Weddings Redefined

I was so excited to get the beautiful photos of Fred and Dean's wedding at Boston's ICA, taken by Avenna Studios.   I put them in our portfolio but wanted to share a few on the blog as well!  

These photos come from one of our mini weddings, in which Mark and Jonathan traveled from Denver with about a dozen friends and family to legally marry in Boston.  It was a small wedding and not full of the typical details you see on many wedding blogs.  But here, beautifully captured by Kristin Korpos, are two guys in love on their wedding day.

Our clients Erica and Hayley got married on Memorial Day weekend and their engagement session and wedding photos were picked up by the Delightfully Engaged blog!  The photos were shot by one of my favorite photographers, Kat Hempel.

Check out the screen shot below and the full shoot over on the blog!

When I was a freshman in college at Boston University, I got an internship at WBUR, our local, Boston-area National Public Radio station.  It was so exciting being there, in the world of media and news and I loved every second behind the scenes.

The internship lasted a semester and I moved on and that was the end of that.

And then a few years post college, before this whole gay wedding planning business came about, I was really struggling with what to do with my life, just like many mid-twenty-somethings.  I was an avid listener of Car Talk and was once on the show with my own car-related question, "I'm good with my hands.  Should I be a mechanic when I grow up?"  I think we all know the answer to that one, but it was fun to be on the radio nonetheless.

Fast forward eight or nine years and here I am, a gay wedding planner, loving every minute of it, and NPR calls me to do an interview on music at gay weddings.  Of course!!  If there's anything I know something about, it's gay weddings and music is one of my favorite subjects.  And I love that so much of the music I hear at my clients' gay weddings is the same music that I was personally dancing to at clubs when I was newly out.  

So, without further ado, here's the interview for your listening - my thoughts on gay wedding music!

What kind of music is being played at your wedding?  Are you sticking with traditional wedding songs or going a more contemporary, pop route?

Every year we work with about 40-50 couples who are looking to legally marry in Boston, for just a small ceremony.  Those who book the Destiny packages can expect photos like these beautiful ones of Bernadette and Lori.  These ladies traveled to Boston from Maryland for a wonderful wedding experience with some friends and family.  We arranged for their hotel, hair and makeup, limo and more.  

Here are some highlights from their ceremony in the Public Garden.  Aren't those outfits incredible?  I love Lori's custom suit (inspired by Ellen's own wedding suit).  Bernadette's dress is absolutely stunning!  They are such a beautiful couple!






Boston gay wedding photos by Cheryl Levine.

A lot of the same-sex weddings we plan are dinner party style - that is, little to no dancing, with a real focus on the food, beverage, conversation and elegant ambiance.  These weddings are so intimate, and while there's always an extraordinary, formal meal, the atmosphere remains so casual and upbeat because the group is small, mostly knows each other and there's no pressure at all.  Everyone can just be themselves and have a good time.  Doesn't that sound great?

With these weddings, the ceremony is typically short and sweet, with  most guests standing around.  The ceremony is important, the most important part, but a formal ceremony doesn't always lend itself to the atmosphere these couples are trying to create.

We created a beautiful wedding just like this on the Cape last September.  The photos will be published in a magazine so we can't give too much away but here's a little teaser...


Photo by Jag Studios

Here's another series of amazing before and after wedding transformation shots, this time from our wedding on Thompson Island.  Our primary decor elements were LED votive candles (in pillars on the dock, hanging from trees, and hanging from the pavilion), an abundance of flowers, including tons of petals, and of course, those amazing linens and place settings you see in the photos.  Pretty amazing transformation...



Professional photos by Katje Hempel.  Flowers by Spruce Floral. Lighting by Boston Uplights. Rentals by Be Our Guest.

Shannon and Mandy came all the way from the Bay area to marry at Walden Pond after booking our Destiny Platinum package.  Two teachers, they chose Walden Pond specifically because of their love of Thoreau and other transcendentalist writers of his time. 

Kristin Korpos was the photographer.  Janet married them.  It was a perfect day for these two brides.  

Beautiful photos from last Saturday's mini wedding on Lighthouse Beach in Chatham, Massachusetts.  These brides came here from Michigan for a small wedding with 10 guests.  They booked our Destiny Silver package, which was customized for them.  Photos by Doreen Birdsell.


Congrats to the newlyweds Jessica and Nida!

Meg and Sarah's three day wedding extravaganza at Chimney Corners Camp was last weekend and we're exhausted but exhilarated!  It was a fabulous weekend with perfect weather and I can't wait to show you the good photos.  In the meantime, here's a sneak peek from my cameraphone and the Jessica's Country Flowers' blog.  Jessica was responsible for that gorgeous floral design!