping on signature drinks, and indulging in fresh seafood from the raw bar. Tali and Matt were excited to incorporate the raw bar because they love seafood and because it was a nod to their New England soirée. The “sip and be seated” escort display was made up of lovely champagne glasses arranged among lush greens and welcomed guests to find their seats written on personalized paper scrolls.

Under the sailcloth tent for the reception, they nodded to the greenhouse on the property with centerpieces made up of collections of potted plants in terra cotta and mercury glass. The plants included an array of greens like ivy and ferns, as well as fresh lavender. The beautiful green floral linens added texture and completed the garden party look.

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Photography: Lynne Reznick Photography | Floral Design: Karla Cassidy Designs | Wedding Dress: Maggie Sottero | Invitations: Forever Fiances | Ceremony Venue: Lyman Estate | Reception Venue: Lyman Estate | Catering: Boston Cafe & Catering | makeup: Robin Liebowitz | Hair: Mane and Mani | DJ: Entertainment Specialists | groom's suit: Suit Supply | Rentals: Peak Event Services | doggie care: For the Love of Paws | dress shop: Angela's Bridal

Classic New England looks a little something like this pretty celebration. A summer affair under a sail tent with the prettiest florals by Orly Khon Floral, planning by Tangorra Wedding Planning, all the gorgeous paper goods you could possibly imagine by Cheree Berry Paper + The Left Handed Calligrapher and lots of stunning images too. Pore through this day captured by Lisa Rigby Photography along with a film by Brighter Lights Media too.

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From the Bride…Pat and I began dating in college in Massachusetts, which is also where I am from originally. Even though our jobs have now taken us to Washington, DC, we knew that we wanted to get married back in my home state, where we first met. Selecting a venue took little to no time: both my parents and my Godmother got married at the Lyman Estate, a historic New England mansion. Seeing their strong partnerships, we figured that making our commitment to each other in the same spot would bring us good luck!

We envisioned the day being a casual, yet elegant, summertime garden party for our closest friends and family to relax, “eat, drink, and be merry,” and dance the night away! The estate is such a beautiful space for a wedding celebration, given its expansive lawn, gardens, and greenhouses. We wanted our guests to enjoy all that the Lyman Estate had to offer, which is why we hosted both the ceremony and reception at the mansion, just in different spots throughout the estate as the night went on: the ceremony was outdoors on the lawn, with the greenery as a backdrop; cocktail hour was held on the lawn and on the veranda of the house as the sun was starting to go down; we brought in a Sperry tent with a floor and bistro lights for dinner and toasts; and for the rest of the night, we went inside the ballroom of the mansion for dessert and dancing. Luckily for us, with a lot of the evening planned for outdoors, the weather was absolutely spectacular! Pat and I joked that the two songs we picked for the entrance and recessional, “Here Comes the Sun” and “It’s a Beautiful Day”, which were also printed in our programs, would have been very ironic had it rained! While we did have a very good Plan B, I was so thrilled we didn’t have to use it.

My favorite details from the wedding were the ones that felt uniquely “us” and are personal to our story: the venue’s significance to my family, having Pat’s Uncle officiate the wedding, hearing my freshman year roommate – who saw our love just beginning – give one of our readings, eating dinner with “Mr. & Mrs.” forks, the Bride and Groom wreaths on our chairs at dinner (to bring the garden to the tent!), putting crab cakes on the menu as a nod to Pat’s Maryland upbringing, serving funfetti cupcakes (I used to make Pat funfetti cupcakes constantly in college), passing little ice cream cones for dessert (so that no one had to leave the dance floor – we really didn’t want anyone to leave!), wearing my grandmother’s sapphire and diamond ring on my right hand, having the lace from my mom’s veil at her wedding wrapped around my bouquet, Pat giving a groom’s toast as a surprise to guests after dinner (he gives fantastic speeches at other people’s weddings, so it felt appropriate for him to give one at ours!), the list goes on…

I don’t know if I could come up with only one favorite moment, but my favorite memories are both big and small: helping my bridesmaids put on their dresses and figuring out how to style them (we left it until the last minute!), my mom zipping me into my dress, having our first look and spending time just the two of us in the Lyman Estate’s greenhouse and walking the grounds, reading Pat’s note to me before our wedding (a tearjerker!), not being able to get Pat’s wedding ring over his big knuckle at the ceremony, taking photos with our college and grad school friends, all of the wonderful wedding toasts, dancing up a storm!, and perhaps my favorite, singing with the band!

The feeling I remember most on the day is just pure joy and love – as you can see from the photos, I could not stop laughing or smiling. Guests told me later that I was the happiest bride they’ve ever seen. To which I responded, “What’s not to be happy about?!”

