paul had been waiting for this day for a very long time. i loved seeing the emotion on their faces as they prepared to promise each other everything.

one of the best parts about having 2 photographers, especially in a church ceremony, is the ability to get multiple perspectives without moving around and being distracting. for this ceremony, gail hung out in the balcony, and i sat up front to get a more intimate perspective.the grandma. i LOVE this picture.this one was all gail; she was practically hanging out the car window to get it while i navigated the chinatown traffic.

chinese weddings often have a lengthy break between the ceremony and the reception. in our case, this worked out wonderfully, as there was PLENTY of time to explore boston and get some killer portraits. naomi and paul did their homework; they knew EXACTLY where they wanted to go. we started off at the boston public library. the security guard told us we couldn’t go in, but deigned to allow us a few minutes in the outer lobby.

but naomi was NOT having that. when we were done using that space, she said, “let’s walk around and try the other side.” which, of course, made me want to hug her.

i was kind of afraid of the security guard, i’m not gonna lie, but we had absolutely zero trouble getting in through another entrance…and i am so glad we persevered! the image on top is gail’s, i believe, and the one below is my perspective.

after making good use of the stunning boston public library, we had time to grab a few shots in chinatown that showed off the interesting architectural details. then it was time to head back to the reception.

shooting the rings is one of my favorite things to do at every wedding…it’s such a fun challenge to find interesting colors and textures in what is available in the immediate area. the above picture makes use of one of their bamboo centerpieces. in the bottom picture, the sparklies in the back are from naomi’s bracelet, and i set them all on some stainless steel catering equipment in an area of the restaurant that wasn’t being used…i love the reflection!

at asian weddings, it is customary for the bride and groom to go to each table to greet their guests. each table chooses a representative who presents the couple with gifts and reads words of support and wisdom.

another interesting practice i’ve never seen before was…games! this is the tail end of an epic musical chairs battle. they had (pretty awesome) prizes for the winners.

vendor information
church:  sacred heart parish in quincy, ma
reception venue + catering:  empire garden in boston, ma
DJ:  rob ferraz, five star entertainment
cake: ivy’s fine cakes and pastries
wedding emcee:  athena phan
photographer:  gwyneth colleen photography
2nd shooter:  gail werner

(here’s hannah having a good attitude, even though the weather wasn’t exactly cooperating.  also…she’s supposed to be all dark like that.  i just wanted the thumbs up silhouette so you could see the wet wet wetness of the scene.)

hannah decided that since her hair takes about 12 seconds to ‘do’, we’d skip the getting ready photos and start off with bride and groom portraits…i enjoyed the challenge of finding beautiful and interesting places to shoot inside the college club.  this was on an outside balcony off the room where the ceremony was held.

(hannah found her dress through me…very indirectly, and very circuitously…and what’s even funnier, is that she’s the SECOND bride i’ve photographed this year with the exact same story.  they came, they read, they clicked on off-beat bride…where they found wai-ching.)

they didn’t really have a traditional bridal party…but these are her “cronies”.  i love how her colour scheme was orange/pink (or porange)…she just gave a general “wear a dress in this colour palette”…and it totally works!  and matches her bouquet perfectly.  rock on.

hannah & jeff’s ceremony was one of the most moving ones i’ve witnessed since i began this whole wedding photographer gig…and i’d expect nothing less from a couple who met at seminary!

they sang one of my very favourite hymns

hannah’s grandparents, who have been married approximately 412 years, prayed with them at the end of the ceremony.

their preaching teacher from seminary performed the ceremony.  she knew them both well, which made it that much more special…and the message was incredibly moving.  this is her benedicting.

ever my favourite:  husband and wife!
(and the flower girl going for round 2 to showcase her petal-tossing skillllllz.)

(i like to give flower girls special twirling opportunities to really ROCK their dresses.  also, these two were everyone’s sweethearts on the dance floor all.night.long.)

even though we’d already take the bride and groom photos…when the sun came out, i had to grab them for a few more with that delicious light!

they had really unique rings.

one of the other unique things they did was hire a bluegrass band instead of a dj…those guys were fun and kept everyone moving all night long.

i probably overshot their first dance (to bramble & the rose), but they were just SO into each other…it was lovely.  i think they were in their own universe.

this guy was a crazy awesome dancer and the kids were eating it up…i love this moment of the flower girl trying to copy his moves.

(hannah’s mom told me she didn’t smile nicely in photos.  i told her not to worry about it.)

hannah & jeff…thanks for asking me to be a part of your celebration!  it was full of love and colour, and i hope that’s a good indication of the rest of your life together!