Have I ever told you how much I love taking Boston State Room wedding photos? OK, I probably have, but it’s my absolute favorite venue within this city, and every time I get to photograph there I get a little bit excited. Well OK, maybe even a lot excited! Alyssa and Bill’s wedding a couple of weeks ago was absolutely spectacular. From Alyssa’s beautiful Monique Lhuillier dress and Kate Spade shoes, to the lovely weather (not too crazy hot, thank you weather gods!) to the decor at the State Room … and then the rollercoaster of wonderful emotions. That was what really made this such a special wedding for me.

I started my long day pretty early, with some detail photos. I had time to go exploring, so I took Alyssa’s box of wedding day goodies down to the lobby for some “detail portraits”. My favorite shot was of her fabulous shoes:

I have a ton of ceremony and reception photos to share today, so I hope you don’t mind me skipping speedily through the getting ready process … Here are Alyssa’s mom, and one of her bridesmaids, preparing the dress for show time:

Oh, and another quick shoe portrait (sometimes I can’t help myself when they’re so pretty and sparkly …)

A funny moment as some “finishing touches” were put to Alyssa’s dress:

Bill and Alyssa had a first look in Post Office Square, and it was crazy cute. Bill was all huge smiles and cute glances.

We’d decided to go to the Boston Public Library as a rain option (showers had been forecast all week) but we all decided it would be the perfect place for couples portraits no matter the weather, and I’m so glad we did. Love this one on the front steps of the library:

A couple of favorites from the courtyard at the library:

I asked Alyssa and Bill to pretend they were doing their first dance for these next two photos. I would never stage a dip unless asked, but this happened as part of their dance – and was repeated on the dance floor later that evening.

We then headed back for some Boston State Room wedding photos. After the family photos, I grabbed a couple of detail shots, then there was a quick ketubah signing, then the wonderful, emotional ceremony.

Love the expressions here as Alyssa’s parents walk her down the aisle:

Thanks to my awesome assistant Erica for this next photo of the processional from above:

There were funny moments, sweet moments, and maybe a couple of tears shed during the ceremony:

I love it when couples write their own vows. It really adds meaning to the ceremony, and it’s one of my very favorite parts of a wedding, listening to couples talk about each other.

The staff at the State Room does an expert room turnaround and I had a little time to photograph the table settings and details. The bright pink really pops in this space, and you can’t beat uplighting and candles for creating an amazing atmosphere.

Love the huge smiles as Bill and Alyssa make their grand entrance! Then it was straight into the first dance.

The first dance then morphed into a hora – one of my favorites things about Jewish weddings. I grabbed some photos from above, and then hit the dance floor below to get in on the action.

The toasts were really great – emotional and funny. These guys did an awesome job!

And then after the toasts, this awesomeness happened … a Bollywood dance by the bridesmaids, who were joined by what I think must have been most of Tufts medical! I was dying laughing as I was trying to photograph it. Such an awesome surprise for Alyssa and Bill! Oh! And if you’re wondering where the amazing bridesmaid dresses are from: Flair Bridesmaid in Boston (LOVE this place!)

After dinner there were some very cute parent dances …

… followed by a full on dance party. I hope Alyssa reminds me of the name of the band, because they were fantastic – there was SO much energy in the room! I’ll be making a separate post with some of the highlights from the photobooth, but for now I hope you enjoy these fun dance photos. Thank you all for an awesome day! I hope you’ve enjoyed these teasers, and I can’t wait to share hundreds more photos with you in a week or two!

PS If you’d like to see some more Boston State Room wedding photos then click the link! And you can contact the State Room here.