Love was in the air, as were big fluffy snowflakes.  Mother nature created a winter wonderland especially for Katherine and Matt’s beautiful and intimate wedding.

The day started bright and early with Matt and his groomsmen getting an old-timey barbershop shave.  This has been on Matt’s to do list for awhile, and was decided a few years ago that his wedding day was when he would treat himself to it.

The smoothest shave you’ve ever had?

Impatient to get married!

A pretty good looking bunch.

The girls were getting ready at the church, and it was a dance party!

So gorgeous! Katherine, I can photograph you all day!

Married!!!

Because some photos are priceless.  A lovely reception display.

Presenting Mr. and Mrs. Wyble!

Congratulations Katherine and Matt!

***

Ceremony Venue: Harvard Memorial Church

Reception Venue: Harvest

Wedding Planner: Tracy from Tangorra Wedding Planning

Videographer: Marcella from Heirloom Pictures

Florist: Lyndsey Loring Design

Hair Design: Lindsay Griffin Boston Hair Salon

A love story that conquered long distance and demanding careers is certainly reason for celebration, and what better place to do that than in the great metropolis of London during the last few glowing days of fall?

And on a typical rainy British Saturday morning, they officially tied the knot.

Philip picked the hairstyle for Yaqin, a messy bun.  Impressed that he knew what that was? Me too.

Off to The Dorchester for the reception!

Congratulations Philip and Yaqin!

After Julie and Jay’s first date, she called her mom to say that she had found the boy she was going to marry.  Here we are now, a few years later, celebrating the beginning of their married life at the beautiful Saucon Valley Country Club.  Their friends and family came from all over to join them for three days of festivities.  Not even the thunderstorm that forced the ceremony indoors could dampen the happiness that radiated from this lovely couple and all their guests.

To fully take advantage of the lovely location that was SVCC, we did a short and casual pre-wedding photo-session around the guesthouse.

Julie’s sisters planned an adorable pink-themed and candy-filled bridal shower party for Julie.

They had little take-home candy bags with Julie & Jay’s logo.

There was so much love in the room, and some got a little choked up during the heartfelt speeches.

We released some balloons into the wild at the end.  Julie has the coolest mom (bottom left), that’s her there demonstrating how to inhale helium to talk in a squeaky voice.

Their country barbeque rehearsal dinner was absolutely charming, with blue checkered table cloth and sunflowers in large glass mason jars.

Wedding day!

Julie’s “something borrowed” was a pair of hoop earrings that she attached to her bouquet.

Stunning!

A sweet moment between Julie and her dad.

Tess, bridesmaid and wedding planner extraordinaire, helping the groomsmen with their bow ties.

Jay, the dashing groom himself.

Julie’s super creative sisters made a little tree for guests to hang messages.

Liveliest dance floor EVER.

Congratulations Julie and Jay!

***

Second shooter – Joy Dai

Wedding planner – Tess Crompton (tess@tesscromptonevents.com)

Venue – Saucon Valley Country Club

Band – DejaGroove

Florist – Sarah Petryk at Allium Floral Design

Cake – Sprinkles

***

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They met in high school, and then she moved away.  For a long time, they were separated by a whole hemisphere, him working in Shanghai and her studying at Johns Hopkins.  And then he chased her half way around the world and and asked her to marry him, because as Lei puts it – when you meet the right person, you should do everything you can to marry her as fast as possible.

It’s so inspiring to see two people work so hard to make their relationship work.  Even mother nature had to show her respect and behave herself to allow them to celebrate their love, holding back the originally forecasted rain, humidity, and heat so Dani and Lei can have their perfect wedding day!

I’ve known Dani since the first grade.  Whenever we played pretend with all our friends, she was always the princess.  And on her wedding day, she looked every bit like a real princess, complete with a tiara:

First dress she tried on, and it was perfect!

So stunning!

The handsome groom.

The groomsmen doing last minute preparations for the ceremony.  Should you hold up the paper with one hand or two?

The first look.

A private moment together before the ceremony.

Overwhelmed by his beautiful bride, but Lei kept it together.

The dance party rocked on full force with Dani’s parents leading the charge, tearing up the dance floor!

The evening concluded with a traditional Chinese tea ceremony for Dani and Lei to show their respect to their parents.

Congratulations Dani and Lei!  You guys deserve every happiness life has to offer.

