Nantucket Weddings Unveiled

You have selected the perfect wedding dress and now you need to find the perfect shoes! You want comfort, style and something appropriate for those Nantucket beach portraits. Nantucket Island is known for it’s own style guidelines. Flip flops & Jack Rogers are everywhere…and we found some perfect for your wedding day too. Take care of your something blue with Vineyard Vines Bay Blue leather whale flip flops.  Exclusive Nantucket Red Jack Rogers only available at Murray’s can be worn long after your wedding day. Looking to make a serious statement with something out of the ordinary? Visit Vanessa Noel for both traditional and statement making shoes right on Centre Street. And you can never go wrong with a strappy embellished sandal or of course Manolo’s are always in style! Here are a few of our favorites.

Top Row Left to Right: Exclusive Nantucket Red Jack Rogers, available at Murray’s Toggery Shop: Manolo Blahniks, Photo by Kristina Ransom.

Middle Row: Both shoes available at Vanessa Noel.

Bottom Row: Strappy Sandles, Photo by Brea McDonald: Vineyard Vines Puzzle Whale Leather Flip Flops in Bay Blue.

Something Old…..every bride ponders her ’something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue’ – we received a GREAT tip from a past Nantucket bride, Melissa, who was married this September on the island.  From Melissa:

“for my something old, I glued two pennies to the bottom of my shoe.  One with the year that I was born, and one with the year that my husband was born.  It made for great photos, and when my family and friends saw the photos after the big day, my phone rang off the hook.  A lot of people were not aware I did that, and they thought it was a fun idea.”

Thanks for sharing Melissa!

If you read the blog on a regular basis you are familiar with the talents of Sara from Griffin-vites Stationery. Her custom water color art translates so beautifully into Nantucket weddings. Her creations are a work of art and have a unique style all their own. Sara created, from scratch, a custom design for the Style Me Pretty shoot this past fall. Here is what she shared about her design process.

“The idea of creating a stationery suite that focused around a chic farm wedding was appealing and unique. The image of the rooster stood out to me at very first glance of our inspiration board, and provided a solid design foundation from which to work. I gathered my illustration concepts around those things that were bird-related, but could also be found on a farm; roosters, feathers, a nest with eggs, etc. I thought it might be fun to incorporate a nice graphic detail on each paper piece as well, tying all items together, from start to finish…. a sort-of rusted chicken wire provided just the look I was hoping for.”

Photo By Brea McDonald Photography

Incorporating her original watercolor artwork onto high-quality textured papers. The invitation suite was accented with an illustrated hand-lined envelope and rustic twine & feather embellishment.  The vow booklets for bride and groom each featured half of a nest illustration, that when held together formed one complete nest and were bound with rustic twine tassels.  The unique vow booklets are one of Sara’s signature custom items, offering the newlywed couple a keepsake of their words exchanged during the wedding ceremony.  Thin place card paper ‘ribbons’ featured the tiniest of rooster illustrations, also found on the table numbers and menu cards.  The paper ribbons with hand-notched ends, displayed guests’ names, printed in pale blue and were tucked perfectly into the miniature nest favors at each place setting.

Photos By Brea McDonald Photography

Photo By Brea McDonald Photography

Sara’s designs were a huge hit with many comments on how fantastic the roosters were. Who knew a rustic wedding could be so chic!

Robin lefts us a commented that said:
This stationery suite is beautiful!! The attention to detail is amazing, lining the envelopes to look like chicken wire! So unique! It’s the little details that really tie an event together and if guests received these invites in the mail they would know instantly that they were in for a rustic but elegant wedding that was going to be filled with thoughtful details!

A newly engaged (Nantucket) bride-to-be who is planning her destination wedding on island wrote us a note about the cobblestones.  Julia’s question is usually one left to be pondered by the bridesmaids and their heels.  She asks ‘how do we keep our shoes from being scuffed as we walk in town from our ceremony to our reception location?”

Well, the simple answer of course, is be careful where you walk.  It is easy to get caught up in the cobblestones.  However, we did find a little trick (and we know it sounds funny, but trust us) – you can take the inside of a banana peel to the leather of your groom’s shoe, then buff with a paper towel.  Voila -any mark or scuff disappears.

This week we talked about some fabulously fun, colorful and stylish shoes that brides are wearing. We also touched on how to keep guests comfortable during your outdoor ceremony. Well what about you and your shoes at that outdoor ceremony! If you are getting married on a breathtaking Nantucket beach or a well manicured lawn chances are your new favorites heels will sink.

Consider these options:
A woman can never have enough pairs of shoes so treat yourself to a second pair! It’s likely that you won’t even see your shoes under your wedding dress so you can go any direction you like. Purchase a pair with a thicker heel or wedge to wear down the isle and save that other pair for those shoe photos we all love so much.

Try walking on your toes if you simply can’t imagine wearing anything but your new Jimmy Choos. If you decide to do this, be sure you do a test run and get a shoe that has a strap in the back. Wearing a slip on won’t give you the stability you need to pull that shoe out if it does end up stuck. Try to avoid any aisle walking mishaps by testing it out first.

Another option would be to create a walkway for everyone to utilize. Putting down small throw rugs or constructing a wooden walkway could also save you and guests from sinking in the sand or grass. Talk to your wedding planner about how to construct something like this to plan accordingly.

Either way you want to make sure you feel confident and stress free when you walk that isle!

Photo courtesy Brea McDonald Photography

We received a question from a Nantucket bride getting married next May on the island.  Her question was was in regards to wedding traditions – and after a little research, this is what we found.

The question was “is the something old, new, borrowed and blue a tradition that brides still carry on and how can I incorporate that in to my wedding day?”

A great question that we feel is totally dependent on the bride, her family, and their family customs.  Many brides do still carry on the traditions by having things like a blue embroidered label added in their wedding dress, the date of their wedding rhinestoned in blue on the bottom of their shoes, borrowing a family handkerchief to wrap the bridal bouquet….the list goes on and on.

The tradition of something old, new, borrowed and blue comes from an old English rhyme “Something Olde, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue, A sixpence in your Shoe” and the four objects that the bride adds to her wedding outfit or carries with her on the big day are just good luck charms. These are the little tokens of love your mother, sister, other relatives, and attendants may give you (although you can give them to yourself, too). Something old represents continuity; something new offers a bright outlook for the future; something borrowed symbolizes borrowed happiness; something blue stands for purity, love, and fidelity; and a sixpence in your shoe is a wish for good fortune and prosperity, although this remains largely a British custom.

Meghan and Darryl were married on a beautiful sunshine filled day on Nantucket. The elements of their wedding stood out to us from the very start and we couldn’t resist showcasing their entire wedding.

Preparations took place at the new White Elephant residence. Meghan’s hair was done on site by Darya Salon and make-up by Lizzie from Beauty By The Sea.

Transportation to St. Mary’s church was provided by Cranberry Transportation for the bridal party and the bride and her parents arrived in the Highland Drivers 1964 Princess.

Flowers and Decor were done by Dawn Kelly and her team at Soiree Floral.

Photography by Brea McDonald Photography

Now onto the photos….. we are only getting started so stay tuned for many more great details & behind the scenes planning from this Nantucket Wedding!

Cheers erupt from the bridal party as Meghan shows off her finished look.

These three nearly stole the show as they walked down the isle together.

A special moment for every wedding, when they couple sees one another for the first time.

So happy!! As they drive away as husband and wife.