My biggest piece of advice to brides is to just enjoy and relish every single part of the journey! Even if planning is stressful at times, at the end of the day, your wedding is about you and your husband, and all of the people you love all in one place! (And how often does that happen in life?) Try to take in every second, because it really does go by so quickly!

Photography: Lisa Rigby Photography | Cinematography: Brighter Lights Media | Event Planning: Tangorra Wedding Planning | Floral Design: Orly Khon Floral | Wedding Dress: Oscar de la Renta | Invitations: Cheree Berry Paper | Rings: Barmakian | Bridesmaids' Dresses: Jenny Yoo | Catering: Capers Catering | Makeup: Dani Wagener Beauty | Hair: Lindsay Griffin | Calligraphy: The Left Handed Calligrapher | Band: Night Shift Entertainment | Groom's Attire: Alton Lane | Groomsmen's Attire: Combatant Gentlemen | Ceremony Music: Anima | Hotel : The Charles Hotel, Cambridge, MA | Wedding Venue: Lyman Estate | Tent: Sperry Tent | Bridal Salon: L'elite Boston | Rehearsal Dinner Venue: Harvard Faculty Club | Rentals: Peterson Party Center

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Bridesmaid

Jenny Yoo

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Any mom that handcrafts 1,001 origami paper cranes – a Japanese symbol of good luck – deserves some sort of medal in my book. And when that origami serves as the most gorgeous ceremony backdrop you ever did see? Let’s just say I love it all the more. Captured by the lovely Ze Liang Photography with blooms by Hiromi Flowers, this cultural beauty is one you just mustn’t miss.

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From the Bride… I had the pleasure of photographing Beth and Matt’s wedding at Lyman Estate. It was very special because they incorporated their Japanese and Hawaiian styles. Not only did they have a traditional Hawaiian ceremony where Beth and Matt put leis on each other as well as their parents, but they also had a banzai toast during reception where everyone yelled “Banzai!” three times as loud as they could, which symbolized good luck. One of the most special elements in planning and decorating their venue (Lyman Estate) was the crane origami. Beth’s mom’s full time job a few months leading up to the wedding was to make 1001 cranes, which was used as their ceremony backdrop as well as place cards. In Japanese culture, cranes also symbolize good luck.

A very person touch that was incorporated in the making of Beth’s bouquet was the lace that was pinned on the handle. It was a part of Beth’s grandmother’s wedding dress. Beth and her grandmother had a close relationship so she wanted something that belonged to her that she could carry with her all day. There were photos of Beth holding her grandparents’ wedding photo and Matt holding his grandparents’. As a photographer, I love photos like those because they tell a story, a story about the bride and groom and their tie to their grandparents. It captured a timeless moment because no matter how long from now they look at the photos, their relationship remains the same.

Beth and Matt’s modern romance began on Valentine’s Day when Matt messaged Beth on OkCupid. They had exchanged messaged for a while until Beth suggested they met up. Matt was solving a crossword puzzle and was struggling on a word; when Beth arrived, she was able to solve it right away; Matt had then known he found a smart one. On their first date, they went to “Little Italy”, aka the North End. They were huge fans of standup comedy shows so of course their first date involved going to Comedy Connection in the North End.

Lyman Estate was beautiful. It’s a historic property surrounded by tall trees and a huge lawn. It felt like the wedding took place somewhere in the suburbia when it was right in Waltham, which wasn’t too far from the city. There was a small hill next to the estate where most people seemed to neglect, we did bridal party photos and formals on the hill and it turned out to be gorgeous. All of it was possible because instead of wearing heels, Beth wore flats so she could walk on the pebble road for the ceremony, being able to walk to the top of the hill was an added bonus.

Photography: Ze Liang Photography | Event Planning: CompassRose Weddings | Flowers: Hiromi Flowers | Shoes: Dessy Collection By Vivian Diamond | Jewelry: Tiffany & Co. | Makeup: Dawna Kraft | Hair Stylist: Amy Elizabeth Hair Design | Hair Stylist: Amy Elizabeth Hair Design | Venue: Lyman Estate | Getting Ready Venue: Embassy Suites

Any girl who describes her dream wedding as “soft, sophisticated, and, mostly, pretty” is a girl who would fit in here at SMP without the blink of an eye. And when she handmakes her entire, soft, sophisticated, pretty soiree, well, let’s just say we’re rolling out the welcome mats. She wed her love in a wedding captured by Pizzuti Studios, that simply put, was a gallery full of good.

