Mallory and Joey got married at Granite Links in Quincy, Massachusetts, with the Boston skyline sitting right behind them. The couple’s brief was clear, a romantic French chateau garden built for their favorite people. What they pulled off was a black-tie wedding that kept its sense of humor all the way through. The Dearest Still photographed the entire day, from the golf course ceremony to the last song under the tent.
Location: Quincy, Massachusetts, USA
Style: Romantic, Soft, French Style
Time of planning: 16 months
Number of guests: 135
Setting: Golf Course and Tent
Season: Fall
The lovebirds met in college in 2015 through a setup date that worked out far better than anyone could predict. Their friend groups merged into one, and they grew up beside each other through every milestone that followed. After graduation they moved to Boston and built their life there, and in 2024 Joey proposed during a picnic on the Charles River Esplanade, a spot they had returned to for years. By the time planning started, they knew the assignment, a day full of love, a decade of close friends in one room, and a lot of dancing.
Bride's Morning & Fashion
The morning matched the mood Mallory had been building toward. She got ready in cute dress, with a spritz of Ex Nihilo to start things off, and a calm that came from knowing she had planned every detail herself. Her ceremony gown was an Enzoani from Madeleine’s Daughter, a strapless ballgown with a structured bodice and a full skirt.
The jewelry told a family story, since the pearls came from her grandmother and her second-look veil came from her mother’s own wedding. Jacquelyn Sabella did her makeup and kept it clean so the dress could lead. For the reception she switched into a House of CB mini, a corseted silhouette with a flared skirt and Badgley Mischka heels, built for the dance floor she had been planning around.
Groom’s Fashion
Joey kept his look sharp and personal. He wore a Bonobos tux with a bowtie and suspenders, and the suspenders stayed on long after the jacket came off later that night. His finishing detail said everything about him, a pair of dinosaur cufflinks that turned a classic tux into something that was actually his.
First Look
Before the ceremony, the couple built in two first looks, and both of them set the emotional tone for the rest of the day. Mallory met Joey out on the green first, and the reaction landed on both sides the moment she came into view. The two of them took a minute alone before anyone else saw the dress, which gave the morning a quiet anchor.
Also the bride shared a separate first look with her father, and he did not hold back the tears. That exchange between father and daughter became one of the most-photographed moments of the morning.
Ceremony
The ceremony took place on a raised outdoor space at Granite Links, with the golf course greens rolling out behind the couple and the Boston skyline sitting in the distance. An open breeze moved through the whole thing, and the soft pink and sage palette read even softer in the afternoon light. Blooms of Boston carried the overgrown garden direction outside, laying the florals low and loose so the landscape stayed in frame. Lynne Canavan played violin through C-Zone Entertainment as guests took their seats.
Mallory and Joey wrote their own vows and asked their officiant to build the message around partnership instead of traditional script, which matched the way they actually speak to each other. One of their college friends officiated, someone who had a front-row seat to the relationship for a full decade. Mallory walked down the aisle to Daylight by Taylor Swift, and Joey’s father read Blessing for a Marriage by James Dillet Freeman.
By the time it ended, both of them were completely overwhelmed in the best possible way. Guests kept telling them afterward how heartfelt the whole thing was, which is the reaction every couple hopes for and rarely gets to hear so many times in one night.
Moments Together
After the ceremony, Mallory and Joey slipped away with Julie of The Dearest Still for portraits across the property. They walked the golf course and waded into the tall grass at the edge of it. The black-and-white frames from this stretch are some of the quietest of the day, just the couple, the breeze, and the open field.
"Photographing this wedding was such a heartfelt experience! I could truly feel the love in the air from beginning to end. The way the couple and their guests shared emotion throughout the day made everything feel so genuine and deeply personal."
Reception
Cocktail hour ran on the couple’s terms, starting with two signature drinks, a Skinny Spicy Marg for her and a Blueberry Vodka Lemonade for him. Guests moved through a space styled to match the rest of the day, with Blooms of Boston florals in light pink and sage and signage by Kristen Sardini Design.
The reception moved under a tent, with string lights overhead and the skyline glowing past the open sides. The detail everyone still talks about is the espresso martini ice luge, which is a frat-party idea wearing black tie, and it worked exactly as intended.
Peter O’Karma of Meritage DJ ran the night, and the playlist meant something. The first dance was Say You Won’t Let Go by James Arthur, the father-daughter dance was There Goes My Life by Kenny Chesney, and the mother-son dance was I Hope You Dance by LeAnn Rimes. Toasts came from the father of the bride, two Maids of Honor, and two Best Men.
Fake microphones came out on the dance floor for anyone who wanted a main-character moment, the cake came from Dessert Works, and the matchbox favors sent everyone home with a tiny Boston skyline and the couple’s names.
Advice from the couple:
• Remember that your wedding is really the starting point for your marriage, so let it reflect who you are as a couple. If you focus on creating a meaningful experience for yourselves and your guests, instead of chasing trends, everything else has a way of falling into place!
PHOTOGRAPHER The Dearest Still | COORDINATION Boston Event Divas | VENUE, CATERING & ESPRESSO MARTINI ICE LUGE Granite Links | FLORALS Blooms of Boston | MAKEUP Jacquelyn Sabella | HAIR Talia Day | DRESS Enzoani at Madeleine’s Daughter | SECOND LOOK House of CB | SHOES Badgley Mischka | TUX Bonobos | SIGNAGE Kristen Sardini Design | CONTENT CREATOR Twenty Four Diaries | CAKE Dessert Works | DJ Peter O’Karma via Meritage DJ | VIOLIN Lynne Canavan via C-Zone Entertainment
