Best of Boston Weddings 2016
Best florist: Mimosa
Décor, Music & Services
Best Band
Flipside
There are one-trick pony bands, and then there’s Flipside, a group with absolutely zero limitations. Whether you want to fall crazy in love with Bey and Jay Z or take a trip to Motown with Marvin Gaye, there’s a voice for that. With five lead singers, the band has gotten crowds on their feet at the weddings of NBA superstar Ray Allen and TV personality Elisabeth Hasselbeck, and even on the silver screen, making a cameo in the film 27 Dresses.
800-843-2263, flipsideboston.com.
Best Calligraphy
LiWardian
Skilled in a range of hand-lettering styles, artist Li Ward excels at loose, watercolor brush type, but can also turn out formally addressed envelopes in tighter, more classic script. And she doesn’t stop at ink on paper. Ward’s work includes outside-the-box offerings such as chalk pen on chalkboard, gouache on terra cotta, and fabric paint on muslin.
Best DJ
Mike Amado
As proprietor of the event-music powerhouse Entertainment Specialists, Mike Amado is an expert at reading the crowd, drawing from his vast library of tunes to get guests on the dance floor and keep them there—which makes sense considering his past gigs spinning for the likes of Steven Tyler and Run DMC. With a voice as smooth as silk, the mix master is also a perennially gifted emcee.
800-540-8157, entertainmentspecialists.com.
Best Event Designer
Lauren Wells
The perfectly tousled napkins and confetti-strewn farm tables you obsessively regram from your favorite bridal magazines don’t happen by accident—chances are, they’re the brainchild of a stylist like Lauren Wells, who also works her magic behind the scenes at real Boston-area weddings. The sought-after stylist can take your ideas from napkin sketch to full-fledged design plan, then execute, style, and install every last detail on the big day.
Best Event Planner
Janie Haas Events
Drawing on 30 years’ worth of industry connections, planner Janie Haas and her event team will outline an overall vision, negotiate contracts, and coordinate everything from vendor setup to hotel welcome baskets. The result? Dreamy productions that transport guests to a world of the couple’s choosing: a Coachella-themed mountain fete complete with a living wall of moss and ivy, or an ethereal soiree featuring a gold-and-pastel bar and lush cherry-blossom branches.
125 Coachmans Ln., North Andover, 978-725-5956, janiehaasevents.com.
Best Florist
Mimosa
After years spent creating the tight, modern arrangements favored by couples of the early aughts, Teresa Fung’s style pendulum recently swung back to the “wild, organic, tangled” look she’d been spotting at West Coast weddings. Embracing this more-relaxed philosophy, Fung now creates ambrosial, textural bouquets and centerpieces that look like they were plucked straight out of the garden.
64 Plympton St., Boston, 617-751-0855, mimosastyle.com.
Best Party Rentals
Peterson Party Center
As if Peterson Party Center’s vast inventory of tents, tables, and glassware wasn’t enough, this year the company announced the acquisition of Rentals Unlimited, the area’s other premier wedding outfitter. That means you can now browse both brands’ showrooms and catalogs and get everything you covet—from rustic farm tables to marquee lights to faux-fur table runners—delivered to your venue in one fell swoop.
36 Cabot Rd., Woburn, 781-729-4000, petersonpartycenter.com.
Best Photo Booth
The Danger Booth
Beware: the Danger Booth’s open-air setup takes photo-boothing to the extreme. Unlimited on-site photos (which print in 19 seconds, flat) allow friends to let loose and show their wild sides, for better or, ahem, worse. Want to take your prints over the top? Ask Danger Booth’s Pinterest-obsessed staffers to connect you with designers who can create custom 3-D backdrops.
Best Photographer
Cambria Grace
Memories fade, but photographs last forever. Thankfully, you can trust Cambria Grace to be everywhere you are and everywhere you can’t be on your wedding day. The Boston shutterbug’s camera is like an invited friend, bringing unparalleled intimacy to every teary-eyed gaze and loving embrace it captures. These aren’t stiffly posed portraits; they’re art prints meant to be framed, hung, and cherished for a lifetime.
713-560-9888, cambriagrace.com.
Best calligraphy: LiWardian; Best stationery: Paper Moss
Best Stationery
Paper Moss
First impressions count, especially when it comes to wedding invitations, which set the tone for the entire event. Work with designers Emily Hostetler and Caitlin Snyder to create custom letterpress or flat-printed pieces jazzed up with on-trend hand lettering, funky geometric patterns, or intricate maps. Don’t have enough time (or budget) to go bespoke? Paper Moss’s ready-to-order collection offers just enough customization options to make it feel personal.
800-511-0210, papermoss.com.
Best Videographer
Brighter Lights Media
Ready for your silver-screen debut? Brighter Lights Media’s cinematic wedding-day videos document both the monumental moments and the intimate details in both short trailer and feature-film-length cuts. Bonus: Christian Nachtrieb and Chris Scesny’s stunning aerial shots, captured by quadcopter, let you watch your love story unfold from a birds’-eye view.
15 Channel Center St., Boston, 617-229-5027, brighterlightsmedia.com.
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