Home is Lucy Leopold and Collins Heavener’s favorite place to be. Lucky for them, home is Slip Away Farm on Chappaquiddick, which Collins cofounded in 2013. It’s also a great place to host a wedding.
The couple became engaged on New Year’s Day 2019 and married in August that same year. “We knew we couldn’t spend a year talking about a wedding,” Lucy said. There was even talk of eloping at town hall, but ultimately they decided they wanted to throw a big, relaxed party for all their friends.
Though Lucy and Collins host a few large events at the farm each year, they knew that with nearly 200 guests coming to celebrate, they would need some assistance and enlisted KG Events & Design for day-of planning services. “There were things we didn’t know that we didn’t know,” Collins said. “Like about generators and taxi services. We wanted to feel at home, but obviously needed some help in achieving that.”
The rest of the work was done by the couple themselves, with help from family and friends. Collins, who in addition to managing the farm is also a furniture maker, built a barn that would serve as his new studio space and, on the night of their wedding, the site of a dance party. He also built long wooden tables and strung lights. Lucy, a teacher at the West Tisbury School who previously worked at Tea Lane Farm in Chilmark, planted and harvested flowers and made the bouquet and boutonnieres. Friend and chef Molly Levine cooked a dinner comprised of food grown almost entirely on the farm.
On the day of the wedding, Lucy walked down the aisle holding three mini bouquets tied as one, then gave one to each of their moms, as Collins’s mother had done on her own wedding day. The pair said their vows in a humor-filled ceremony officiated by Collins’s Uncle Pete. Later, they sliced into three custom Dairy Queen ice cream cakes: one with a Batman symbol, one with a scene from Tombstone, and one with a rendering of their cat George dragging away a squirrel.
In the end, they achieved exactly the sort of wedding they’d hoped for: “Just our everyday lives in summer on Chappaquiddick but with more friends,” said Collins. “And cleaner clothes.”
As for how others can achieve a similar celebration, Lucy’s advice is simple: “This Island is full of talented experts who will go to any length to make your wedding wonderful. Trust them, let them sweat the details, they’ll take care of you.”
DETAILS
Wedding Date: August 10, 2019
Photographer: Jocelyn Filley
Ceremony + Reception: Slip Away Farm
Day-Of Planner: KG Events & Design
Caterer: Molly Levine
Cake: Dairy Queen
Music: DJ Christopher Anderson
Flowers: Slip Away Farm + Tea Lane Farm
Rentals: Big Sky Tent and Party Rentals
Jewelry: Jean Kluver + Nettie Kent
Calligraphy + Stationery: Emma Nicholas Young – Letterpress Invitations + Emily Gui Printed Work
Libations: Vintage MV Wine & Spirits
Rehearsal Dinner Caterer: Bill Smith’s Martha’s Vineyard Clambake Co.
Honeymoon: Hawaii
Their Best Advice: Call on your friends, or, barring that, the experts. “There are so many talented planners, designers, chefs, florists, farmers, and caterers on this Island. If you already live here, you’re likely already friends with many of these people, and they’re going to be excited to help you plan your wedding. If you don’t live here, work with Kristen and KG Events & Design, they’ll introduce you to all these wonderful people.”