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While I wasn’t the girl who grew up imagining my wedding, I am a definitely girl at heart. I love pink and gold, flowers and lace, ribbons and pearls. As soon as I started envisioning our wedding, I knew I wanted something soft, sophisticated and, mostly, pretty. Somehow I managed to convince Devrin to let me have a wedding that was decidedly feminine. Coming from a creative background with some event planning experience, I wanted to plan everything ourselves. We fell in love with our venue the minute we walked in, and we let it guide our planning process. We incorporated details to make the day feel special, intimate and “like us”, but allowed the natural beauty and architecture of the venue to come through. I made much of the décor myself; the ribbon wands to wave during the ceremony, the bridesmaids’ jewelry designed specifically for each girl, every single piece of paper from the invitations to ceremony programs to individualized menu cards. I even spent 4 hours writing every one of our guests’ names on the giant mirror that took the place of escort cards.

The day of the wedding was an amazing whirlwind. Months later, I still have to remind myself that it actually happened and I didn’t dream it. Many of our guests traveled quite a distance to be there and we felt so loved and honored that they were able to celebrate with us. Everyone had a blast and Devrin and I did not stop smiling for the entire day. All of our planning had come together and the result was so much more beautiful than we could have ever imagined. We could not have asked for a better day.[dotted]Wedding Photography: Pizzuti Studios | Venue: Lyman Estate, Waltham, Massachusetts | Floral Design: Karla Cassidy Designs | Caterer: Harvest| Invitations + Paper Goods: Bride, Nicole Talen | Hair: Mia at MiAlisa Salon | DJ: Sheldon from C-Zone Music | Dress: Casablanca (with alterations)| Bridesmaids Dresses: Bill Levkoff | Shoes: Something Bleu by Butter | Groom’s Attire: Brooks Brothers | Groom’s Shoes: To Boot NY | Decor: (ribbon wands, guestbook frame, seating mirror, table number frames) Bride, Nicole Talen

Sometimes all it takes is just one picture, one fabulously captured moment and you just know a wedding is going to be amazing.  And that fabulously captured moment in this gorgeous Waltham wedding?  For me, it was the oh-so-perfect image of a VERY happy bridal party dancing down the aisle towards the breathtaking ceremony.  It’s awesome.  As is every last moment of this sweet Gore Place affair from Lara Callahan, with its pretty, pretty blooms by Whole Foods and sweet Melissa Sweet masterpiece.  See it all in the full gallery.

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From the Bride… We had a pretty intimate Autumn wedding (139 guests) that was both budget friendly (around $20,000 total) and DIY. Everything was held on the same property, Gore Place. The ceremony was in an open field and we were married under a large tree.

My step-grandfather married us. We met because of him. When I decided to move to Boston from Florida over six years ago, my grandfather urged me to stay with his cousin’s family–Cathy and Pip Higgins. Despite my hesitations, I stayed with them while I interviewed for jobs. After accepting a position in Boston, the Higgins insisted I lived with them until I got to know the city better (who does that?). The rainy night I moved here, their daughter Peggy picked me up from the airport and their son Teddy took my luggage. And six years later…Teddy’s my husband! The funny thing is, he told all of his friends that “his cousin” was moving up to Boston. Hence the word bubble “Way to keep it in the family.”

The cocktail hour was in a hedge garden just around the corner from the field and it was if the bushes were walls– an outdoor room with no roof. During the cocktail hour we served a signature cocktail named by me, “The Appley Ever After” (apple flavored vodka and buttershots), and signature beers. The reception was held in a large white tent with a dance floor and a carpeted floor steps from the hedge garden.

The lighting was very important to me. I loved the paper lanterns hovering over the dance floor. The blue uplighting made transformed the tent into a party atmosphere. At each table, we placed a whiteboard in the shape of a word bubble. Originally, written on them was the table number and instructions to “Erase this and write whatever you want on me!” There were some very funny/sweet notes. Our guests had a great time using them.

The bracelets were my “something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue”. They meant so much to me. Each piece of jewelry resembled the woman who allowed me to borrow it. For instance, my little sister chose a green bracelet with turtles to represent her young and quirky nature. My older sister let me borrow the watch her husband gave her on the day of her wedding just a year earlier than mine. I could look at my wrist and see each woman in my life. It became an impromptu ceremony as they took turns placing their bracelets on my wrists, one by one. This was one of my favorite moments of the day.

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Wedding Photography: Lara Callahan | Wedding Venue: Gore Place in Waltham, Massachusetts | Floral Design: Mioko Suzuki from Whole Foods | Invitations: Wedding Paper Divas | Lighting: All That Music | Wedding Dress: Melissa Sweet | Headpiece for Ceremony: Vera Bellezza | Shoes: Seychelles via Zappos | Bridesmaids’ Attire: Watters | Flower Girl Tutus: Little Tutu Shop | Hair: Lauren Genatossio from Sarra| Makeup: Jennifer Opeka from Sarra

We’re totally crushing on this pretty wedding and all its bright pops of yellow. And can we talk for a moment about the super talented bride who rolled and folded hundreds of paper flowers, (with help from her sister!) to mix in with all their CSA flowers. Oh, how we love those swirly little flowers! Shang Chen Photography captured all the elegant details and there’s tons more to see right here in the full gallery!

