📸: Laura Michaud Photography // @ljmphoto.art
Meet these two former RI Monthly employees who decided to get away to Prudence Island in Portsmouth, RI for a beachfront wedding, a place that is held near and dear to their hearts.
The Meet Cute: Grace was cutting her teeth as a young magazine journalist at Rhode Island Monthly magazine when she met John. The company had just hired him as an intern after his twin sister finished up her own internship and suggested he might be interested in following in her footsteps. “But it wasn’t as simple as meet and fall in love. Instead, it was really my friend (and fellow employee at the time) Kait who nudged us together,” Grace explains. One day when Kait and Grace were sitting outside on a bench eating lunch, Kait noticed John reading alone on a bench nearby and invited him to sit with them. “I was a little peeved about it at the time; I am notoriously skeptical of new people, and as an introvert, prefer the comfort of conversation with people I already know,” Grace says. “But, little did I know that Kait was really doing me a favor.” After John finished his internship, he mustered up the courage to ask Grace out on a date — and she said no. “Then after another few fits and starts, I finally admitted, I kinda like this guy,” she says.
The Planning Process: “It was pretty low-lift planning it; it felt more like planning a vacation and a big party than a wedding,” Grace says. She and John didn’t go the traditional venue route; they wanted something a little more intimate, curated and reflective of them as a couple. So, they held a simple ceremony on a beach on Prudence Island followed by a potluck. For the reception, which was held a week after the ceremony, Grace’s inspiration came from New York-based food artist Laila Gohar, as well as other whimsical people in the food realm. “The most important thing for me was good food and drink — we had Oberlin cater and also had a raw bar, in addition to batch whiskey sours, margaritas, wine and beer,” she says. “And we decorated everything at the reception with frilly, gorgeous flowers from Black Cat Flower Shack.” The theme for the reception was “under the sea,” so small touches like antique glass fish jars as vases and herb butter Grace shaped to look like shells were incorporated throughout the space.
The Location: John and Grace spent some of their first dates sailing to the rocky beach on the western side of Prudence Island, and throughout the years it has been the site of many of their seafaring adventures. “It’s a wild, beautiful place where you can see osprey diving into the briny depths to hunt, and where everyone waves at you as they trundle by in their cars,” Grace says.
The Personal Touches: The couple used a lot of family heirlooms as decor, including lace doilies from John’s nana (some of them she made herself!) and candleholders that belonged to Grace’s grandmother.
The Details
Ceremony Location: Prudence Island, RI | Reception Location: Private residence in Scituate, RI | Reception Catering: Oberlin; Captain Steve’s Shellfish Catering | Reception Makeup: Courtesy of the
bride’s cousin | Bridal Attire: Selkie ‘The Ivory Angel Mini Bustle Dress’ | Groom’s Attire: Jos. A. Bank | Decor: Found by the bride at local thrift shops, antique stores and Savers | Florals: Black Cat Flower Shack | Transportation: Prudence and Bay Islands Transport