Real Weddings

He’s from London, She’s from Oklahoma. Their Wedding Was Very Boston.

From Fenway Park to the Museum of Fine Art, Will Collins and Sydney Hood introduced their adopted city's treasures to more than 150 out-of-town wedding guests.


Photo by Shannon Skloss

Oklahoma native Sydney Hood and London-raised Will Collins never thought they would host a destination wedding. But that’s technically what the Boston couple would end up having as they showed off the best of their beloved city to more than 150 out-of-towners.

After a four-year courtship stemming from a blind date, Will proposed on a South End stroll during a break in a summer rainstorm. So began the couple’s love letter to Boston, culminating in a celebration most of the couple’s 250 guests had to travel to to enjoy.

“Because 75 percent of our guests were from out of town—Texas, Oklahoma, New York—showing them the best of Boston was important,” Sydney says. The couple tapped Bryan Rafanelli of Rafanelli Events, who placed the wedding in the hands of his luxury-event company’s destination team.

Photo by Shannon Skloss

Photo by Shannon Skloss

Photo by Shannon Skloss

Welcome bags brimmed with local treats, and festivities showcased treasured locations: Fenway Park, Boston’s Basilica, the Museum of Fine Arts Koch Gallery, and Shapiro Family Courtyard. Past home bases were also given time to shine. Oklahoma Club Special cocktails were passed at the reception, and live country music flooded the Loretta’s Last Call after-party. Florals resembled the English gardens of Will’s childhood, while guest books paid homage to London. “We were excited to showcase the best of our home city,” says Sydney, “but we also wanted to integrate special elements of our other favorite places and home cities.”

Photo by Shannon Skloss


Photo by Shannon Skloss

The Details

The Welcome Bags

Each welcome bag was packed with Boston pride—Salty Girl potato chips, Red Sox Cracker Jack boxes with the couple’s names and caricatures, Cisco beer, Clubby seltzer (a nod to OKC), an illustrated swan-boat cup, Tatte’s Nutella cookies, Phillips Chocolates lobsters, and a deck of cards handpainted by the bride’s mother. “Inspired by their late-night card games at the Newbury Hotel, the custom deck featured whimsical illustrations of their favorite restaurants,” Rafanelli says.

Photo by Shannon Skloss

Photo by Shannon Skloss

Photo by Shannon Skloss

Photo by Shannon Skloss

The Before- and After-Parties

The Fenway Welcome Party at the ballpark’s private 521 Overlook venue kicked off the weekend. Guests were greeted with Red Sox hats embroidered with the couple’s initials and wedding date. The bespoke food experience immersed guests in tradition with ballpark-themed custom-made food stands for Fenway Franks, lobster rolls, oysters, and ball caps filled with ice cream. Guests donned cowboy hats and hit the dance floor for after-wedding country fun (complete with chicken and waffles) at Loretta’s Last Call.

Photo by Shannon Skloss

The Flowers

“I wanted the florals to be cultivated, wild, and summery like the manicured English gardens,” Sydney says. Despite the Shapiro Gallery’s grand scale, Rafanelli employed flowers from Winston Flowers to create an intimate experience. Two 32-foot-long installations filled with delphiniums, roses, chamomile, and bells of Ireland, and accented by lush ferns, flanked the seating area. There were towering tree arrangements and sprawling branches, some reaching heights of 14 feet. “Together, they formed a breathtaking natural canopy that enveloped guests, creating a lush, immersive atmosphere,” Rafanelli says.

Photo by Shannon Skloss

The Escort-Card Wall

Southern Fried Paper ran with Sydney’s mom’s idea of transforming the escort-card wall into an art gallery by sliding postcards of the MFA’s famous artworks into screenprinted paper frames, modeled after frames hanging in the bride’s parents’ Oklahoma City home. Guests’ table assignments were printed to resemble fine-art nameplates and attached to the “paintings” for a memorable display.

Photo by Shannon Skloss

The Tablescapes

To capture the essence of an English garden, Rafanelli layered colors, patterns, and textures. Magic unfolded through combined patterned and solid linens in purples, greens, and blues, as well as china with gold lattice designs, emerald ivy accents, and delicate purple florals. “Each guest’s glass featured a delicate paper bird, and their name in calligraphy,” he says.

Photo by Shannon Skloss

Photo by Shannon Skloss

Photo by Shannon Skloss

The Dance Floor

“We created a stunning fabric installation that stretched 50 feet high and framed the stage. This art piece, inspired by the delicate brushstrokes of impressionist paintings, evoked the lush, vibrant beauty of a garden in full bloom,” Rafanelli says. The dance floor itself was vinyl installed by Flagraphics inspired by Monet’s famous Water Lilies. “I designed the dance floor in the essence of impressionism, transforming it into a pond at the heart of our garden,” he continues.

Photo by Shannon Skloss

The Cake

Berkshires-based Mamie Brougitte Cakes created the four-tier cake in three flavors—lemon sponge cake with elderflower buttercream and fresh blueberries; vanilla-bean cake with strawberry jam, lemon curd, and vanilla-bean buttercream; and chocolate cake with dark chocolate frosting and raspberry jam. All of the sugar flowers, berries, and birds adorning the cake were handmade.

Photo by Shannon Skloss

The Stationery

While the chinoiserie’s light blues, golds, and greens of Southern Fried Paper’s stationery suite were gorgeous in their own right, one detail sealed the deal. “My extremely creative mom fell down the rabbit hole of vintage stamps,” says Sydney of the envelope postage from Edelweiss Post and Mystic Stamp Company that portrayed a painting by Boston artist John Singleton Copley, baseball, Massachusetts, and love.


Photo by Shannon Skloss

The File

Audio Bergsten Music
Bridal Styling The Stylish Bride
Bride’s Dress and Veil Oscar de la Renta
Bride’s Shoes Stuart Weitzman
Cake Mamie Brougitte Cakes
Entertainment Starlight Music
Flowers Winston Flowers
Hair & Makeup DW Beauty
Lighting Port Lighting
Linens Lola Valentina
Photographer Shannon Kloss
Planner Rafanelli Events
Rentals Maison de Carine; Party Rental; Peak Event Services
Scenic Buildouts Wooden Kiwi
Stationery Southern Fried Paper
Vinyl Installations Flagraphics

Photo by Shannon Skloss

Photo by Shannon Skloss

Photo by Shannon Skloss

Photo by Shannon Skloss

First published in the print issue of Boston Weddings 2025 with the headline, “Sense of Place.”

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