Nautical Wedding On Shelter Island

Bride’s Comments: “Over the past three years, Peter and I have spent most of our time together on Shelter Island, either working on or sailing his Stevens 47 sailboat, Valfreyja. I think it was about two months into dating when I found myself helping fold the sails for the winter, in the pouring rain, wearing a bright red rain suit, that I realized that I must really like this guy. It also helped that a man on the next boat yelled to Peter, “if she’s out here in this weather helping you, she’s a real keeper!” So when it came to picking a location for our wedding, there was no question it would be on Shelter Island and the boat would need a starring role. When we visited Ram’s Head Inn, which has its own harbor and moorings, along with stunning views, amazingly good and understated elegance we knew we had found our venue.”

“When Peter proposed, again in the pouring rain, and again on the way to do something for the boat, I was in the middle of getting my MBA from Wake Forest University, working full time in Private Equity, and living in North Carolina. Therefore, my bandwidth and patience for wedding planning was very limited. I immediately enlisted the help of the wedding expert, Meredith Falk from GLDN Events. We had worked together on events in the past and I knew that I could trust her implicitly and wouldn’t have to micro-manage anything. I vaguely told her we wanted “sort of a Wes Anderson 1980’s Vintage Ralph Lauren feel” and sent her about four “inspo” pics – and with that little amount of information, Meredith took the reins. What is so special about the team at GLDN is that they took the time not only to get to know me, but to get to know Peter and understand what was most important to him – the music and helped him find the Atomic Funk Project that promised no Top 40 songs and kept the entire crew dancing until the very end. They also worked to incorporate Valfreyja and Peter’s vintage Dodge Pickup Truck into the timeline of the day, which took quite a bit of behind the scenes organization. I also can’t thank the Shelter Island Yacht Club enough for their help on the day of as, predictably, the weather was precarious for our trip into Dering Harbor.”

“This thoughtfulness also comes through in the care Meredith takes in selecting the right vendors to bring together a couple’s vision from our gorgeous flowers from NT Designs to the amazing rental company Smith Party Rentals that moved heaven and earth for us. Our photographer, Aria,  really understood the vibe and was totally up for the adventure while we got on about three different boats, wrangled unruly “pirates,” and ran around in my Grandmother’s vintage furs.”

“When preparing the timeline of events, Peter was adamant that he didn’t want to see me in “the big dress,” so it was a lot of fun getting to find two different looks for the day. When searching for dresses, I knew I wanted something really classic and the MillaNova Josephine dress was perfect, but if it wasn’t for the amazingly talented Beverly MacKay of Indian Trail, NC it would not have turned out so beautifully. She took the dress completely apart and retrofitted it to fit me absolutely flawlessly. For our pre-wedding pictures and “afterparty” dress, as soon as I saw the Milly splatter paint dress there was simply no other option. It was really fun incorporating my bridesmaid’s outfits with our vintage- nautical theme. I let my best friends choose their own, with a little guidance from the GLDN Team, they were executed perfectly. “