CURRENT 2008 ISSUE

Tips for Planning the Big Day

Story by Lauren Martin
Photos by Lisa Pyden, Mark Alan Lovewell, Nicole Friedler, Debbie Grant

The Great Outdoors      Details...Details

During her thirty years at the Steamship Authority’s Vineyard Haven ferry terminal, Bridget Tobin has seen a lot of wedding parties.

“It is not going to be your best man who misses the boat,” she says knowingly. He usually gets there the day before, if only for nine holes at Mink Meadows. “It’s more like the band.”

Bridget recalls an accident by the Bourne Bridge – a major access point to Cape Cod, and the road that leads to Woods Hole, where the ferry departs. “It delayed the band, and they missed their boat,” she says.

When they should have been in sound check, the band was in standby. And as anyone who ever took ferry bookings too casually knows, standby is an Island euphemism for purgatory – hours of watching other people head off to Island paradise while you sit in a vast parking lot, inhaling exhaust fumes and watery coffee, wondering if it’s too far to canoe (it is for most of us).

Now Islanders and regular visitors know that not all standbys are created equal – and the band in this case was considered an emergency. They went to the head of the line and were squeezed onto the next boat. “We’ve never had anybody miss the wedding because of us,” Bridget says cheerfully.

The essence of Bridget’s tale is simple. So simple that bridal couples may forget that some guests are not in the know about a simple fact:

Martha’s Vineyard is an island, a very popular island – particularly in summer – and there is no bridge and only so many ferries that make the trip from the mainland each day.

When traveling with your own vehicle, the only option is the Steamship Authority in Woods Hole; make your reservations early. There are other ferry tricks, besides appealing to Bridget and her co-workers: Island residents can make ferry reservations before the general public in January for the current year. You can also leave the car on the other side and just walk on a boat: year-round, the Steamship Authority operates from Woods Hole (no reservations are necessary for walk-ons), and the New England Fast Ferry runs from New Bedford. Seasonal passenger ferries leave from Falmouth, Hyannis, Nantucket, and Quonset Point, Rhode Island.

Remember that all of these boats operate “weather permitting,” when the seas are not too rough. But then there are mechanical problems that can sideline a boat and disrupt the rest of the schedule. So you could be on time for your reservation and find that the boat has been cancelled.

You may want to encourage some of your guests to fly. Cape Air operates from Boston, Providence, Hyannis, New Bedford, and Nantucket (service varies seasonally). And of course, this being Martha’s Vineyard, there are plenty of companies offering charter airplane service.

Once you’re on the Island, there are buses, taxis, and rental cars (book early in summer) to get around the six towns on the Island: Vineyard Haven (also called Tisbury), Oak Bluffs, Edgartown, West Tisbury, Chilmark, and Aquinnah (formerly known as Gay Head). Chappaquiddick, technically part of Edgartown, is almost another island, and once again, there is no bridge (the infamous bridge, made so by the senior U.S. Senator from Massachusetts, one Ted Kennedy, does not actually connect Chappy with Edgartown). Whether you’re sightseeing or staying there, you should know that the Chappy ferry stops its three-car, three-minute journeys around 11 p.m. or midnight, depending on the season.

For the wedding day’s events, bridal couples can book various forms of transport for themselves and their guests – think horse-drawn carriages, sailboats, speedboats, vintage cars, limos, tour buses, trolleys, and more. These are all handy, so long as you consider Island logistics. First, check that there is adequate parking at all your wedding locations. Second, remember that many roads on the Vineyard are dirt roads, so make sure the vehicles you’ve chosen can handle the terrain at your chosen sites. Third, if you are expecting guests to walk at all – say, down to the beach – consider elderly guests and plan for their assistance.

Finally, consider the titillating effect an Island wedding can have on your guests. It can make people forget the small stuff. Stuff like, say, driving back from the reception venue to pick up the bride and groom after their photo shoot.

“I always photograph the whole wedding party, then large groups, then prune down until I have just the couple,” explains photographer Anne Vose. “Once the three of us – the bride and groom and I – were alone at the East Chop Lighthouse, doing the sunset pictures. And I suspect someone was supposed to come back for us . . .”

Anne was lucky there was cell phone reception at the lighthouse in Oak Bluffs (don’t try this at the Gay Head Light). “It took us a while to get someone to answer their phone, and then it took what seemed like forever before they came to get us,” she says, laughing at the bride and groom stranded, away from their own reception. “I think everyone was having too good a time already.”

THE GREAT OUTDOORS

Many Vineyard weddings take place in part or wholly outdoors. Beaches, cliffs, beautiful backyards – the scenery is part of the Island’s attraction, and bridal couples want to exploit it. Excellent. But don’t leave your common sense about the outdoors at the ferry terminal. Wedding photographer Lisa Pyden brought home gorgeous photos from a wedding at a bride’s family home on Chappy – but several guests brought home poison ivy from the freshly mown field.

Sunburns are another common thing to bring home. Most people think about sunscreen when they go to the beach, but if any part of your day will be spent outside – on the sand or not – don’t forget to slather on the SPF.

Then there is the favor you really don’t want to send home with unsuspecting guests: Lyme disease. It comes from the bite of a tiny deer tick, and Martha’s Vineyard is a hotbed. The best defenses are tick checks and bug spray – even if it does exude a distinctly non-bridal odor.

DETAILS . . . DETAILS

The Vineyard attracts so many brides and grooms because, here, weddings can be whatever you want them to be: formal or informal, day or night, in a cottage or a mansion, in a chapel or historic church, on a beach or in the woods, intimate or sprawling, simple or extravagant.

What makes the Vineyard magical to those who know it can make it bewildering for those who don’t. Wedding planners may be worth their money because they know the most efficient and cost-effective ways to get what you want. But you can also do it yourself. The Island has excellent resources, from caterers to florists, from dressmakers for alterations to bands that will make any sort of music you like. Depending on how lengthy your discussions are with these folks, you may find out tidbits such as some towns require music to stop before 10 p.m.

The Vineyard also offers a variety of hotels, inns, and bed and breakfasts from which to choose. To get a block of rooms together, it’s probably easy to guess that you should make reservations early. Another way for family and friends to bunk together is by booking a house; houses for hire are tucked into some of the Island’s most beautiful niches, often costing less than a pack of hotel rooms. And some of these houses are idyllic spots to hold ceremonies and receptions.

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