Fishers Island is a pretty cool place to host a wedding, and it takes a village to pull it off! So to my ‘village’, the Fishers community, THANK YOU! It takes energy and enthusiasm and flexibility and goodwill, and that is exactly what we experienced. SO thank you Fishers Island, for helping us bring to fruition Cait’s dream of a Fishers wedding.
My daughter, Cait, has been telling me her whole life that she wanted to be married on Fishers Island. Despite my pleading to consider a venue where attendees could feed and house themselves, she was not to be deterred. So it came to pass on June 16, that we indeed, had a Fishers wedding. It was exhausting and magical. Cait and I came a week ahead of time to get organized and my daughter’s in-laws-to-be arrived on Monday. We didn’t lose anybody for more than a few hours, and I don’t think we irritated any neighbors too terribly. I haven’t heard of any reparations to be made (except for Ally – sorry about the beds, and thank you, Rachel, for pitching in) or restitutions to be offered. I think we made it through fairly cleanly.
I do have some thank you notes, quite a few actually. I hope I don’t leave anyone out because this was a great example of a community opening its arms to a whole bunch of unknowns:
Jane – Thanks for the wedding book with all the collected FI advice providing us with a roadmap and being our Emily Post for all things wedding and etiquette and just plain our go-to when we needed a dose of good sense and good counsel. It all was invaluable.
John, JR, Dirk, Kip, Andrew, Tom, and Scott – It was a lot of deferred maintenance and you got it done! Thanks for making my little house look terrific.
Lorna – Thanks for the warm welcome! You came rushing up in the market with a big hug, saying, “The whole island is so excited about your wedding this weekend! People are getting their flowers out and spiffing up!” Wow! Who knew?
FI Ferry and Crew – Shout out to Jon and Bob who helped facilitate the Wedding Weekend banners on the boats. I didn’t want to give them extra tasks but it turns out they liked the idea as much as I did. The banners belong to the Ferry District now so if you’re having a wedding on Island, let them know and they’ll hang them back up on the ferries! Thank you to the Crew for your assistance and patience with the 26 cars, driven by non-Fishers folks from Michigan and NYC who, I am sure, have never backed a car on a ferry before. And a huge thank-you to Polly who helped with all the extra reservations for rental trucks, florist vans, band vans, etc., etc., etc.
FIDCO – Thank you to Patty and Johnny B and Jimmy for making 26 guest passes an easy, no-hassle ask. And they all were used!
FIYC – Lincoln and Rebecca, thank you very much. Lincoln had to deal with 30mph winds and a worrisome tent flapping in the freshening breeze! He also very graciously moved the winter wood pile. And Bless the Yacht Club for the beautiful bathrooms – no more Porta Potties!
HHC – Who knew it takes 22 people – many of them newbies (talk about trial by fire), in addition to Bob and Kenny – to put on a wedding at HHC? The club looked beautiful and they worked hard to make it shine. The food was delicious, everyone was warm and friendly and made it look easy and seamless. And then you all got up and did it again Sunday morning for the Bridal Brunch. Huge effort and delicious! Thank you.
Bob and Margaret – Thank you for so many things that made the wedding weekend memorable, most notably the Big House, the Pink Party Limo, opening the Quot on an ‘off’ night, providing an After-Party space and your friendliness to the Holguin clan.
St. John’s Church – Looking fresh and beautiful with an amazing new tracker pipe organ! As the first wedding to take place after installation, we felt honored and grateful. To Michael Spencer and Molly Frank, thank you for a lovely wedding with lots of heart, and love and connectivity.
Pequot – Thank you Dee, for facilitating everything. You’re amazing. And thank you, Pete and Jon, for awesome grilled cheese sandwiches and brats with delicious pickled sauerkraut at midnight. Everybody loved them. And to Dave for making everything easy and welcoming. And best of all…Dave and Ian doubled as drivers of the Pequot Pink Party Limo that whisked the bridesmaids off to the reception. A special photo op!
Andrew – For providing the golf cart/getaway for the new bride and groom, and for transporting the whole wedding party to the 6th tee box for First Look.
Dan – For getting the guys out on the course and making it easy and relaxed. It was a treat for them.
Sue – Wedding coordinator extraordinaire, chef, and provider of the rehearsal dinner. We are all still talking about the salmon. You are amazing. Sue kept us on track and whenever I realized I might have forgotten something she just said, ’Sure’ and it happened. No fuss no muss no bother and always good-humored and willing. Thank you to you, Marj and your team.
Shelby – Late night driver, house cleaner, bed maker! Willing to sit outside the Quot until 3 AM in case rides were needed.
Kim – Who drove the band, photographer and photobooth guy to boats and houses in a school bus and was good-natured and flexible about our ever-changing schedule.
Nick V. – I wanted to provide my own wine choices but had ZERO idea how much to order. Thank you for giving me a clue and being so helpful!
Toby and Nick – Brothers give the best advice on which wines to taste and we, of course, had a blast with this chore.
Anne, Louise, and Jane – For offering bag lunches to any wedding-goers on Saturday and conversation and a friendly place for folks to land.
Nick and Ann – Thanks for the lovely send-off, with the Bridal brunch bringing us all together one last time.
Rob, Penn, JR – Great exit strategy and transport for the bride and groom! Thank you!
And to all of those who offered us beds – Keep me on your short list when you need the same. Now I totally get it!
For everyone who redirected lost wanderers, THANK YOU! The warmth, energy, and enthusiasm on Island the weekend of June 16th was fabulous.
The Ludemann family has always been crazy about Fishers Island. Fishers has helped raise and shape my kids, and now you have launched one of them. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.
Most Sincerely, Audrey
June 26, 2018
