I am super thrilled to share Natasha and Fang’s Lyman Estate wedding photography.
July 11, 2026
Our story began with a swipe on Hinge followed by a month-long wait for a response. Fang forgot he had messaged Natasha until one day, in late November 2022, she finally replied. The conversation just flowed from there. After chatting for only 24 hours, Fang asked Natasha to a coffee date (little did he know, she doesn’t drink coffee). Being the gentleman that he is, Fang volunteered to meet Natasha near her apartment in Quincy, MA, and asked her to recommend a good local spot. Being the coffee connoisseur that she is, Natasha suggested a cute place in Quincy, MICHIGAN, after a brief Google search. Fortunately for the couple, Natasha suggested more than one place, so Fang picked one that was actually in the Bay State. What Fang expected to be a low-commitment, hour-long first date over coffee lasted close to three hours, ending only because Natasha had to go to work. We both agreed to get together again, soon.
On March 18, 2025, Fang had a diamond in his pocket as they left for what seemed to be an ordinary dinner date night in Boston’s North End. Natasha was oblivious despite many clues, not even suspicious as they were led into a private room for two. She finally caught on when she raised her glass to say cheers, and Fang interrupted with, “Wait, I have something for us to toast to.” That is when he reached into his pocket, got on one knee, and asked Natasha if she would spend the rest of her life with him.
Natasha – For me it’s a tie. I really enjoyed our first look, getting to spend a few minutes alone together before the commotion of the day and just getting to be raw in our emotions. I also really enjoyed getting to hear Fang’s vows. I know he put a lot of thought into them and getting to hear his personal promises and statements to me meant the absolute world. Fang – Walking back up the aisle after our ceremony. It will forever be memorable as our first moment as husband and wife, and it kicked off a great party!
3.5 years
Absolutely perfect! The day and the execution of our vision couldn’t have been any better; we wouldn’t change a thing. Overall there weren’t that many stressful days leading up and we didn’t have any sleepless nights.
Start planning early and get as much done as soon as you can. Every timeline says to wait until so so months before to pick flowers or whatever, but there is no reason you can’t have all of that planned ahead of schedule. Natasha works a teacher’s schedule (so summers off). We did most of the planning last summer and over winter break, so that the last 2 months before our wedding we were just waiting for the day to arrive. Also, send invites with a clear RSVP by date. Then a week from the deadline, text/call the people you haven’t heard from and gently remind them of the due date. We didn’t have a single late or missing RSVP out of 217 invites sent.
Look at multiple photographers’ websites and schedule a call with those you’re interested in before making a decision. This was a great way for us to see what styles and pricing different photographers offered and what matched with our vision. Also DO an engagement session with your photographer. This not only gave us wonderful couples photos to share with family/friends, but more importantly we got to know Greg before our wedding day, which made wedding day photos feel more natural. Also, make a shot list and share it with your photographer and those in the photos in advance. Include the names of the people in the photo (ex: Jane vs. MOB). This made our formal photos so efficient and organized!
My dress was from Vows Bridal in Watertown, MA. My mom wanted me to try it on because it had just been released. It was my second time dress shopping, so I systematically tried the dresses I liked on, starting with all fitted then all ballgowns to determine what silouette I liked. I got down to 2 final dresses (one fitted, one ballgown). Once I put the veil on with my dress, it was game over for the other one. I didn’t cry or get emotional. But I looked in the mirror and just felt like a bride, everything prior was like playing dress up.
Efficient, relaxed, and stress free. For reception/candid photos, in the best way possible, I barely noticed you were there. You and your team were extremely adaptable and accommodating for last minute photo additions.
We did a first look and loved it! Having a private moment between Fang and I allowed us to be real with our emotions and just let out whatever we were feeling. It also allowed us to do all formal photos before ceremony which was necessary given our tight timeline, due to ceremony and reception being at two different locations.
Have a point person who knows all the wedding party and family members, to gather the needed people for each photo.
Make sure they know the timeline and designate someone to help you stick to it. Starting 5 minutes behind on one item can quickly snowball into 30 minutes behind on your day. Also, make sure your wedding party is aware of which photos they will be needed for and what time they will be taking photos.
Have detail shot items pre-organized. I set out our photographer copies of our save the dates and invites so our photographer could easily capture those when the time was right.
The Lyman Estate – Nicole Skarbek was our contact person and she was so great! She coordinated with our vendors for arrival times so we didn’t have to. She also made sure our caterer prepared us a plate of appetizers just for us to eat; and when we got pulled into photos after taking two bites, she got the caterers to make a new plate so we could actually enjoy each of the appetizers we picked out.
Boston Catering and Events – Bianca Lanza was a dream on wedding day! We had 2 guests wanting to switch tables and Bianca immediately stopped what she was doing and took care of the situation so we didn’t have to, resulting in very happy guests.
Natasha – I was most nervous about saying my vows. Because we decided to memorize them, I thought I might get too nervous day of and forget or mess up the order or something. So I wrote a bullet point version to be able to glance at during my vows, that I ended up not even needing because I didn’t even look at it once.
Fang – As someone who has never danced and has no sense of rhythm, I was most nervous about our first dance. We took lessons in the months leading up to our wedding, but I worried that I would forget everything as soon as we stepped into a ballroom filled with 120 people – all while trying to not step on Natasha’s dress. Although you won’t be seeing me on Dancing with the Stars anytime soon, our first dance turned out perfectly fine! Much to my surprise, all my nerves faded as soon as the music started, and I found myself focusing entirely on my new wife; it felt no different than dancing in an empty room.
Take the mindset of on wedding day “it is what it is” very early. We planned for perfection, but always reminded ourselves that it will be what it will be come wedding day. Knowing things won’t go perfectly and embracing that mindset allowed us to be so relaxed and enjoy the whole wedding day. It helped to step back and realize the most important thing is our marriage itself.
Plated dinner. Guests chose from Pan-seared halibut, Pepper-seared Filet Mignon, and Pesto Pasta Primavera
We danced to “Rockin’ Years” by Porter Union for our first dance as husband and wife. We both love country and wanted to waltz. Natasha danced to “Butterfly Kisses” by Bob Carlisle for the Father-daughter dance. She grew up dancing with her dad to this at father-daughter dances so it was a perfect full circle moment. Fang and his mom danced a Chinese song that translates to “The Moon Represents My Heart” by Teresa Teng.
