Some weddings stay with you - the kind where you feel lucky to have been the one to capture it. This was the feeling with Janet and Mike at their stunning wedding at Aldrich Mansion in Warwick, RI. The day began at the LOOM hotel nearby - a chic industrial location with lots of character. Afterwards, we headed over to Aldrich mansion where Janet put on her dress in the pale pink bridal suite. I’m obsessed with all the French-inspired decor in the bridal suite, which was the perfect place for final touch ups. Then came my favorite moment - their first look. The marble staircase was the gem of the mansion and as Janet walked down the steps, Mike’s emotions took over and they had the sweetest moment together. We then took some family and wedding party portraits in the rear steps of the mansion overlooking the water.

Finally it was time for their ceremony in the chapel onsite. It’s so convenient having a beautiful church right next door with it’s stained glass windows, basking the altar in light. When Janet walked down the aisle, Mike was full of emotion. Mike is Filipino-Chinese American so they incorporated some elements of Filipino culture into the Catholic wedding ceremony. They included a special veil, cord, and coin ceremonies and lighting of the unity candle. They had many speakers near and dear to them come and offer words of wisdom. With a kiss, they were wed and joyfully were cheered out of the chapel and back to the mansion to begin cocktail hour. The reception was out of this world with beauty and grandeur. Aldrich mansion really knows how to throw a party and the planning by Liz Quill expertly brought all the elements together in a refined way. The last exiting aspect of the day was the dessert room reveal, showing off countless full sized cakes, petits fours, and even a bananas fosters station!

Their wedding day reflected the same magic of their solar eclipse proposal: full of heart, humor and love. From the emotional toasts to the packed dance floor, it was a day filled with joy and deep gratitude - for each other, for their families and for the little twist of fate that brought them together.

HOW THEY MET

Both Janet and Mike went to BU’s Questrom School of Business and graduated in 2020. Same school, same class, but somehow they never crossed paths. It wasn’t until a belated graduation event in October of 2021 that they finally met. Janet noticed Mike right away. He had a calm and grounded energy about him, even after just stepping off a red eye flight. They hit it off immediately, talking all night and Janet left thinking is was one of those “almost” moments. But fate had other plans. Enter their friend, Michael W. (now affectionately known as their Fairy Godmother) who secretly jotted down Janet’s name and number on a bar coaster and slipped it into Mike’s jacket pocket. The next morning, Mike found it and sent her a text. They kept that fateful bar coaster and even displayed it on the bar at their wedding!

THE PROPOSAL

The message on a coaster turned into a first date, and then another, until it became clear that this was something real. Fast forward to April 8, 2024. Mike is a wonderful planner and chose the solar eclipse as the moment to propose. They were in Watertown, NY near the center of totality when he asked Janet a riddle. Her hesitation gave him the opening he needed. “Will you marry me?” he said just as the moon aligned with the sun and a diamond ring of light appeared in the sky. It was surreal, cosmic and so perfectly them. Janet said yes under the eerie, magical glow of the eclipse and their new chapter officially began.