We had a great time walking through Faneuil Hall and then along the waterfront through Columbus Park. It was such a beautiful day and the entire city was just bustling with people. So I give so much credit to adorably shy Sharon who had no problem getting warmed up while the crowds gathered to stare at this gorgeous couple. (I can’t even tell you how many people would stop and ask if this was a shoot for a magazine! No surprise after seeing these two models!)

We started by taking advantage of all of the bright colors and fun atmosphere around Faneuil Hall:

And then made our way across the street to use all of the great backdrops along the waterfront:

Two photographers, two different interpretations of the same scene. This why we love working together so much! First Rene’s vision:

And mine:

There are definitely a few out of the way, hidden spots that are so worth exploring along the waterfront:

We are (literally!) counting the days until Sharon and Chris’ wedding!! They’re definitely going burn up the blog again when it’s time to post their wedding!

I began the day with Katie at the beautiful Boston Yacht Haven right on the Boston waterfront. This place is a hidden gem that not too many people know about. I’ve lived in the Boston area my entire life and had never even seen the Boston Yacht Haven before. So it was so much fun exploring it while we were all getting ready. Katie and Brian had a suite that included a giant deck overlooking Boston Harbor. I mean REALLY overlooking. We were pretty much standing over the water out there! So needless to say, the view was absolutely stunning. We started early enough so that I could take all of the formal portraits of Katie and her mom, the girls in her bridal party and all seven – yes, count them – SEVEN flower girls and one ringbearer. And they were all under seven years old. They were absolutely adorable – how can you get any cuter than 8 adorable kids completely dressed up in gowns and tuxes?? They made everyone’s heart melt wherever we went!

Katie and Brian had their ceremony at the quaint Our Lady of Good Voyage Chapel on the Fort Point Channel. It’s a Boston landmark and was a perfect location for a true city wedding! Just before the ceremony started, Katie and her girls gathered in the back of the church waiting for the music to begin. I absolutely love this moment because it shows how happy Katie was all day long and you can just feel the excitement that everyone was feeling in those last few moments before walking down the aisle:

Just after the ceremony we all boarded a water taxi back to the Yacht club for some family and wedding party formals. It was definitely the first time we had taken a water taxi during a wedding! And as you can see here, one of Katie and Brian’s youngest flower girls was completely fascinated with my camera. I couldn’t get her to smile or laugh, she was just so completely and totally fixated on the camera. I just wanted to eat her up, she was so cute!

Also, with that many kids in the wedding party, Katie and Brian told us that they had no expectations of things going perfectly as far as they were concerned. That really made it a lot of fun for the kids since there was no pressure and it worked out really well since not everyone was in the mood to have their photo taken all the time:

One of our absolute favorite parts of any wedding (and I know you hear us say this over and over again…) is the time that we get to spend with our couples alone. With Katie and Brian, they decided they wanted to walk over to the State Room with us and they wanted us to find little locations along the way for their portraits. It was such a unique and fabulous idea and we were completely in heaven. I can’t even tell you how much fun we had together on that walk over. Here are some of our favorites:

The absolutely stunning Katie:

And an excuse to show off a great skyline and a gorgeous couple…

And probably some of my favorite images were taken in an ordinary stairwell right in historic Faneuil Hall. We were walking through Faneuil Hall just as the sun was beginning to set and as we walked past a stairwell, the beautiful warm light began to create shadows on the wall. The shadows only lasted a few minutes but we caught them and created some gorgeous portraits with Katie:

And just as we arrived at the State Room, we captured this moment which absolutely begs to be made into a giant canvas print for the studio. (Thank you, Katie and Brian!!)

So now we get to the reception. Wow. Just wow. The State Room is a breathtaking venue to begin with. But with the additional work and attention to even the tiniest details that Katie and Brian did, it was truly jaw dropping. Take a look:

Another little detail – Katie and Brian’s rings were completely custom designed and made. No one will ever have a ring like theirs and they are really magnificent:

All of the floral arrangements were done by Blue Guava. It was the first time we had ever worked with them and I was just stunned by how beautiful these arrangements were. And just to prove that it wasn’t a one-off event, we happened to work with them again just this past week (how’s that for a coincidence??) and their work is so amazing, that I actually recognized it this past weekend. I just knew that they had designed everything. The floral trees that they put together for Katie and Brian were breathtaking and each tree had beautiful tealights hanging from them in delicate glass vases. A close up of what I mean:

Both Katie and Brian’s families are very close knit. Even though their extended family is big with lots of nieces and nephews and cousins, we were just struck by how close everyone was. It was just so cool to be able to feel the love. Here’s one moment that I will never forget. During Katie and Brian’s first dance, I spied two of their nieces just at the edge of the dance floor watching them – completely unposed and candid – and just so, so happy for Katie and Brian. How absolutely precious is this?

And then just moments later as Katie and Brian’s first dance ended, take a look at their priceless expressions:

Another incredibly beautiful moment was when Katie and Brian wanted to dance with their parents. Katie’s dad passed away a few years ago and so Katie asked to her mom to share a dance with her. While Katie and her mom shared that dance together, a slideshow silently played in the background. The slideshow featured images of Katie’s dad from the moment she was born and then through the years. He was right there with them in the background as they shared that special moment. I can honestly say that there was hardly a dry eye to be found anywhere in that room:

Katie and Brian thought of everything to make their wedding truly unique. From their custom designed rings to the Irish stepdancers who delivered an incredible performance – it was truly an evening that none of us will ever forget. We’re so honored that we were able to be there with them and just can’t wait to share the rest of the images once they are back home again!

More details from Katie and Brian’s wedding:
Preceremony location: Boston Yacht Haven
Katie’s hair and makeup: Luiz Filho, Luz Beauty
Ceremony location: Our Lady of Good Voyage Chapel, Boston
Formal portrait location: Boston Yacht Haven, Faneuil Hall, and the streets of Boston
Reception Location: State Room, Boston
DJ: Brett Heaney, Crackerjack Entertainment
Floral Arrangements: Blue Guava