Elopement vendors on Martha's Vineyard
Everything you need to know about hiring vendors for your elopement on the Vineyard
Okay guys, so you and your partner decided to elope to Martha’s Vineyard, you picked a date and you have a general idea of what you want. Now what? You need to put together your team of badass and reliable vendors that can make your visions come to reality. Do they have to have experience in elopement type events? How far in advance you have to book them? And more importantly; who do we hire?
The island is packed with weddings and elopements with the season packed into about 5 months. Everyone is busy and they can get booked up to a year and a half in advance. With that being said, you might want to start as soon as you’ve made the decision to get married on the island.
Have a general idea about what you want
First things first - you need to have some kind of an idea about your elopement and what you want, so that when you contact them you have an ideal date and a back up date, as well as a general idea of what you like and how you’d want your day to look (location, vibe, style, activities, etc.). For example, you want a laid back beach ceremony, live music when you walk down the aisle, a cake when you get back to your hotel, fall colors theme bouquet or a beautiful arch of flowers for the ceremony spot. Whatever it is you want, the vendors should get you, guide you, give you ideas and to understand what’s most important for you.
Hire locals
For so many reasons I stand beside this point. From my experience the vendors on the island are beautiful talented humans! They are hard working, passionate, skilled and they take pride in their craft. Secondly you are helping the local industry, economy and the small businesses. Everyone is probably a small business with roots here, sourcing local products and local labor is what you’ll be doing! Because the island is a seasonal place, the success of their business in the summer months sustain their life in the winter months when there is almost no income. If you picked Martha’s Vineyard as the destination for your elopement, you already know or have heard what this island is and what it has to offer. The sense of this beautiful community is one of the reasons it’s so special, so hiring locals will just give you that exact vibe. Everyone have already worked with everyone, people know each other and they’ll work well for your special day.
The vendors you need
ELOPEMENT PHOTOGRAPHER
My advice (and not because I am a photographer) is to hire your photographer first, looking for someone with experience in elopements. A photographer with experience in elopements gets it and really understands how to capture this style of wedding. . They know why you chose to elope over a bigger wedding, know what’s important for you and they are able to guide you because they understand how an elopement day looks. They’ll be able to walk you through all the steps and highlight some of the important things you’re missing out on. An elopement photographer has planning experience because often couples don’t hire a planner for a small event - they can suggest vendors, accommodation ideas, location scouting, help you with creating the timeline and so on. We know the best times for photos, best lighting and we have spent hours photographing other elopements, successfully telling their stories.
Truly, your photographer will be the most important vendor, so he/she shouldn’t be just a ‘vendor’. They will tag along with you the whole day, witness all the intimate moments, will sometimes sign as your legal witness, help you with your dress and they will help you to relax and remain stress free. So it’s important that you truly connect with them, love their work and they understand your vision and they see who you are as a couple. Picking your photographer shouldn’t be the cheapest deal out there if you want all of the above. Additionally, they should also care about the environment, respect the outdoor areas you pick, leave no trace and follow all the local rules.
Questions to ask them:
Do you have experience in elopements specifically?
Do you have experience in photographing in the location I picked, the best times there, traffic, winds, etc?
Can you help me in case of rain and terrible weather to come up with plan B and C?
Will you help me with the timeline and general guiding through this experience?
Photographers I recommend: I want everyone to have their dream elopement, so If you didn’t connect with me, I’m happy to suggest other awesome photographers from the island that might be a better fit for you. But … If you totally love my work and you want to make me part of your day - I’d be honored. I absolutely love elopements more than anything and I’ve photographed over 80 elopements on the island. People say I’m great to hang out with ( bragging here) so feel free to contact me and see if I’m your photographer.
Elopement Planner
Hiring a planner for your elopement is completely up to you. The most common situation when couples choose to hire a planner is when they have 20-25 guests and they don’t want to deal with the headaches that come with with logistics and planning - OR when they want everything to be booked for them and just come, get married and have a great time! Talking strictly about the island, there are a handful of planners that specialize in elopements and small intimate weddings. There are many websites advertising small events, there’s a difference in specializing in elopements and small events packages - two different things.
As an elopement photographer, I am helping the couples with recommendations for other vendors like the officiant, florist, stylist - scouting locations and coordinating the overall ceremony, making the timeline, giving advice needed and info about ferry, accommodations and other important logistics. You book everything and have the communication with them. The planner can be helpful if you have multiple guests and want help coordinating accommodations for them, transportation and catering - or if you have an elaborate set-up and the florist won’t help with that and if you prefer to have someone book everything for you.
