What a treat to be back at The Newbury Boston for a wedding with these two beautiful souls – inside and out. James and Gabriel first contacted me in July last year; James told me they were looking to capture “vibrance, glamour and fun” in their wedding photos, and they also loved my “bright and crisp” style of photography. I don’t usually photograph multiple weddings over a weekend, but I very occasionally make an exception when I feel very excited about the fit, and if the second couple to book is also the second wedding of the weekend. So, these amazing grooms were my second wedding this past Memorial day weekend.

I started the day with some getting ready photos, first with Gabriel and his best woman Jess, with Gabriel’s mom and full wedding party soon joining him in his suite. Two of my favorite moments captured: when James & Gabriel’s Bernedoodle Winston joined Gabriel and Jess for the final touches, and his girls checking out his wedding rings. I also love the photo of Gabriel with the Champagne; his delight is palpable.

Over in James’ suite, there were some wonderful moments between James and his mom, most notably the hilarious moment during their short mother-son dance practice. I love that I captured his mom’s performer side (James is, among many other things, an incredible drag artist – he clearly inherited some performance genes from his mom!) You’ll have to check out the slideshow below for this image. His sizable wedding party was also super fun to hang out with.

We held the grooms’ first look at the Public Garden. I initially felt some panic when I saw how incredibly busy it was – it was the first really perfect weekend day this spring. And even worse, my go-to first look willow tree had suffered some serious storm damage and was also completely inaccessible due to many picnickers … time to adapt! We ended up finding another lovely spot nearby that would be easy for Gabriel to find, but I am still a little sad about my favorite willow tree.

After a very sweet first look, the grooms were joined by their adorable pup Winston for some photos. He is almost as handsome as his two dads, and I’m a sucker for a family portrait with the fur-baby. 🙂 We then met up with the full wedding party and families for the formals, then finished our outside stint with a few portraits on Comm. Ave.

The ceremony setup in the Assembly room at the Newbury was very different to my previous Newbury Hotel wedding – and I absolutely loved it! Setting up the aisle to run the length of the room makes for the grandest of entrances, and the lighting in the spot where the grooms stood was wonderful – it captures the full late afternoon sun coming from the west which makes for lovely glowy light. I would definitely recommend this setup if you are torn between options! And it makes my life easier too, for capturing the walk down the aisle.

There were three readings during the ceremony: one by Gabriel’s father, a pastor, and one each by James and Gabriel’s godmothers. Side-note: by total coincidence (they hadn’t even met prior to the wedding weekend) they were wearing the exact same dress in different colors – how funny is that?! When they realized they asked me if I’d mind taking a photo of them together, which of course I was more than happy to do. They were such fabulous ladies, and I loved that they wanted to highlight their matching dresses.

There were so many touching moments during the ceremony and I loved some of the tears and expressions I was able to capture. James and Jess were especially emotional.

Some favorite moments during the reception included the fantastic toasts by the two best women, a tequila toast by James’ siblings, and the wonderful mother-son dances (three in total!) – Gabriel’s dance with his mom was especially awesome. The dance floor was also packed all evening – proving that there’s no need for a band if you have an amazing DJ.

Thank you Gabriel and James for bringing both elegance and fun to your Newbury Boston wedding. I loved spending this day with you and hope you enjoy these highlights!