My first time photographing a Boston Park Plaza wedding was such a treat. The venue is gorgeous – classic, and romantic – but most importantly, Analise & David are two of the sweetest people you could ever meet. They both really value family, and it showed throughout the day. One of my very favorite moments was documenting David helping his nephews into their tiny suits. I also loved that Analise grabbed her family dogs for a photo, right after getting into her beautiful Oscar de la Renta gown. These two are so down to earth and kind, and we had such a fun day capturing their celebration!

Special thanks to my two talented second photographers, Jeremy and James, who captured some of the moments in the above slideshow. It’s unusual for me to work with such a big team but it was also really fun having these two great photographers along for this large wedding.

How/why did you choose your wedding venue, Boston Park Plaza?

We fell in love with the Boston Park Plaza because it could accommodate the number of guests we planned to have, while not feeling like a conference center. The renovations provided the perfect balance between modern and classic style.

Why did you choose Kate to be your wedding photographer?

Kate was one of the first vendors we chose. We loved her candid style and exceptional quality of work… it felt like a good fit for capturing our fun, crazy, and big families as well as our more shy personalities. We were able to be ourselves during our engagement and wedding photos.

In retrospect it was amazing to watch her organize our group photos at the park and reception. During our initial conversation and truly ever since, Kate has taken the time to understand what was most important to us on our wedding day.

What were some of your favorite wedding day moments?

While we enjoyed every second of the day, we both agree that the ceremony – personalizing it, exchanging meaningful vows, holding it in a space that aligns with our beliefs of inclusivity, and being married by one of our good friends – was the best part. To date, those were the best moments of our entire life.

We’ve rewatched our ceremony video so many times. No one thought Analise could get through her vows with a fear of public speaking; but the rest of the world disappeared for those few minutes. We’ve also found humor in rewatching David’s rocking at the alter; some may think it was nerves but those of us closest to him know that’s his signature move before a basketball game and now it’s his move when he’s on the verge of something great!

The whole day truly was a celebration of love. Our gratitude for our parents’ generosity, family’s love, wedding party’s support, and friend’s enthusiasm are so hard to put into words. Everything about our wedding day was made better by our family and friends.

What were some of your favorite details? What was your wedding style?

One of our favorite details at the reception was our guest book, a basketball backboard that now hangs in our home.

Our theme was mostly dictated by colors: blush pink, navy and gold. We can’t remember which came first – the colors or the reception space – but loved how it all tied together nicely.

David and his groomsmen had customs suits made at Indochino. Analise, her bridesmaids, flower girl and mother all got their gowns at L’Elite Bridal in Boston. Analise wore an Oscar de la Renta gown and after her first dance swapped her Badgley Mischka gold pumps for glittered Keds sneakers.

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

Kate responded to our crazy email questions while sailing up the east coast, then flew to Boston for our wedding weekend, and then returned to her sailboat where she edited and sent us our gallery ahead of schedule… I think that constitutes above and beyond. She was incredibly helpful in helping us think through the timeline for our big day. Her and her team not only captured our memories of the day but they also caught our guests in action around the room. Her work was outstanding.

Adrianna with the Boston Park Plaza made sure every detail was taken care of for our reception, organizing with each and every vendor.

Christian and his team at Brighter Lights Media did an outstanding job capturing and piecing together some of the most special moments of our wedding day – he even joined David shooting hoops the morning of our wedding!

We also were very pleased with our ceremony coordinator, Kathleen Sullivan. She is a friend and an event planner at UML that volunteered her time to make our ceremony absolutely perfect.

Joe at A Belvidere Florist had such a beautiful vision for all of the flowers that day.

While our guests know how to bring a party to the wedding, DJ Jimmie Espo of 617 Wedding definitely deserves some of the credit for the great time we all had on the dance floor. Our guests also enjoyed his open-air Photo Booth.

How did you meet? Tell us a little about the two of you!

During the summer of 2010 we were both employed at the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Lowell. After work one day she asked him out to Seabrook Beach. We started dating and spent the rest of the summer carpooling to work and spending weekends at the beach. College started back up for both of us in the fall and train rides between Boston and Worcester became a regular thing. Through basketball seasons, internships, graduations, new jobs, and changing schedules we supported one another and grew together.

Some of the things we love:
FAMILY & FRIENDS: Our greatest blessing is the family and friends that have nurtured us as individuals and as a couple. We are surrounded by great people every day, which makes us especially excited to celebrate our wedding and future milestones with you all.

A GOOD MEAL: We spend a lot of time together in the kitchen- she finds recipes on Pinterest and he finds ways to make them better. To celebrate special occasions and enjoy time with friends, we often plan nights out in the city. Usually our dinners in Boston end with a drink at Abby Lane, where our groomsman, Greg, works.

TRAVELING: We’ve been fortunate to have the opportunity to travel and enjoy holidays with family, celebrate graduations with friends, coach at basketball tournaments and choose places near and far to explore with one another.

Tell us about the proposal …

He proposed in paradise… In November of 2015 we escaped to Turks & Caicos Islands for the holiday. On the Tuesday before Thanksgiving he took a detour during our walk to dinner and popped the question. We climbed the stairs to the most beautiful setting that our friend Kenomar had created for us. Overlooking the French Village, there was a palm tree archway, flower petals and a sand heart. Our family was watching from afar and caught the proposal on camera. We couldn’t wait to get home and share the news with everyone!

Anything else you’d like to share, or any tips for couples currently planning their wedding?

Food was probably one of the most important elements in planning, since what you eat and what you dance to are the details guests remember most about attending a wedding. When we sampled the Boston Park Plaza’s food we agreed that there was no going wrong with their menu. In the end we went with surf & turf, chicken and vegetarian pasta options. We also enjoyed the Park Plaza’s food with every wedding planning visit and would highly recommend their hotel lobby restaurant to anyone that finds themselves hungry in Boston.

What’s up next for you as a couple?

Following our wedding we escaped for a dreamy honeymoon in Bora Bora. Just about every day of that vacation we reflected on our wedding day – the people, music, food, how quickly it went by, how amazing our friend Peter did officiating the ceremony. We returned to our new home in Lowell where we are settling in. David is taking on a new coaching job at WPI this winter. We’re enjoying life together as we start to create our own routines. We’ll possibly grow our family within the next few years; right now I’m forcing David to hold every baby we see, in hopes that he’ll catch the fever 😉

Do you have any tips for other couples planning their wedding?

Absolutely hire a photographer and videographer! Our wedding day was magical but it went by so fast. Photos and videos have allowed us to relive the best day of our lives– and in some ways from perspectives we didn’t get to see.

Think about the aspects of your wedding (theme, how you want it to be remembered, your guests) that you want to shape your day! We shared what was most important to us with our vendors and, together, they made our day a dream come true.

We relied heavily on vendors’ suggestions for selecting other vendors. Knowing we loved Kate’s style helped her to point us in the direction of videographers we might like; the Boston Park Plaza suggested cake vendors. These vendors are experts in wedding business and they truly can provide some of the best insight.