September 19, 2015
Ceremony: Private Home
Reception: Farm Neck Golf Club
How do you keep a big wedding intimate? For Rochelle Ballard and Shelley Stewart, the answer was simple: include everyone.
That meant three celebrations in addition to the wedding, a twenty-person bridal party, and lots of personal touches. For most, that might be overwhelming. But Rochelle and Shelley strategize for a living in New York City (she in digital media at Condé Nast; he at the management consulting firm McKinsey & Company). They knew how to get the job done.
The two met ten years ago through mutual friends and reconnected at Columbia Business School in 2012. Shelley’s family has a home at Farm Neck with ties dating to the 1960s. From her first visit, Rochelle saw why the Island was a second home to her future husband. “Driving down Circuit Avenue…and seeing people he knew every step, it felt very intimate and a very special place with our friends,” Rochelle said. The family home overlooking Sengekontacket Pond, they decided, was a perfect place to tie the knot.
With 250 guests, the theme was clear: “Let’s party.”
Shelley and Rochelle welcomed guests with a barbecue and crab and crawfish boil at a rented home on Tashmoo. On Friday, Rochelle attended her bridal shower while Shelley and the boys headed out for a round of golf. Then it was off to the rehearsal, followed by dinner for one hundred at the Sailing Camp. “People are still talking about that dinner,” Shelley said. And that was before everyone headed to the bowling alley in Oak Bluffs, where the couple rented the lanes for the evening.
After the ceremony, New Orleans descended on Farm Neck. Out came the umbrellas for a second line parade. Shelley and Rochelle led the way on a golf cart, a speaker playing music off the back. “That was the spirit of the day – we were in the middle of the biggest party with everyone we loved,” Rochelle said. A Sunday brunch at Lola’s concluded the weekend.
“People say you won’t remember the day, but because we had a weekend of events and were hanging out, and family and friends were getting to know each other, it made the wedding day so much more special,” Rochelle said. “It felt more intimate because of it.”
Details
Wedding Planner: Gretchen Coleman-Thomas Weddings and Special Events + Quinn Savard Weddings & Events
Day-Of Coordinator: Hitched Planning + Floral
Photographer: Lauren Methia
Caterer: Farm Neck Golf Club
Cake + Dessert: Back Door Donuts + The Black Dog Bakery + Murdick’s Fudge
Music: Little Palmer + Olivia K and the Parkers + DJ Brian Henry
Flowers: Island Ambiance
Transportation: All Island Taxi
Tent + Party Supplies: Big Sky Tent & Party Rentals + Seaside Celebrations Tent & Party Rentals
Makeup: Sea Spa Salon
Guest Accommodations: Island Inn + Shearer Cottage
Rehearsal Dinner: Sailing Camp Park
Gifts + Favors: Martha's Vineyard postcards and magnets + Murdick’s popcorn + salt water taffy
Printing: Tisbury Printer
Honeymoon: St. Lucia
