The Ceremony - Saint Cecilia Parish, Boston, MA     We were torn over whether to have our wedding by the ocean or downtown in the city. Jon is originally from the North Shore and so we loved the idea of a wedding on the water, but we ultimately decided that a city wedding would be more enjoyable and easier for our many out of town guests. Having a traditional Catholic ceremony was important to me, so a church wedding was really our only choice. St. Cecilia is the church we normally attend in the Back Bay and is so beautiful with its stained glass, sculptures, and architecture. We will be having a string quartet play at the ceremony, as well as probably the church organist. I am so excited that we are going to be married here! The Reception - The Sheraton Boston Hotel, Boston, MA  The Constitution Ballroom Not crazy about the carpet, but I love the windows and the chandeliers. I can't wait to see what it will look like when we have all the uplighting done around the room.  Where the cocktail hour will take place. The hotel provides the baby grand, and we will be having our DJ, Aaron Topfer, playing during the cocktail hour.   The hotel lobby. We chose the Sheraton Boston Hotel for several reasons - it is literally a block away from the church, it is one of the only hotel ballrooms we found that has windows (and a balcony!), and the price was pretty reasonable for a downtown wedding, and even included a lot of items that other hotels considered upgrades (chiavari chairs, upgraded linens, etc.) Plus, it's only a couple blocks from where I live, so meeting with them is super convenient. We love the more contemporary feel of the ballroom, and the staff have been great to work with so far, and very flexible. The hotel is offering our guests a really great rate for the room block, and hopefully guests will find it a fun location to stay. We'll be getting ready there during the day in a suite, and then will probably just walk over to the church (I thought I'd have my dad drive me the block, but my photographer thinks pics of the bridesmaids and me walking down the city street to the church would make for some really good shots, so I'll probably trek it over in the dress.) Rehearsal Dinner - Sonsie, Boston, MA Sonsie on Newbury Street has always been "our place"...we went there on one of our first dates (third maybe?), it's one of our favorite places to eat, and we went there for dinner right after we got engaged. It's also just a couple blocks away from our venue, and they have a private wine room that is perfect for our sized group. So having the rehearsal dinner there was really a no-brainer for us!   |