Real Wedding: J + J | Bastille Kitchen, Boston

January 14, 2019

There’s something special about city weddings: the city itself becomes as much a part of your wedding day as the florals, decor, and guests. Boston is a fantastic city for a destination wedding: it’s easy to get to, it’s walkable, it has endless venue options for weddings of any size, and you can take advantage of sweeping views of Boston Harbor, Boston Common, or any of the other historical sites or parks in the city limits.

Jessica and Jon’s intimate, relaxed wedding at Bastille Kitchen near the Seaport district was the quintessential Boston wedding. They focused on great food, flawless details, and merging of cultures to create an unforgettably fun day for their guests.

Why Deering Events? Jessica and Jon were focused on the details for their intimate wedding. They hired Deering Events for Day of Services. We came in about three months prior to the big day to help them finish their planning, create a wedding day timeline, and execute all the details.

Their ceremony and reception were in the same restaurant, so it required a quick flip with skilled staff. Venue staff is able to flip a space, but they don’t always have the time or capability to set up all the decor the way you want it or craft a timeline for your entire day. Without Deering Events, a bride may have to enlist family members or even her bridesmaids to help set up the guest book table, place all the favors just so, make sure the escort cards are arranged to her liking; and what bride has time for that? Jessica and Jon were out taking their wedding portraits and enjoying their first moments as a married couple while we set up all of their decor and supervised the venue changeover.

The Vision: Bastille Kitchen is a charming French restaurant with lots of different spaces for events and great views of the Boston Harbor. Jessica and Jon rented out the whole venue for their wedding of 100 guests. Guests watched the ceremony upstairs, headed downstairs to the cocktail lounge to enjoy hors d’oeuvres and drinks, and came back upstairs to the newly flipped space for the reception.

For decor and details, Jessica really wanted to focus on the personal elements since their wedding was on the more intimate side. She and Jon were such a relaxed couple: they had a small wedding party of just their siblings, they walked to the ceremony together from their hotel, and even hopped in an Uber for the 10-minute drive to take photos!

The Vibe: This was a great mix of intimate wedding and city wedding. Jessica and Jon focused their time and budget on guest experience and food, and it paid off: the dinner was amazing. They wanted to reflect their Jewish and Greek heritages in both the ceremony and on the dance floor (everyone loves a good Hora dance!).

Our Favorite Moments: With a smaller guest list, the bride and groom are able to spend quality time with their guests, which Jessica and Jon took full advantage of. They even walked to a local pub for post-wedding drinks – one of the other great parts about having a city wedding!