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Kristen Leigh Conklin

1.1.13

Tim & Amanda

Ceremony + Reception: Lambert’s Cove Inn & Restaurant

They met just before graduating from the University of Maryland. They began careers in finance. They made a nest in New York’s Greenwich Village. And on a wintry day atop Montmartre, overlooking Paris, the City of Love, he popped the question and she said yes. What could be more romantic?

Answer: A wedding on Martha’s Vineyard, naturellement, on the isle where Tim Hall and Amanda La Marca first vacationed together, back in the summer of 2007. They lodged in kitschy Oak Bluffs, biked about the Island, and scarfed down lobster rolls. “Lots and lots of lobster rolls,” says Amanda. The beachy, outdoorsy twosome hasn’t missed a summer on-Island since.

Tim and Amanda passed on hiring a wedding planner and became do-it-yourselfers, with utmost enthusiasm. On the first of eight – yes, eight – whirlwind planning trips to the Island over sixteen months, the couple booked the first of eight – yes, eight – venues they scouted for the ceremony and reception. Tim was smitten with Lambert’s Cove Inn in West Tisbury at first sight, and in the end, they settled on its elegant country environs.

Since the vast majority of the 125 wedding guests had never been to the Island before, Tim and Amanda gave a well-rounded introduction. Their wedding website was a veritable Chamber of Commerce, chock-full of free-time suggestions like “bike to our favorite beach” (State Beach). They hosted the rehearsal dinner inside at Nancy’s Restaurant in Oak Bluffs, arguably the couple’s favorite town. The laid-back indoor-outdoor eatery sits alongside the town’s lively harbor, and besides: “We think they have the best lobster rolls,” says Amanda. Afterward the couple feted all of their guests with a cocktail party on the deck.

The following day the scene moved up-Island and glammed up for the main event. Everything took place al fresco. Fortunately, Mother Nature bestowed a wedding gift of warmth and sunshine – in early June, no less, when she’s just as likely to sprinkle bare-shouldered brides with goose bumps and raindrops.

While the women tarried in hair and makeup sessions, photographer Kristen Leigh Conklin found some extra pre-ceremony shooting time on her hands and a merry band of game groomsmen, dapper in custom-made suits. “We were in a really good mood,” says Tim. Borrowing some period walking canes they had found on display at the inn, Tim and his men morphed into myriad offbeat poses. Later, the full wedding party would get into the act for the post-ceremony shoot at nearby Lambert’s Cove Beach.

The inn’s formal garden was in full June glory for the wedding ceremony. Perhaps the blooms were charmed by the romantic rendition of Beatles tunes by acoustic guitarist Eric Johnson. Tim’s uncle officiated, licensed by the Commonwealth as a celebrant for a day.

Pinned to Amanda’s bouquet of fat peonies was an old workplace photo ID that had belonged to her grandmother. “She passed away when my mom was only twenty years old. It was important for both of us to include her memory in the wedding.” The photo also played the part of “something old” in the bridal tradition of old, new, borrowed, and blue.

The poolside cocktail reception featured a signature drink that, at quick glance, could pass for a benign glass of water. In truth, it was a French gimlet, though they redubbed it “The Paris Engagement,” harkening back to that special moment on Montmartre. “The name was a bit cheesy,” Amanda confesses.

For the tented dinner, guests found their place cards hanging from a clothesline – another whim of the do-it-yourselfers. Tim created the number cards for the dinner tables, each with a photo of himself and his bride at a corresponding age of innocence. Family members and friends also got into the DIY act, crafting signage, décor, and – because love is sweet – a penny candy bar.

Amanda and Tim worked closely with Lambert’s Cove Inn chef Max Eagan to create the dinner menu, featuring cauliflower soup with white truffle oil to start, followed by a choice of grilled swordfish or steak. Amanda still swoons over the results: “Max was amazing. Our guests still talk about the food. I can honestly say the swordfish was the best fish dish I’ve ever had.” The wedding cake, crafted by Martha’s Vineyard Gourmet Café & Bakery in Oak Bluffs, was supremely beachy, decorated with seashells, dune grasses, and fencing, and crowned with Adirondack chairs.

The gathering thoroughly let loose well into the night to the sounds of the renowned Sultans of Swing. “That was the only vendor we worked with that we knew from experience,” says Amanda. “They were a must.” Revelers refueled on late-night doughnuts, delivered fresh and warm all the way from Back Door Donuts in Oak Bluffs. Tim and Amanda discovered the popular nighttime queue on their first trip to the Vineyard and made it a lasting vacation must-do, right up there with lobster rolls.

Guests reclaimed sufficient appetite for a next-day brunch at a house Tim’s grandfather had rented. Amanda reports with satisfaction: “Everybody already wants to come back to the Island next summer.”

Details

Photographer: Kristen Leigh Conklin
Rehearsal Dinner + Welcome Party: Nancy’s Restaurant & Snack Bar 
Wedding Coordinator: Corinna Black  
Brunch: Oak Bluffs rental house 
Cake + Brunch Caterer: Martha’s Vineyard Gourmet Café & Bakery
Flowers: Flowers on the Vineyard by Louise Sweet 
Rentals: Seaside Celebrations Tent & Party Rentals + Araujo Brothers portable toilets
Ceremony Music: Guitarist Eric Johnson
Reception Music: Sultans of Swing 
Transport: Martha’s Vineyard Sightseeing 
Spa Services: Panache Salon