Boston Harbor Hotel Wedding Featured on Beantown Bride

A very special thank you to Beantown Bride for featuring Person + Killian Photography for their "Real Wedding" of the day. Shayna and Steve's picture perfect wedding took place at the Boston Harbor Hotel.

Author: Mellissa A. Knowles
Photography by: Person + Killian Photography

You might say it took a while for Shayna Seymour and Stephen Carr to get to a first date. After the two met in San Francisco, the romantic timing was never quite right. As friends, they secretly admired each other from afar, keeping in touch from different cities, connecting when possible. When both returned home to Massachusetts for work, they reunited for the "official" date that cinched their romance - a Red Sox victory over Yankees at Fenway Park. "It took us six years, but it was worth the wait." Stephen, a school administrator, popped the question to an unsuspecting Shanya, a television journalist, on a romantic evening - complete with candles, rose petals and a little black ring box pulled from the boughs of their Christmas tree - planned just for her.

Shayna and Stephen were married on August 5, 2007 in front of 250 friends and family members at the Boston Harbor Hotel. The hotel, mix of modern sophistication and old world charm, was an ideal location for a couple wanting to marry in Boston, on the harbor. Shayna explains, "It just felt perfect. We loved the fact that the venue was on the water." With the ornately decorated hotel as a backdrop, Shayna looked simply stunning in her white Romona Keveza gown and cathedral length veil. She carried a a bouquet of orchids and calla lilies, picking up the lively color scheme of mango, yellow, white and sage, found in every detail of the wedding. Steven and his groomsmen were dashing in navy blue Brooks Brothers suits, while bridesmaids wore complimenting J. Crew designs in saffron yellow.

The celebration was orchestrated to perfection by Tasha Bracken of SD Events and Shayna and Stephen say they want to do it all over again - the first dance to Ray Charles, the abundance of brightly colored flowers and elegant tabletop landscapes, time spent with guests and private moments stolen away just for them. The most cherished memory? "Walking into our beautiful reception room to see how everything looked before all of our guests entered. It was a magical moment just for us."

Wedding Day Details:
Invitations: DIY
Gown: Romona Keveza
Florist: Ilex Designs
Venue: Boston Harbor Hotel
Wedding Planner: SD Events

Mandarin Oriental | Boston | Wedding Photographers |

Person + Killian Photography was overjoyed to see Marsha & Brian's elegant ballroom wedding at the Mandarin Oriental featured on Boston’s newest wedding resource site, Beantown Bride.

Beantown Bride, is a resource for brides-to-be planning luxury weddings in and around Boston.This fantastic site is filled with tips and trends to help brides and grooms create beautiful events that represent their style as a couple.

Author: Andrea E. McHugh
Photography by: Person + Killian Photography

While Beantown is littered with luxury hotels, Marsha Epstein, 29, a business analyst, and fiancé Brian Woldow, 32, a lawyer, put their mid-June wedding deposit down on the not-yet-opened Mandarin Oriental on Boston's illustrious Boylston Street. "It is one of our favorite line of hotels, is known for its exceptional service, and everything would be practically brand new for our wedding,' noted Marsha." "We also love the modern- Asian inspired decor in the Mandarin hotels."

The two planned their modern aesthetic around a white, crème, pale yellow and pale pink palate, starting with the floor-length tulle Badgley Mischka bridesmaids dresses in buttercup hue. For Marsha, all plans for a strapless wedding gown went out the window when she laid eyes on a stunning white lace gown with halter straps, a sweet- heart neckline, and ribbon detailing by Monique Lhuillier. "I had tried on many gowns and when I tried on this gown showed it to my parents, we all knew it was 'the one.'" she says. Her equally chic groom donned a black tuxedo by Calvin Klein with a black vest and white paisley tie.

As they were welcomed into the ballroom, guests marveled at the white hydrangeas, light pink peonies and pink roses highlighted by pink spot lighting and contrasting overall amber hue produced by specially staged up-lighting. The menu of seared filet mignon, crispy Anna potatoes and red wine sauce, or vanilla-scented Chilean sea bass with braised tomato and baby fennel, Yukon potato puree and lobster roe butter pleased even the most discerning palate. A martini bar added a classic element and kept spirits high as the dance floor rocked to the highly-touted band, Beantown. In lieu of wedding favors, a donation was made to the Robert J. Woldow Memorial Scholarship fund created in memory of the groom's father. The couple looks back on the day fondly, reflecting, "I do not think there [is] one specific memory, but I think Brian and I were in awe of how everything came together perfectly."

A big thank you to Beantown Bride for featuring our work and telling the story of Marsha and Brians beautiful beantown wedding!

Wedding Details: Invitations: Invitations & Company/Gown: Monique Lhuillier/Florist: William Mizuta/Cake: Cakes to Remember/Venue: Mandarin Oriental/Music: Beantown

*This wedding blog post is filed under: Person and killian photography, Mandarin Oriental Boston weddings, Boston Photograhers and Photography, Ballroom weddings, Beantown Bride