Katie and Kraig’s Lenox Hotel Boston wedding took place at the beginning of October, and despite the rainy day (or perhaps because of it), it was such a memorable wedding, and resulted in some of my very favorite photos from the entire year. I asked Katie and Kraig to tell me a little about the day, and the planning process, from their perspective.

How did you choose your wedding venue, the Lenox Hotel?

Kraig found our venue. I had never heard of the Lenox Hotel before we picked it. We were worried it would be too small for our wedding, but it ended up fitting everyone perfectly. The staff was very pleasant to work with and we loved that it was a boutique hotel in a great location for guests to get to.

Did any of your vendors go above and beyond for you?

Yes, You! I have to say that my favorite vendors were you (Kate), and my hair and makeup people. You’re all very professional and excellent at what you do. Music was very important to us, and Kahootz (our band) were excellent and absolutely made the night! We also decided to take a few dance classes so we didn’t have two left feet out there, and Roseann Eliseo was very helpful with that!

Tell us about the proposal

Kraig proposed to me on August 28, 2012 in Big Sur, California. We had a long day of traveling, flying from Boston to San Francisco, picking up our Mustang convertible rental at the airport, and driving along the beautiful Pacific Coast Highway to check into our glamp site at Treebones Resort. We got ready for dinner and were watching the sunset over the Pacific Ocean with a glass of wine when Kraig started to nervously say very thoughtful things to me on repeat before he dropped down on one knee to propose. I thought he was joking for a moment before he took out a box with a ring in it! I said yes, and we were able to spend the rest of our trip traveling around northern California celebrating our engagement!

What have you been up to since your wedding?

We went to Hawaii (The Big Island, Kauai, and Maui) for our honeymoon for almost a month. It was such a beautiful trip and we had a wonderful time there. We’re excited to go to Iceland over Memorial Day weekend this coming May to do some more exploring!

Why did you choose Kate to be your photographer?

We found Kate’s website by Google image searching weddings at The Four Seasons Boston. Upon landing on her website, we started to look around and really liked what we saw, so we decided to meet with her in person to see if we’d get along with her for our wedding. Kate is very talented, nice, professional, calm, helpful, and cheerful which is everything you need when you’re planning your wedding.

Do you have any tips for other couples in the process of planning their wedding?

Use websites like theknot.com and weddingwire. I contacted people on facebook if I liked their wedding day hair/makeup to see what vendor they used. Other vendors and your venue can be good at recommending places they know do a good job. We used a lot of different spreadsheets to help us keep organized and on budget.

What were some of your favorite details?

The Dome Room ceiling at The Lenox and the flowers.

How would you describe your wedding day style?

City chic meets Downton Abbey garden party.

What were some of your favorite moments on the wedding day?

Katie: I loved the first look and seeing Kraig’s reaction. I also loved my Dad walking me down the aisle, and our first dance to Earth Angel.

Kraig: The first look was really great! It really was great to have that moment to ourselves before the day got going.

Any final words of advice?

Everyone says this, but it’s true; the day goes by so quickly. Whenever you have a moment alone together, be sure to take it in and enjoy it. Don’t sweat the small stuff, and have fun!

Many thanks to my fabulous second shooter Kari Herer for some of the photos above. Kari, I just adore working with you!