A Fall Wedding on Martha’s Vineyard from Jennifer Langdon Photography

Abby Capalbo
September 13, 2013
Categories: Do-It-Yourself Inspired, Nautical, Real Weddings

New England weddings hold a special place in my heart. I tied the knot along its sandy shores, so when I see a Bride do the same, I feel like we are kindred spirits. This lovely lady took her love for her summers spent on Martha’s Vineyard, and whipped up an affair I am positive everyone is still talking about. Thanks to Jennifer Langdon Photography, we can keep the party going right here.

Colors

Seasons

Fall Weddings

Settings

Beach Weddings Religious Institution Tented

Styles

Nautical

From the Bride… Spending my summers on Martha’s Vineyard since I was a child, I always felt a sense of peacefulness and happiness on the island. Something about the ocean, the fishing piers, the laid back island vibe, and most importantly my family’s long history there always made this a special place. My father’s family had grown up summering on the island, making their home in a small community known as West Chop, and by the time I was born his parents had become year-round islanders and more than a handful of my aunts, uncles and cousins had become deep rooted in this West Chop community. West Chop became a place where I would spend many of my summers visiting as a child and when my now husband, and I started dating years ago this was one of the first places I wanted to show him and have him experience. When he proposed in November of 2011, this became a no-brainer for where we wanted to have our wedding. The community feel of the property really exuded the atmosphere that we wanted to provide our guests with. We wanted everyone to feel like they were on “island-time” hiding away in this small and isolated community.

For my wedding style I wanted to convey the same natural and effortless look that I loved about West Chop. I ended up choosing an Amsale wedding dress that I immediately fell in love with that made me feel both bridal and relaxed at the same time (it even had pockets!). To make the dress my own, I added a sash to it that my seamstress sewed in for me. For bridesmaid dresses, I went with very simple (and non-bridal looking) silk, elastic waist dresses from Joie. My goal was to have all of the girls feel as comfortable as I did in my dress. For the boys, my husband chose basic khakis, white shirts and navy blazers that were accompanied with Vineyard Vines ties.

To extend this same style into our venue and decor, I wanted to keep my flower arrangements very simple. We chose to go with whites, light pinks and peach and then add a pop of hot pinks and other brights to help add some warmth. We also wanted to incorporate some personal touches and share our love for Martha’s Vineyard with our guests, so I tried to do so by using rocks that I had collected along the beach (with some help from my fiance, friends and family) as the place cards and table numbers. I thought this helped bring a unique and natural feeling to the reception (and it also was a great way to save money).

Other DIY projects that we did included things like the wedding programs, menu board, custom paper straws and mason jar wedding gifts and their hang tags. Although I had been cursing at myself leading up to the wedding taking on too many DIY projects, I must admit that on my wedding day it was so fun to see all of these projects come to life. Not only did it give the reception a personal touch, but it also was a fun reminder to be able to look around and think back on the hours spent with my husband, friends and family putting these all together. I definitely would recommend this to future brides; not only do these projects help save you money, but also allowed for some special memories with friends and loved ones shared over a bottle of wine to create those irreplaceable personal touches on your wedding day.

The day ended up coming together perfectly and it truly could not have been a better day, or representation for that matter, of my husband and me. Everything from the trolley ride to and from the church to the warmth of the small West Tisbury Congregational Church to the perfect fall crisp weather during the cocktail hour where guests sipped dark and stormies out of mason jars to the insanely talented (and fun!) band we had that kept every single guest on their feet all night, helped make this the effortlessly perfect day that we were longing for.