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Thank you for being part of our wedding day! It was a miraculous day for us, made all the more special by the privilege of your company. Hopefully you received a TouchNote souvenir postcard, but here you can see everyone … Continue reading
It’s here! Our amazing photographer, Will Mann, sent a preview of his photos in this slideshow: Watch now, as Stephanie and Damon get married!
Photography
Our photographer, the amazing Will Mann, will provide us with all of his photos digitally. Therefore, we ask all guests not to take pictures during the “big moments.” We will create an online gallery for guests to view and download photos; these will be taken from better angles, with a professional’s eye, and on better equipment than your cell phone or 35 mm. In fact, the most likely culprit to ruin any photo op will be someone holding up their cell phone or jumping up at the last second to grab the shot. Please just enjoy the moment along with us, and trust that Will has it covered. Check back for the photo gallery!
Photography is strictly forbidden in Memorial Church. The policy grants permission for the photographer and his assistant to take pictures, but the sexton has stated that he will intervene with guests who take photos in the sanctuary. We have encouraged him to do so, but ask your cooperation so it isn’t necessary.
The All Hands Club is located inside the Coast Guard Station in the North End of Boston. Parking will be provided inside the base.
The base entrance is directly across from the end of Hanover St, but the easiest way to approach it is along Commercial St.
From the ceremony (52 Oxford St garage)
Pull up to the guard booth, state your name(s) & that you’re here for the wedding at the All Hands Club, and be prepared to show your photo ID. Drive up into the parking area, then loop back towards this (southern) end of the lot. The Compass Room entrance is on the right as you approach the building.
Alternate Route
If you pass the Museum of Science on Rt 28, you’ve either chosen to be “independent minded” or you missed the Gilmore Bridge turn. No problem!
So if you get lost, ask for directions to either the Museum of Science or the Garden, and go from there. Then, never tell a soul.
We’re so thrilled you’ve agreed to brave the Cambridge roads to witness our marriage! One thing you won’t need to worry about: finding parking. We have arranged for parking to be provided in the underground garage at 52 Oxford St.
To get there, use the parking office’s directions below. (Most GPS systems will lead you to the wrong corner of this building, so use these from JFK St.)
Directions to the 52 Oxford Street Garage
From Points North, South and the Downtown Boston Area:
Take either Storrow Dr or Memorial Dr West (Towards Cambridge/Newton). Exit right at the Harvard Square/Cambridge exit onto JFK St. If you are on Storrow, you will be crossing the Anderson Bridge over the Charles River, before you reach JFK St. If you are traveling on Memorial Dr, you will turn directly onto JFK St. See below for directions from JFK.
From Points West:
Take either Storrow Dr or Memorial Dr East (towards Downtown Boston). If you are on Storrow Dr, you must exit right at the Harvard Square/Allston exit, and then take your first left, crossing the Anderson Bridge over the Charles River, before you reach JFK Street. If you are on Memorial Drive, turn left at the Harvard Square/Cambridge signed exit directly onto JFK Street.
Once on JFK Street, you travel straight through 3 sets of lights (not including the set at the intersection of Memorial Dr and JFK St). You should pass the Harvard Coop and Nini’s Corner Newsstand on your left, and on your right you will see the Harvard Square Out of Town Ticket/Newsstand (the “Kiosk”). At the next set of lights (located directly in front of Johnston Gate, the main entrance to Harvard Yard), bear left to continue on Massachusetts Ave heading towards Porter Square. Take your first right onto Everett St. Proceed to the end of Everett (set of lights). Directly in front of you, across Oxford St, will be a guard booth. Stop there and tell the guard you are attending the Madden-Rainie Wedding at Mem Church, and s/he will show you where to park.
From the garage, it’s a 5 min walk to Memorial Church. Head south on Oxford St to the end (at Kirkland St intersection). Walk between the Science Center and Memorial Hall, over the Cambridge St overpass. Enter the Yard through the high spike-iron fence & Mem Church is on your left. It’s the one with the giant white columns and a steeple.
So, what has brought us to this point in time? Well, it started before we were born, and long before anyone could have seen this coming…
Stephanie came to Boston as a Rockette in the Radio City Christmas Spectacular in December 2010. Damon boldly called her up and asked her to accompany him to dinner. And, she accepted!
But wait, anyone who knows Damon knows there must be more to that story… “boldly” is not a term that often applies to Damon in the context of dating.
You see, our fathers had gone to college together. Over the years, the families had exchanged Christmas cards (if you know Stephanie, you know what that means!) but otherwise they had grown apart, as family schedules demand. Joe and Shep, Nancy and Ellen, had teamed up in 1999 to muscle through the 25th reunion in force, and their companionship rekindled. Through the years, Damon and Stephanie would hear updates about each other and their siblings, but apart from a few shared meals at that reunion (“Would you like the chicken or the salmon?”) they had never really met. But our mothers were known to wax poetic about the charms of the other…
Fast forward 10 years: Stephanie’s in Boston for 6 weeks & Damon’s in Walpole, both pursuing demanding careers, often at the expense of a personal life, much less “dating”… Could it possibly work out? Nancy & Ellen had faith. And perseverance.
Eventually, Damon realized the only way to get Ellen off his back was to pick up the phone and make that call… And Stephanie said yes!
And, when Stephanie started getting nervous before that first date (Think about it, there is a lot of pressure when your parents are friends!) Nancy stuck to her guns… And it wasn’t so bad after all!