Questions to ask them:
Do you specialize in elopements or have experience in planning elopements on the island?
Will you also book my ferry trips, help with rental cars if needed?
Do you offer officiating services?
Local Elopement planners recommendations:
My Vineyard Elopement: I worked most of my elopements with My Vineyard Elopement, they specialize 90% on elopements, helping hundreds of couples to elope on the island with ease and grace. Some of their elopement packages include a wedding ceremony, flower bouquet, live music and other amazing add on’s. Their experience of creating hundreds of elopements on the island will definitely help you be stress free and so to enjoy the celebration. I absolutely love working with My Vineyard Elopement and I would recommend from the bottom of my heart.
Plan it Martha’s Vineyard: Weddings and events planners covering both Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket. Other clients + vendors have told us that what sets us apart from other planners is our ability to listen to our clients, making each wedding special and reflective of the newlyweds. We absolutely hear your concerns about a growing guest list, budgeting goals, and even your future in-laws! The value of having a knowledgeable ally is without limit. Every event with them is a joy, stress free and they also offer elopement packages.
I have only worked with these two planners for elopements and can share recommendations based only on my experience. I’m sure there are more out there and when I collaborate with them I will add them to the list.
The officiant
Martha’s Vineyard shares the MA state laws for marriage, couples can be married by a member of their family, a friend, Justice of the Peace or a member of the clergy. I do recommend having someone close to you get ordained and officiate the ceremony as it can be so meaningful and special. If you don’t have any guests or still prefer a professional officiant, I recommend asking your photographer for recommendations and not getting lost or overwhelmed in the land of google, which will be a lot less personal and will be more difficult to get important questions answered. I strongly suggest you hire an officiant that you can connect with, understands your vision, flexible with your ideas and and is down with walking the extra mile on the beach to get the best possible location and moment possible! An officiant can really set the tone of your ceremony, so you don’t want someone who is just reading from a 10 min standard template. If you can have someone really personalize it and understand so clearly what you want and who you are - it will be much more personal, unique to you, meaningful and more romantic, you deserve that!
Questions to ask them:
What is the process for the ceremony, can they walk you through the steps?
Are they open to any of your cultural or religious traditions?
Are they comfortable hiking to your ceremony spot? What are the travel fees?
Do they have any recommendations on how to prepare for the ceremony, write your vows, etc?
Local officiants recommendations:
Jackie Kane from My Vineyard Elopement is creating the most amazing ceremonies, she will tailor all her ceremonies after unlimited consultations with you to create the right ambiance and personalized vows. She is my absolute top officiant choice AND she officiated my wedding! There isn’t one ceremony that doesn’t include tears of joy or laughter - it’s because of her ability to truly understand who you are as a couple. I believe love is universal. So no matter your gender, religious or spiritual orientation we welcome all couples to come and celebrate with us. I will tailor a ceremony that is tailored for you and your love."
Make-up and hair Stylist
When brides reach out to me, make-up and hair is one of top questions they have. Sometimes brides say they want to do it themselves, I tell them to sit back and have someone take care of it on their wedding day. With that said, it’s hard to pick the right choice for you if you can’t come to the island before to do a trial and you’re only able to see some images of their previous work. That’s why asking your photographer or planner about recommendations is important. If you don’t go to a salon, you’ll want your make up artist and hair artist to travel to your place, you want them to be familiar with outdoors and winds and any type of activities you might have part of your elopement day. If you go on a windy beach and then on a sailing trip around the island, you’ll want your hair to last in this conditions, right? They have to work with your style, your personality, understand who you are and what you want.
Questions to ask them:
Are they traveling to where you are staying and doing ‘hair & make-up’ on the site?
Can they provide touch up samples for later on the day that you can easily use to freshn’up?
Are they familiar what works with an outdoor ceremony and elopement and will their work last through all the outdoor challenges?
My favorite local Make- up artists: When it comes to make up I’m very particular as there were so many times where the make up didn't last or mistakes were made and the brides were disappointed. When it comes to impeccable technique, talent and experience I can’t speak highly enough about Monica Panait. She goes above and beyond for every bride, understands her needs and would do a 5am make up to work with her timeline. The idea that I play with color, light and shadow, gives me the opportunity to make women feel beautiful. And when you feel beautiful, you trust yourself and you feel you can overcome any obstacle and that you can conquer the world. Another recommendation is Vineyard Make up Artist, Nicoleta, a beautiful human that has a huge passion for make- up which is easily seen in her work. From delicate and elegant bridal makeup, to bold and edgy portfolio styles, I had the pleasure of practicing everything. It is my goal to make every client feel relaxed, confident and beautiful inside and out after our makeup session.
