Martha’s Vineyard Wedding from Kristen Leigh Conklin + Desiree Spinner Events

Dawn Strong
April 26, 2013
Categories: Casual

There’s just something about a Martha’s Vineyard wedding that can’t be replicated elsewhere. Maybe it has a little something to do with the breathtaking scenery and beautiful traditions steeped into the island’s history… the exact something that drew these two sweeties to Edgartown to host their nautical-inspired soiree. Styled to perfection by Desiree Spinner Events and featuring beautiful blooms from Sayles Livingston Design, it’s Martha’s Vineyard perfection, all captured in pretty, pretty images by Kristen Leigh Conklin. See every last one in the full gallery.

Can’t get enough of this beautiful day? Soak in this film from Zinnia Films. It’s amazing.

Colors

Seasons

Summer Weddings

Settings

Estate Weddings Tented

Styles

Modern Whimsical

From the Bride… Brant came out to Martha’s Vineyard for the first time over Labor Day 2011, which is when I normally rent a cottage for myself and whatever friends I can scramble together to stay with me. Brant came out for a few days and fell in love with the island. As a native of Montana, he had no exposure to the beauty of New England summers, except for what he had read about in books and seen in films. The beauty of the island that time of year astonished him, and so the day after we got engaged, when I asked him where he wanted us to get married, his immediate response was “On the Vineyard.”

So, on September 22, 2012, Brant and I married at St. Elizabeth’s and had an outdoor reception down the street at a private home overlooking the harbor. After a fun welcome clam bake at Seafood Shanty the night before, we woke up Saturday to overcast weather. Our first look photos at the harbor had a cloudy backdrop, but at least it wasn’t raining.

As I waited to walk through the church door, the most magical thing happened — the clouds parted and the sun started glowing against a clear blue sky! When the doors opened, the bright light shined on my back creating an almost halo-type effect as I walked down the aisle with my father. It was magical.

After the wedding we walked over to our reception. It was more beautiful than I had ever dreamed. Not only was I blown away by the amazing styling, but being on the water with the perfection of a New England Indian Summer day put me in a complete state of euphoria. Most of all, it made us so happy to see so many of our friends from different places and times in our lives come together and develop new friendship through the wedding weekend. Many had never previously met, so it meant so much to us that everyone became such fast friends. We danced all afternoon into the evening — almost everyone was on the dance floor the ENTIRE time! What a bizarre scene it must have been for an outsider to see all these people dancing in the middle of the afternoon!

We ended the night with a sparkler exit — using sparklers, our guests created a tunnel of light as we ran up the driveway and off to our afterparty. It was truly a magical end to a magical day. Six hours passed in a blink. I’ll admit I was a bit sad as I got ready for bed that night and I turned to Brant and asked if we could do it all over again. I remember he smiled, laughed a little bit, and agreed that it was the best day of his life too, and reminded me that what made it so special was that its a once-in-a-lifetime event and that type of magic could never be recreated. True. I have come to realize that we don’t need to do it agin to relive that day because months later, whenever I look at our wedding photos or reminisce with friends about that day, I get the joy of revisiting that day in my memory and that dizzying feeling of euphoria quickly returns.

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