ISSUE FEATURED
WEDDINGS PLANNING
RESOURCES ISLAND
DIRECTORY PLANNING
CHECKLIST
September-October 2010
Elisha Smith Beginnings Island commuters: The daily trek across the water
Spring-Summer Home & Garden 2010
Harmony on the plains A sense of belonging Emily Post, in her garden Your Vineyard Home A backyard symphony Getting rid of skunk smell Dr. Seussland on Martha’s Vineyard Inside a pro’s wine cellar
Martha’s Vineyard Island Weddings & Celebrations 2010
Photographer Randi Baird captured this joyful moment near the Edgartown Lighthouse during Monica Becerra and Bernard Baez’s nuptials on May 31, 2009.Taking the plunge
On a balmy September day last year, Island native Nell Coogan and Anthony Carestia took their vows at Vineyard Haven’s Owen Park, and immediately after walked down to the dock and jumped in the harbor.
Brides traditionally dance with their fathers on their wedding day, but Nell’s dad Ed passed away in 2001. Ed Coogan loved the Vineyard, especially Owen Park and sailing on his sloop Welwyn, so his family spread his ashes in Vineyard Sound between East and West Chop. Nell decided right then that whomever she married would have to be willing to take a wedding-day plunge. “If I couldn’t introduce my dad – who was the most amazing dad – to my husband in person, then I’d have to marry a man who would be willing to meet him in a different way.”
Nell met Anthony in 2002, and he was game to meet Ed with a splash. “We ended up only telling a few people,” Nell says, “so we caught many off guard, but it was fantastic. The water was warm, my father’s soul was in that water, and it was perfect!”