Our Boston Public Library Wedding

Today’s post is very personal, and I’m so excited to finally share it with you guys: our wedding at the Boston Public Library. After being together for over 10 years, Nick and I tied the knot in the city where we met and started a life together. The majority of our friends and family are from out of town (and the country) so we wanted to show them Boston and everything we love here. We only visited one venue and knew right away that was it. The BPL embodies the history and charm of the city, and has a lot of meaning to us in little ways…we studied there together as college students, dug up the blueprints (from ~150 years ago!) of our first home together, walked by it daily to work, and to top it off, Nick’s mom is a librarian.

 

And here begins an overload of photos from the course of our day. Also, I wanted to share a few more of our favorite vendors for any brides-to-be planning a wedding!

Wedding Photographer & Videographer

After the venue came the search for a photographer and videographer. We assumed the day would be a whirlwind, and felt there’d be no better way to capture the sentiment and movement of everything (or in this case, our blubbering exchange of vows ; ) than on video. I feel this is a vendor that’s often overlooked and thought of second to photography, but was top on our priority list. We chose Long Haul Films based on recommendations from friends and could not have been happier (update: unfortunately, they no longer do weddings!). I wanted to repost their trailer video that they make for each wedding – we love how they incorporated the vintage inspirations from ours by using an old school Super 8 film camera for part of the footage.

Long Haul Films has offices in Boston, LA, and London but travels globally, and our photographer Katch Studios is based out of Edmonton, Canada. Both were a dream to work with. After initial meetings about our style and sharing of Pinterest boards and other inspiration, we were able to trust both teams fully on our wedding day.

Our Florist

Pollen Floral Design (based in Boston but also does global projects) was another friend’s recommendation. We were very last minute with planning – I mentioned vaguely what I liked and the color scheme (soft ivory, pink, and a hint of french blue) and she completely ran with it. We got so many compliments on her bouquets and hairpieces!

Something Blue (Wedding Shoes!)

I searched high and low for open-toed “something blue” shoes but couldn’t find any that were right. I ended up getting these Manolo Blahniks (here’s a very similar pair for under $100!), and borrowed a friend’s idea of DIY stitching bracelets to them as temporary embellishments.

Bridal Hair & Makeup

Hair was first on my schedule for the day. I partnered with the TRESemmé team on both of my bridal hairstyles and absolutely loved the results! I had requested an updo first for the tea ceremony and a romantic, hair down-to-the-side look for the wedding. I wanted a clean look to show off the high neckline of my tea ceremony dress, and then loose curls to frame the shoulders for my strapless wedding gown. My TRESemmé stylist, Tyler Laswell, started by curling all of my hair and teasing volume up at the top. He then styled it into a twisted braid low-bun set a little off to the side.

After the tea ceremony, Tyler transitioned my hair by leaving the volume up at the top and letting out the bun, which fell into those side-swept waves I wanted. We used a fresh floral comb made by my florist as the finishing accent in both looks.

I was nervous in my search for a makeup artist as I’ve had several poor experiences in the past. The artists I had worked with before were often not familiar with playing up smaller, hooded eyes and short, stick-straight lashes. I went with Lisa Chy, another friend referral, and would highly recommend her in return. I did a trial with her during which we spent a lot of time working on the right look, plus I got to test out a full day wearing the makeup to note any issues (even watched a good ol’ sad movie to test the eye makeup lasting power ; )

A few makeup tips for fellow brides – it was my first time trying airbrush makeup and I loved it for several reasons. When applied properly, it has: 1. awesome, build-able coverage that kept my face from becoming purple and splotchy when tearing up (this was a priority as I’m an ugly crier, through and through!); 2. actually felt light and “air”y to me; and 3. I found it to rub off a little less than regular foundation. Lisa also used it to mitigate some stark tan lines on my back and shoulders and I didn’t get too much color transfer onto my dress. On the eye makeup front, I don’t love strip falsies so Lisa used “flares” or singles lashes which I thought looked and felt better. They are applied one-by-one and can easily be layered based on how full you want them.

First Look: Copley Square

We had our first look behind Trinity church, which was a surprisingly quiet respite during a bustling afternoon in Copley Square.

The Groom & Groomsmen Outfits

I left the guys’ stuff up to Nick and in true guys’ fashion, found ourselves 2 weeks before the wedding with unclothed groom and groomsmen. For affordable skinny ties and smaller-sized bowties in every color imaginable, The Tie Bar was a lifesaver.

