Lizzie Collector and Jack Carroll wanted a long engagement. The more time the better to work on the project of a lifetime: hand-making nearly everything for her intimate Island wedding.
Not everyone might be up to creating their own invitations, menus, escort cards, bar ladder shelves, and signage, but Lizzie is crafty by trade. She and Jack met on the set of TV’s The Good Wife, where he was an assistant director and she worked in costuming. “I love having projects, and I saw this as just a really big one that I had a long time to work on,” she said. It was a labor of love in the best way.
The couple chose to marry on the Vineyard, where Jack has been visiting with his family since he was a kid. “It’s always been a special place for him. And now it’s a special place for both of us,” said Lizzie.
Because the pair was living in New York City, they did most of their location and vendor scouting online. The Captain R. Flanders House felt right immediately. “I feel like on the Vineyard you can either go beachy and nautical or rural,” she said, “and we definitely wanted rural.”
Many of their friends and family members would be meeting for the first time at the wedding, including the bride's and groom's fathers, so they wanted the day to feel loose and unstructured, with plenty of time and space for people to connect. But they soon found out they needed some amount of organization to make the day flow smoothly. Photographer "Jocelyn Filley was hugely helpful with helping us structure the actual wedding day and figuring out when to do our photos, first dance, cake cutting," said Lizzie.
Other vendors also went above and beyond. Debbie White at Seaside Celebrations hand-crafted vines with Lizzie for the tent poles and helped set up a tent for the rehearsal dinner at the last minute when it started to rain. Buckley’s Gourmet Catering prepared Jack's famed vinaigrette recipe and served it alongside skirt steak.
The result was an elegant, rustic, and personal wedding – albeit one with some hectic moments. The weather was unpredictable; Lizzie came down with a cold; she ordered bulk flowers for the tables but ran out of time to put them in vases and had to call on her bridesmaids to finish the job.
Even so, if she had to do it again, she wouldn't change a thing. “It was magical,” Lizzie said.
details
Date: May 27, 2017
Ceremony + Reception: The Captain R. Flanders House
Photographer: Jocelyn Filley
Caterer: Buckley’s Gourmet Catering
Cake + Dessert: Kramer’s Cakes + Pie Chicks
Music: Self-made playlist
Tech Support: Esposito Productions
Flowers: Morrice Florist
Tent + Party Supplies: Seaside Celebrations Tent & Party Rentals
Hair: Emily Makenzie
Accommodations: Harbor View Hotel
Post-Wedding Brunch: 7a Foods
Honeymoon: French Riviera
Their Best Advice: Guide your guests around the Island. “I’d hate for someone to come to a wedding in Chilmark and not know the beauty of Edgartown. Or vice versa.”
