naomi and paul were married at the end of may in 2010. we started off at their first home where naomi was getting ready. (bee tee dub…she did an AWESOME job decorating that place. i super loved it.)  the amazing gail werner, who traveled all the way from indiana to help me shoot this wedding, stayed with the bride and her maids while i went ahead to the church to spend some time with the groom.

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