Unique Details

The Boston Public Library doesn’t need much dressing up, but we wanted to include a few small touches here and there to make the day feel uniquely ours. We got antique props, including these suitcases and gold mirrored vanity trays, from SOWA vintage market. We both love digging there on the weekends for small treasures. And below that, we stole an idea from a few friends’ weddings to serve treats before the ceremony. We had our caterers, The Catered Affair, make mini matcha green tea and mango ice cream cones for guests to enjoy while getting seated—a great way to cool off during a hot summer wedding.

 

The processional ~ I’ve never seen my sweet grandparents so dressed up! And I thought Nick’s mom looked darling in her Eliza J fit & flare dress (comes in petites).

My mother had her hands full with my elementary school-aged brother trotting by her side!

The Bridesmaid Dresses

I was swooning at my bridesmaids’ mix-and-match BHLDN dresses and bouquets. I worked with each of them to pick a style that flattered their body type, staying within our general theme of champagne and blush pink. We included a mix of beading, sequins, lace, and a statement necklace (recognize this Baublebar piece? : ) for the solid dress.

We had our first dance later up on the Juliet balcony while two of our close friends sang and played a slower acoustic guitar version of “Love me like you do” – it was one of the few tunes that Nick and I could agree on…little does he know what movie it’s from, ha!

Our recessional was to “Everything is Awesome” from the Lego movie, which little brother Schuyler thoroughly enjoyed…

The Food!

We probably spent the most time planning out the menu and the least amount of time enjoying it…looking back, we probably would’ve skipped extra photos to join our guests! During cocktail hour we had mini truffled chicken pot pies, mini lobster rolls, and the most exciting to me – the DIY noodle bar. As a noodle enthusiast, I was salivating thinking of the options (udon, soba, or lo mein noodles with garlic chicken, spicy thai steak, ginger lime shrimp, veggies, and a variety of sauces and toppings). Most of our guests were full before dinnertime due to multiple helpings at this station.

Library-Themed Wedding Cards

Our paper items and signage were all created by Yours Truly Calligraphy, another friend’s referral (clearly, we couldn’t have planned this wedding without the help of our married friends!). In a panic, I reached out her just a few days before our wedding and she whipped up everything and had it express mailed from the West coast. She even hand-made these antiquated library cards, stained using tea.

My Wedding Dress & Veil

From the dresses in my closet, I’m sure you guys can tell I love a good lace and fitted pencil silhouette. On my wedding day, I wanted those same elements but with a little more drama, and this Lazaro dress (Style #3415) had everything I was looking for. I got a size 2 with hollow-to-hem customization, which is when they measure your height and then create the entire dress to be scaled lengthwise proportionate to that height. For ladies who are significantly shorter or taller than a sample size, I’d highly recommend this option if your gown designer offers it. I was pleasantly surprised that a bridal size 2 was completely fitted on me at the bust, waist, and hips with no alterations needed! The bottom skirted portion is very full so I did have a local tailor reduce that volume on both sides and also taper in the knee area (note: this was a pretty significant alteration given the amount of fabric). I also had them leave the lace flower corsages off while producing the gown, so I could addd them back on where I wanted them, along the back train.

My birdcage veil and sash belt were both easy DIY projects (UPDATE: here is my video tutorial on how to make both!). Being a true procrastinator, it was stressful working on these the day before our wedding, but it was worth it to be able to wear pieces that I made.

My best advice for brides-to-be is that although the planning process can be stressful and a lot of things will go awry, never forget what you are doing it for and try to let go of the small stuff. I also wanted to give a heartfelt thank you to each one of you who shared kind words and congratulations on our marriage – Nick and I read every message and it means so much to us.

Our vendors:
Videographer: Long Haul Films
Photographer: Katch Studios
Wedding gown: Lazaro Style #3415
Tea ceremony dress: custom by Khatu Ho
Reception dress: Aidan Mattox (exact sold out) sz 0 hemmed
Bridal accessories: vintage earrings, DIY belt & veil (purchase similar veil)
Floral robes thanks to Plum Pretty Sugar
Bridesmaid dresses thanks to BHLDN
Florist: Pollen Floral Design
Hair in partnership with TRESemmé
Makeup: Lisa Chy
Tuxedo: J.Crew Ludlow
Men’s accessories: The Tie Bar
DJ: Alamada Events
Lighting: Design Light Co
Tea ceremony coordination: Lemon Drop
Catering & day-of coordination: The Catered Affair
Mini donuts: Union Square Donuts
Bridal suite: Judy Garland suite at the Lenox
Venue: Boston Public Library

Previous wedding-related posts: you can read about Nick’s proposal here, our engagement photos in Paris here, our coed bridal shower here, and our Chinese wedding tea ceremony here!