Stayed tuned for their day-after “Trash the Dress” session!

In my last week in Shanghai, I attended the wedding of a family friend.  It was a very interesting mix of western wedding customs with traditional Chinese elements.  Here are some of my favorite moments during the event.

I love the unguarded expressions of wonder and joy on everyone’s faces.

The maid of honor caught the bouquet and was quizzed by the emcee as to what kind of man she will marry.  She began by saying that someone half as good as the groom would do but decided half way that wasn’t enough, causing everyone to erupt into laughter.

And here, in place of the garter throw, the groom tossed some kind of leafy vegetable tied with a bright red ribbon to bring whoever catches it great wealth and fortune.  I wonder if she ate the vegetable later.

Shreya and Anoop’s wedding at the Boston Marriott in Cambridge was nothing short of epic.  Indian weddings are just awesome, the music, the dancing, the colorful clothing, the traditions.  And while Hurricane Irene partied outside the hotel, the bride and groom and their wedding guests had a grand ole’ time inside.  No force of nature could slow down this celebration!

The first look.

Shreya’s henna got extremely dark, which is suppose to be very good luck.

Anoop told Shreya that she smelled like India to get her to laugh.

Check out Shreya’s sari, it’s so intricate and sparkly!

The first dance.  And did I mention how much I love saris now?  Beautiful.

And the guests danced the night away.

Congratulations to Shreya and Anoop!

Go check out Shang’s photos of this event here, they’re off the wall gorgeous!  This was my last shoot with Shang, and what a perfect way to conclude an amazing summer internship in Boston.  Thank you so much, Shang!

Joanne and Chris’s wedding at the DeCordova Sculpture Museum was just utterly gorgeous.  Beautiful bride, handsome groom, perfect venue, breathtaking sunset, and a whole lot of love!  When Shang and I were reviewing the photos during the reception to put together a preview, we were literally squealing with joy at how amazing they turned out.  Shang couldn’t even blog the wedding in one post with all the gems she had to share and split it up into Part I, Part II, and Part III.

Joanne and Chris think so much alike that both had secretly prepared journals for each other as wedding presents.

A little bonding time with the flower girl.

This dress was completely a lace-up, no cheating with buttons or zippers.

My absolute favorite! It feels like a classical painting.

First look before the ceremony.  Chris teared up when he saw Joanne.

They’re married!

And the sunset, oh the sunset was incredible.  I also became very fascinated with silhouettes for the rest of the night.

Confession.  When I decided to become a full time wedding photographer, I had never attended a wedding (yep, I’ve really embraced the “ready, fire, aim” mentality for my career and life).  So to say that I was really lucky to find an awesome wedding photographer like Shang to work with, who was able to take me to some of her weddings this summer and give me a crash course in what being a wedding photographer entailed, would be quite the understatement.  So without further ado, I proudly present to you the wedding of Alyson and Allan, the very first wedding I have ever photographed.

Alyson and Allan have such big fun personalities, as their SCP engagement photos clearly showcased, and their wedding at the historical Plimoth Plantation (of the Pilgrims fame) was simply gorgeous.

Alyson wore a stunning Monique Lhuillier dress with intricate lace details and a regal tiara covered in pearls.  I absolutely adore pearls, timeless and always in style!

And here are the groom and groomsmen looking ever so dashing (photo posed by Shang Chen Photography)

The ceremony itself took place in the Hornblower Garden at the Plimoth Plantation, which had a distinct English garden vibe.

Allan’s sister read the poem “I Like You” by Sandol Stoddard Warburg.

Bubble exit!

Oh, and the adorable flower girls.  They wore orange and purple, the color theme for the wedding, which was a bit more unusual but incredibly fun.

Soon after the ceremony, the sky opened up!  The wedding party was trapped in the barn for a good half hour before big umbrellas were found to go rescue them.  Lesson here, to be a good wedding photographer, the ability to read weather radar is a must.  Shang’s got that down pat and has been dodging storms during her shoots all summer.

The beautifully choreographed first dance.  Bride and groom were a little damp, but so very happy.

They had a cupcake tower for their cake, which seems to be extremely popular these days, certainly takes out the hassle of having to cut everything.  Their cake topper was from Etsy and reflected the couple’s musical backgrounds.

A lovely beginning to Alyson and Allan’s new life as husband and wife.  Congratulations!