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From Shang Chen Photography… Featuring an ever-gorgeous yellow and gray color palette to tons and eye-popping handmade DIY goodness, Lynn and Chris’s wedding at the Lyman Estate in Waltham, Massachusetts, was stunning. When Lynn first booked me, she expressed to me how important it was for her guests to have a very enjoyable day with a laid-back atmosphere. Her dream came true when the weather was spectacular on her wedding day, allowing for a sun-soaked outdoor ceremony. Lynn and Chris had an emotional first look in the library of The Lyman Estate, where Lynn cried as Chris told her how beautiful she was in her A-line Liv Harris gown. The best part of the details of this were the hand-made flowers. Lynn and her sister painstakingly folded, rolled and put together the gorgeous paper flowers you see featured in the centerpieces, which are mixed with blooms from Red Fire Farm, where Lynn and Chris were members of the CSA. Bumble Bee Landing, a talented florist in the Boston area, added to the vintage appeal of the wedding with a luscious bridal bouquet of peonies, succulents and cala lilies. A kusudama wreath made of hundreds of individually-folded flowers greeted guests as they entered the mansion. And a super bright and fun pinwheel photo booth complemented the evening experience. Lynn and Chris and their fun family and friends danced all the way to the end of the night.

Wedding Photography: Shang Chen Photography / Second Shooter: Ashley Stelzer / Wedding Venue: The Lyman Estate in Waltham, Massachusetts / Personal Flowers: Bumble Bee Landing / Centerpieces: Red Fire Farm / Catering + Wedding Cake: Cuisine Chez Vous / Wedding Invitations, Photo Booth + Paper Flowers: DIY / DJ: Max of C-Zone Music / Wedding Dress: Liv Harris via Vows Bridal Outlet / Bride’s Shoes: Badgley Mischka / Hair + Makeup: From Hair to Eternity / Bridesmaids’ Dresses: Priscilla of Boston (Now Closed) / Groom’s Tuxedo: Russo Tux / Rings: Barmakian Jewelers

This wedding is the epitome of why I love my home state of Massachusetts so much. Its lush, green fields and gorgeous late summer weather are the perfect backdrop for this traditional beauty captured perfectly by Ashley O’Dell Photography. The soft color palette of pinks and greens is super romantic and we are all head over heels in love with the amazing floral displays by Le Reve Floral Design. Click here for even more!

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From the bride… The fabulous Ashley O’Dell photographed our September 3rd wedding in Waltham, Massachusetts, which is a small town near Boston. We were married at Gore Place, a Federal-era mansion, and we picked the location primarily because of the gorgeous secret garden on the grounds — it has high hedges all around and a Federal-style knot garden just outside. Our palette was vintage rose, gold, ivory and leafy green. I love the Edwardian era and tried to play up the natural garden environment as much as possible.

Working with our florist, Darcy Hammer from Le Reve Floral Designs, was one of the highlights of my planning experience — she created exquisite bouquets that were artistic and yet natural. She used a lot of ferns, fiddleheads, gorgeous peach dahlias, pale pink roses, and other beauties to reflect the natural environment, the colors of the bridesmaids’ dresses, and the colors of late summer. She also created ivy wreaths for my smallest nieces to wear as crowns, and they looked like little fairies out of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” I was really into the idea of small hanging lanterns (or glowing balls of awesome, as one of my bridesmaids likes to call them), so we gathered dozens of small mason jars and created little lights to hang in the trees around the reception tent. It was a pretty sight as the late afternoon sun went down and dusk turned into night.

We stayed with the garden theme for the favors, which were wildflower seed bombs. During cocktail hour, we served peach rose bellinis, and during dinner we served a gin and St. Germain cocktail that we nicknamed the Nick and Nora, after the couple in The Thin Man movies. We both loved everything about our day, and are so glad that we took a few minutes alone right after the ceremony … it gave us a chance to drink in the feeling that we had just skydived into an amazing new phase in our lives.

Photographer: Ashley O’Dell Photography / Venue: Gore Place / Florist: Darcy Hammer of Le Reve Floral Design / Catering + Wedding Cake: Cuisine Chez Vous / Wedding Dress: Watters / Veil: BHLDN / Shoes: Badgley Mischka / Jewelry: Sorrelli / Bridesmaids’ Dresses: J.Crew / Stationery: Hello! Lucky / Makeup: Kirsten Brusse of Joli Visage / Hair: Jennifer Fusco / Officiant: Rev. Marc Fredette / Coordinator: Jonathan Wood (based in Washington, D.C. — ameaningfuldaycoordinator@gmail.com) / DJ: D’Hana Perry / Band: Billy Novick + Guy Van Duser