Locally grown love
Ever since the 1940s, when Al Moore’s great-grandfather fell in love with the Vineyard and bought a house in West Tisbury, the Island has been a special, year-round place. He and Kayla Oursler have been regular visitors for years.
The home, a farmhouse originally built in the late 1800s, now belongs to Al’s great-aunt and uncle, and it is the place where he and Kayla chose to marry. The ceremony took place on the front lawn, which sits on a hill overlooking a large meadow of long grasses with the ocean in the distance. Cocktails were served in the adjacent garden, followed by dinner and dancing beneath a tent on the lawn near the ceremony site.
Guests stayed at inns in Oak Bluffs and Vineyard Haven. “The Narragansett House and the Island Inn were popular,” Al said. “Destination Insider handled guest booking and were a wonderful resource for us throughout the process.”
Kayla’s friend Morgan Boszilkov, who founded Natural Bridals in Atlanta, Ga., designed her wedding gown. The collection is made with fabrics such as organic linen and hemp, and the overall supply chain and production is as environmentally responsible as possible.
Floral designer and Island grower Krishana Collins created Kayla’s bouquet, and bridesmaids helped with table arrangements using flowers from Krishana’s garden. Sunflowers were prominent in the arrangements and all the flowers were native to the area. “The spring growing conditions forced Krishana to supplement from other sources,” Al said. “The arrangements were filled out with greens collected from around the property.” The table favors were a custom-blended herbal tea created by Heidi Schmidt of Vineyard Sound Herbs.
The signature drink was called Wedding White, a white ale home-brewed by the groom. “Home brewing is a hobby of mine, although producing five consecutive batches tested the limits of my production capability!” Al said. A family friend of Kayla’s designed the wedding invitations, beer bottle labels and wedding favor labels.
Music was another personal touch. Al’s sister Emily, part of a New York band called Ménage à Twang, wrote an original song for Kayla and Al. The band also performed at the rehearsal dinner at what was then Mediterranean in Oak Bluffs.
ShotXShot, a band made up of Al’s old friends and former bandmates from high school, played at the ceremony. Al is a member of a Boston band called the Resurrectionists and at the reception his bandmates played the first dance, Van Morrison’s Starting a New Life.
“Shuttle buses escorted those still standing to Offshore Ale House in Oak Bluffs for the after party,” Al said.
The honeymoon destination? Martha’s Vineyard — they stayed at the guest house on the farmhouse property where they were married.
The music, the location, the signature drink, the wedding gown and the flowers all made it the couple’s personal statement. Al said, “We tried to incorporate our friends and family into the creation of the wedding wherever possible.”
[Originally published in the May 13, 2011 issue of the Vineyard Gazette's Wedding Planner; reviewed for updates in 2012.]