Blog— Weddings — Massachusetts— 2025 —
Bostonia Public House Wedding Photos
Lisa & Sean
Bostonia Public House, Boston, Massachusetts (Ceremony & Reception)
August 25th, 2025
I go into every consultation I have with a bride and groom with an open mind, ready to hear about the vision they have for their special day and with no preconceived notion of what a wedding is supposed to be or not be.
But, I have to admit, sometimes I get a couple whose wedding is SO casual that I wonder why they're even talking to me as it doesn't seem like they need a photographer at all.
Lisa and Sean, who got married back in August, were like this when they described their ideas for their big day at the Bostonia Public House in Boston, Massachusetts but, like all good low key weddings, even though it was a day low on big moments, the magic was in the little things that made this day special.
Whether it was the way the groom looked at the bride as she walked down the aisle or the joy the newlyweds had going table to table to speak to their guests, Lisa and Sean's wedding may have been on the chill side but it was the perfect amount of special for a couple that knew what they wanted and knocked it out of the park and I think there's beauty to be found in that.
My time with Lisa and Sean started in the most Boston wedding way imaginable: struggling to lug my gear through the streets of the city and finding the restaurant they were tying the knot in. The good news is I arrived with plenty of time to spare. The even better news was I beat both the bride and groom to the location, as well as all the guests.
Not that it would have made much of a difference. Lisa and Sean were the most chill couple I had all year and I knew that going into their special day. The bride was getting ready off site and didn't want any prep photos taken and all I had to shoot prior to their ceremony were some photos of the groom getting his boutonniere pinned and mingling with guests.
It was a wonderfully casual start that really set the tone well for the wedding we were about to witness.
My first impression upon walking into Bostonia Public House was “How the heck are we going to have a wedding here?” To say it was a small space is an understatement but, as the saying goes, where there's a will, there's a way and Lisa and Sean didn't need much to make this ceremony special.
The two were married in the upstairs back room of the venue, in front of a large map of the city, and any doubts I had about how much this day might have meant to this bride and groom were gone the instant I saw the look on Sean's face as Lisa walked down the aisle.
Lisa and Sean's wedding ceremony was a simple one, as I expected it to be. When you have a guest list that is just around a dozen or so people, it doesn't need to be too fancy but that doesn't mean it didn't have it's touching moments. I especially loved the one these soon-to-be newlyweds snuck looks at one another and smiled. Those moments spoke volumes.
And after some lovely little readings from some of the people closest to Lisa and Sean, all that was left was to exchange rings, share a kiss and make this thing official.
With their ceremony in the books, Lisa and Sean spent a good chunk of time taking tons of family photos with all the people they had personally selected to witness their special day and that, to me, was the main purpose of my time with them.
But once we finished those photos, the creative part of my brain kicked it into high gear and I asked the newlyweds if they wouldn't mind taking 20 or so minutes with me to walk around the streets of Boston outside the restaurant for some city-inspired shots.
They were happy to and I'm glad because I love the city of Boston on a warm day and this was a special one.
Lisa, Sean and I began their bride and groom photos in front of the restaurant itself with some off camera flash that really made the Bostonia Public House marquee pop. In order to get the true Boston feeling, though, we had to walk a bit down the road and found a nice, simple street that really gave us the true Beantown flavor. Oh, and of course we had to get a little bit of that sweet, sweet city skyline involved.
Once formal photos were finished, it was time for us to head inside and that meant it was time for me to make sure I had all of the special details Lisa and Sean selected for their special day photographed. There weren't a ton but the ones there were fit this day perfectly.
Lisa and Sean's wedding reception felt more like a casual hangout/close family dinner with friends than a traditional wedding reception. That meant I didn't have a ton to do.
Without a first dance, parent dances, toasts, a cake cutting, a bouquet toss or a garter toss to photograph, my job was largely to walk table to table and snag photos of couples together or the newlyweds chatting with their family.
Thankfully, the night was more exciting than it sounds, though, as toward the end we did get a little bit of dancing. Which is honestly more than I was expecting but a nice way to cap a small and intimate evening that meant a lot to the people in that room.
Before my time with Lisa and Sean came to an end, I did manage to grab some last-minute shots outside the restaurant with some cool color gels in the background and I thought this was the perfect note to end this wedding on.
Lisa and Sean's wedding was beautiful in its simplicity and fit this bride and groom perfectly and I loved that for them. And, what's more, it's nice for me to get a small and intimate wedding like this one was every once in a while to remind myself that there's beautiful in every wedding regardless of size.
So thanks Lisa and Sean for including me in your special day and I wish you the best as you start this new and exciting chapter together as husband and wife.
-Paul J. Spetrini
