Finding the Best Backgrounds in Boston to Capture Your Marriage Moments

Your engagement and wedding are memories you want to preserve with the highest quality and most creative photographs while also staying on budget. Boston has a wide range of venues to capture all of your marriage moments—from historic and iconic locations to stunning nature backdrops that provide picture-perfect surroundings.

In the first of our two-part Savvy Bride Boston series on wedding events photography, we researched the top places where Boston photographers are taking their clients. The second part of the series will guide you to finding the best photographer(s) most suited for your wedding events as well as provide ideas on ways to spice up your engagement and wedding albums.

It is not uncommon for many professional photographers to offer packages that include more than just photo coverage for your wedding day. Before booking with your photographer, ask what other wedding-related events can be included. By booking multiple photo shoots, not only can you save money, but you’ll also get a variety of wedding-related moments that you can treasure for a lifetime.

There are many wedding-related events for which you may want to use a professional photographer, including:

• When you or your spouse pops the big question
• Celebrating your engagement (you can use your engagement photos in your wedding invitations)
• Special moments during your wedding preparations such as an invitation-writing party, visiting floral shops or tasting sample wedding cakes
• Bridal showers
• Bachelor and bachelorette parties
• Other pre-wedding social events such as a golf outing for the men or a spa day for the ladies
• Wedding day preparations, ceremony and reception
• Wedding after party
• Honeymoon travel photos
• First year and newlywed milestones (home, baby, puppy/kitty, new job/business, etc.)

When you’re thinking about engaging a professional photographer, consider every moment along the timeline of your wedding. Choose the moments or milestones you want a professional to capture and then plan your events for photography sessions in some of Boston’s most desirable locations, and don’t worry—you can still preserve other wedding-related moments and milestones yourself (or enlist the help from your bridal party) for a more spontaneous and natural style of photography. We’ll cover more on that topic in the second part of this series.

Whether you want to have your photo shoot in the backyard of a friend’s family estate, at a winery, park or historic building, Boston has some of the most interesting places where you can show off some creativity. By planning ahead, you can not only find the perfect spot for your photo shoots, but also maximize your results based on the season or location for beautiful outdoor settings. New England’s seasons and coastlines can provide spectacular backdrops for your sessions.

Work closely with your photographer to discuss your ideas and any particular shots you are looking for. They are the expert and will be able to provide guidance on what will fit your personalities and how you can prepare to make your photo session a success.

We’ve done the research and gathered some of the best Boston wedding expert resources and photographer-inspired lists to get you started. These lists include some of the most iconic, natural and creative settings in and around Boston. You’ll notice that several lists feature some of the same perennially popular settings, such as the Boston Public Garden and Beacon Hill. In part two of this series, we’ll write more about picking your photographers and how to come up with unique ideas for great photo sessions.

When going through these lists and clicking on the links for each one, choose the venues that go well with your wedding theme as well as those that complement your personalities as a couple. To kick off the lists, the pros at George Street Photo & Video claim these locations as their top nine places for engagement and wedding photos.

• Boston Common
• Strega Waterfront
• Topsfield Holiday Tree Farm
• Boston Public Garden
• Harold Parker State Forest
• Fairmont Copley Plaza
• Tower Hill Botanic Garden Plaza
• The Boston Harborwalk
• Smolak Farms



Long’s Jewelers weighs in with their list of Boston’s twelve best locations for engagement photo sessions:

• The Carlson Apple Orchard in Harvard
• Wingaersheek Beach in Gloucester
• The Seaport District in Boston
• The Arnold Arboretum in Jamaica Plain
• Old Stone Church in West Boylston
• The Harold W. Pierce Boat House at MIT in Cambridge
• The DeCordova Museum in Lincoln
• Downtown Newburyport
• The Public Garden in Boston
• The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston
• Beacon Hill in Boston
• Downtown Salem

Wendell Fernandes Photography’s five top iconic wedding locations in Boston include:

• Beacon Hill in Boston
• The Longfellow Bridge over the Charles River (reconstructed in 2018)
• Fenway Park
• Harvard Bridge
• The Public Garden in Boston

Readers of Boston.com’s favorite places for wedding photos selected a variety of creative options such as:

• The Public Garden in Boston
• The John Joseph Moakley Courthouse on Fan Pier
• Fenway Park
• The Arnold Arboretum at Harvard
• Hammond Castle Museum in Gloucester
• Dorchester Heights in South Boston
• World's End in Hingham
• Piers Park in East Boston
• Larz Anderson Park in Brookline
• The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum
• The Old City Hall on School Street
• The Massachusetts State House
• The Woodlawn Cemetery in Everett
• Long Wharf on Boston Harbor
• The Esplanade
• Christian Science Center

CBS Boston’s classic wedding photos list includes:

• The Orpheum
• Boston Common
• The USS Constitution
• Old North Church
• Castle Island

Brett Alison Photography adds these top scenic locations for engagement and portrait sessions just north of Boston:

• Appleton Farms in Ipswich
• Long Hill in Beverly
• Minuteman National Historic Park in Concord
• Crane Beach in Ipswich
• Castle Hill Crane Estate in Ipswich
• Russell Orchards in Ipswich
• Barn at Gibbet Hill in Groton
• Newburyport
• Salem Willows
• Cambridge
• Deer Island in Amesbury
• Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary
• Portsmouth, New Hampshire
• Lynch Park in Beverly
• Plum Island Beach in Newburyport

According to Five Star Alliance, here is a list of the top five-star Boston luxury hotels that can also make for great photo shoot settings. They include direct links to the wedding information on their websites and many have photos of their properties so you can see in advance which you might like.

• Boston Harbor Hotel
• Battery Wharf Hotel and Spa
• W Boston
• The Langham Boston
• Nine Zero Hotel
• Fairmont Copley Plaza
• Loews Boston Hotel
• Taj Boston
• Mandarin Oriental Boston
• Fifteen Beacon
• InterContinental Boston
• Revere Hotel Boston Common
• The Ritz-Carlton Boston Common
• Liberty Hotel
• Ames Boston Hotel
• Hotel Commonwealth
• The Charles Hotel
• Four Seasons Boston
• The Eliot Hotel
  

Now that you have many photo locations to consider, you can build your own list and be better prepared to work with your photographer on the look and feel of each wedding-related event you want photographed. Imagine what it will be like five, ten, even twenty-five years in the future when you and your spouse look back over your wedding album. What will you want to see the most? Try to think of all of the beautiful moments you want to capture and design your wedding memories the way you want to enjoy them for a lifetime.

In part two of this series, we’ll help guide you to selecting the perfect photographer(s) for your wedding events and provide additional tips on creative ideas for photo shoots as well as how to get more memories on a budget.

Congratulations and all the best from your friends here at TransAction Corporate Shuttles.

We’d be thrilled to help you with any transportation needs for your wedding or any of your other wedding-related events.

Just give us a call and don’t forget to use your coupon to save 20%!

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As a Savvy Bride, when you book your wedding transportation with us, we'll give you a 20% discount on transportation for bachelor/bachelorette parties, bridal party spa days, rehearsal dinners, bridal showers, wedding after-parties or any of the other wedding-related events you are planning.

> Learn more about our wedding shuttle services and options here.

Save your guests and bridal party the hassle of figuring out the logistics of getting to and from your wedding events. We specialize in wedding transportation and it's a great way to create even more memories of being together during all of your celebrations.

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When requesting a FREE quote for your wedding day transportation online or over the phone, use the code "SavvyBride" to claim your 20% discount on a second (or more) wedding-related event. We look forward to helping you enjoy your wedding events that much more by taking the fuss out of getting there and back again. Let us do the driving for you!