My favorite local hair stylists: Cia Bella- Talita Destefani is the person you want to have as part of your A team. She is extremely passionate about her craft and that is exactly what you want, someone who loves hair styling and is always investing in growing and learning and challenging herself. Other suggestions: Boucle Salon, Sea Spa Salon , Maggie’s. Hair by Lizzy Kent is another favorite - every time I’ve worked with her she amazed me with her talents!
elopement florist
One of my favorite parts of weddings - because who doesn’t like pretty flowers? There are so many florists, gardens and farms providing weddings with the most beautiful arrangements, but not everyone will rock the bridal bouquet or that beautiful arch you saw on Pinterst. Brides love dreaming about their bouquets and finding a florist that can execute your wildest dreams is important. When planning your bouquet with your chosen florist, it is essential to talk to them about your ceremony, especially if it’s an adventure type ceremony - on the cliffs, the beach etc. You want to make sure it lasts the whole day to endure any outdoor challenges. Also, how amazing is to have an arch full of your favorite flowers for your ceremony? Flowers add so much color and it feels so special to hold a bouquet.
Questions to ask your florist:
Some florists are focusing only on big events, so make sure you ask if they do only bridal bouquets.
Ask them what other ideas they have so you can add more flowers to your ceremony- arches, flower crowns, arrangements, etc
Can they create your bouquet light and easy to carry on all your outdoor adventures
Can they incorporate colors and flowers that will complement your dress but also the backgrounds where you are getting married?
My favorite local florists: Can’t stop talking and recommending enough Aubrey Maria Designs! Whenever she is the florist of one of my weddings or elopements I make a little happy dance because her work is stunning and I know everything will look amazing. Not only that she is extremely passionate and talented, but she cares so much about every bouquet and every bride’s vision. Sometimes when I arrive at a site I’m blown away by her work and the brides are always over the moon.
Other florists I stand behind for and have successfully collaborated with are: Morrice Florist- (a beautiful flower boutique that is very familiar with elopements), Tea Lane Farm, Flowers by Donaroma’s.
The caterer/ cake
You might not have 150 guests, but you still have to eat and have a beautiful wedding cake. For food - You can go to a restaurant, have a chef come to your rental or have a delicious meal delivered to your room. Often couples choose to have a small cake delivered to their hotel room to enjoy after the ceremony and dinner because the ‘cutting of the cake’ tradition is a special moment worth having, even in an elopement!
Some of my favorite local vendors for catering/cake: Cake by Liz, Val’s Cake, Morning Glory Farm, The Black Dog Bakery.
LIVE MUSIC
Some couples don’t even consider this because they don’t know they can have options. And there are a lot of options! Did you know that you can have a solo guitar player, violinist or a flute player? How amazing it is to have your first dance on your favorite song played live, or walk down the aisle, on the beach on the sounds of a violin? Even if it’s just the two of you, there is something so romantic on having a live performer.
Local artists recommendations: Mike Benjamin, Vineyard Violin, Eric Johnson- guitarist, solo, Ed Rogers- Trumpeter, Alex Karalekas- quitar.
How far in advance you need to hire your vendors
If you really found “the one” vendor, you might want to contact them as soon as possible, as they might already be booked for bigger wedding or other events. Even in the elopement world you want to hire your team fast especially on the island where vendors are limited and packed with events over 5 months. The average is 4-6 month is advance, but if you are lucky and you just decided to elope you can do it in less than two weeks. If the budget is an issue ask your vendors for payment plans, but lock the dates with them and sign the contract.
Ask the vendors that you already have booked to help you with suggestions if your preferred vendor is already booked. Everyone is here to help and I like to think that nobody will hold information. Keep in mind what are the “hottest” months for larger weddings, because chances are your vendors might be booked. Another thing to consider is a weekday ceremony, you can read more about how to plan an elopement on Martha’s Vineyard here.
These recommendations are based on my experience with these vendors and there are so many amazing ones out there that I didn’t mention. Important is to find someone that vibes with you and your needs because every person is different.
If you are ready to elope to Martha’s Vineyard I’m here to help, say hello here and let’s start planning your dream elopement day!