Alice Muglia and Bill Russo met on Election Night in 2012, when she was working for President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign and he was working for Vice President Joe Biden. They were friends for years before they started dating in 2018.

Two years after their first date, in the midst of another election, the couple were married in a small ceremony in the field outside the Muglia family’s home in Chilmark. The couple, both working for the Biden campaign, had been living on the Island since the Covid-19 pandemic started in March, and they had planned to get married there in a 200-person wedding in July. While they postponed the bigger celebration until 2021, they didn’t want to wait to say their vows.
“It was really important to us that we still get married, regardless of what it looked like,” Alice said.

The intimate ceremony included just five immediate family members who either quarantined together or were tested before the ceremony. (Distant family and friends were able to join remotely via Zoom.) Lizzy Plapinger, a recording artist known as LPX and Alice’s close friend, was the only non-family member to attend – she wrote a song for the couple and sang Alice down the aisle. Blush and white flowers from Aubrey Maria Designs filled the bride’s bouquet and an archway that framed the intimate ceremony.

While the wedding day wasn’t what they envisioned, the smaller ceremony featured special touches, such as a dinner of chicken Parmesan and spaghetti from Lexie Roth of Goldie’s Rotisserie (favorite foods that aren’t ideal for dressy occasions, Alice noted) and a Funfetti cake homemade by the bride with help from her brother. The next morning, the couple danced their first dance in their pajamas.

“It’s not something I ever would have chosen, and it happened because of the pandemic, and it really couldn’t have been more lovely,” Alice said. The months following their wedding were filled with more happy moments: the couple celebrated an election victory, returned to Washington, D.C., and welcomed a son, Will.

In the end, their wedding provided a much appreciated respite exactly 100 days before Election Day. “It was very busy, but we had incredible colleagues, and we were able to fully unplug that day,” Alice said, though she admitted to sending an email right before she walked down the aisle. “We were able to focus on each other. The campaign was important, but so was our relationship.”

Details

Wedding Date: July 26, 2020
Ceremony + Reception: Private Home
Photographer: Jocelyn Filley
Wedding Planner: Plan It Martha’s Vineyard
Caterer: Goldie’s Rotisserie
Cake: Homemade Funfetti Cake
Music: LPX
Flowers: Aubrey Maria Designs
Hair + Makeup: Sea Spa Salon
Wedding Attire + Jewelry: Vera Wang + Monique Lhuillier + Indulgence Jewelers + Berlinger Fine Jewelry
Their Best Advice: Plan ahead and communicate with your guests early. “We sent a save-the-date email about nine months before the wedding was supposed to happen.”