An Intimate Reception at the Boston Public Library

Photo by Kate McElwee

When Claire Dubuque first heard Matthew Tinsley’s name, she was in the Tea Room at the Boston Public Library with one of their mutual friends—who was convinced that, based on everything the two had in common, they needed to meet. Most important was the fact that both came from families of seven (Claire is one of seven girls, and Matt is one of seven boys, the odds of which are less than one percent). Claire eventually agreed.

Three years later, in July 2022, the pair got married at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in the South End, just minutes from Union Park, where Matt had proposed a year earlier. They had their intimate 75-person reception at the BPL—with cocktails in the courtyard, dancing in the Map Room, and a three-course dinner in the Tea Room. “It’s not just a beautiful, historic, classic venue in Boston. It also has personal ties to both of us,” Claire says. The reception wasn’t the only aspect that had a sentimental feel; almost every detail of their summer-in-the-city-themed celebration—from the ceremony to the bride and groom’s accessories all the way down to the dessert—was deeply personal to the couple.

Photo by Kate McElwee

CEREMONY

Claire and Matt were married in a Catholic ceremony in the sprawling Cathedral of the Holy Cross. “As we were walking out of the ceremony, you could actually see the park where we got engaged,” Claire says. “It brought everything together.”

Photo by Kate McElwee

STATIONERY

Elegant blue-and-white stationery included illustrations of the cathedral and Claire’s parents’ Back Bay home, where she got ready with her sisters before the wedding.

Photo by Kate McElwee

TRANSPORTATION

A vintage white Rolls Royce dropped Claire and her father off at the reception and took the newlyweds from the ceremony to the Boston Public Library.

Photo by Kate McElwee

VEIL

Along with her Ines Di Santo floral-appliqué gown, Claire wore an Oscar de la Renta veil, also worn by one of her sisters. “I made a joke about the Sisterhood of the Traveling Veil. But I don’t think my sisters liked that very much,” Claire says with a laugh.

Photo by Kate McElwee

ACCESSORIES

Matt’s father gifted Claire a sapphire ring that belonged to Matt’s mother, who passed away when he was a child. Matt also had the couple’s wedding date engraved into the heel of his shoes.

Photo by Kate McElwee

FIRST DANCE

The couple switched up the traditional order of the night and had their first dance in the courtyard during cocktail hour, swaying to an instrumental version of Frank Sinatra’s “The Way You Look Tonight.”

LATE-NIGHT SNACKS

To fuel a night of dancing, the couple had Chick- fil-A sandwiches delivered to the Map Room. “It was such a hit. We were all dancing in tuxedos, but also holding a chicken sandwich,” Matt says.

Photo by Kate McElwee

DESSERT

Claire and Matt scooped peach and chocolate-chip-cookie-dough ice cream from the Cape’s Four Seas Ice Cream—where Matt worked in high school and Claire visited while on vacation every summer.

Caterer
The Catered Affair

DJ
Jarrell Entertainment

Dress
Ines Di Santo/L’ élite Bridal

Flowers
Winston Flowers

Hair
Monika Ramizi at Salon Mario Russo

Lighting
Port Lighting Systems

Makeup
Maggie Dangelo

Music
Music Management

Planner
Lynn Dale Events

Rentals
Peak Event Services

Stationery
Cheree Berry Paper & Design