Kathryn & John’s Nautical Nuptials

We really wanted to incorporate a lot of personal touches into our wedding, and we wanted everyone to be a part of our love story; our love of the arts and outdoors, where we first met, our dog, our family, etc. We also wanted to continue the tradition of being married at Ellenborough Cottage, which had been done perviously by both of John’s sisters. John had a piece of my wedding gown carefully wrapped in his handkerchief beside his late father’s cufflinks. My “something old and blue” treasures came from John and I’s grandmothers, and I carried a picture of John’s father in my bridal bouquet. John used his artistic abilities to make the wedding invitations and table numbers. Each table number hand carved out of beach wood, and was Maryland themed. We wanted everyone to feel the sense of us, and the love that we share with each other  throughout the ceremony.

We wanted everyone to get a sense of us, our relationship and the love that we share so we wrote our vows to each other. During the ceremony, I surprised John by singing “Songbird” accompanied by soprano Anne Binkley, my college opera professor, and Ben Grant and Jimmy Cunningham, both Naval Academy musicians I’d worked with in the past. Each song was symbolic and meaningful to us and reflected what brought us together. My father walked me down the aisle to “O Babino Caro”, one of my favorite Italian arias; translated this means “Oh Daddy, I Want to Marry Him”. Our close friends and musicians each played a role in the wedding, each singing songs that were played on first dates, or songs that were meaningful to family members. 

After the ceremony, cocktail hour was held around the pool with candles overlooking the water while a jazz duo played romantic songs that were meaningful to both of us. We both love ice cream, and our families do as well so we hired Oxford Creamery to serve their delicious homemade ice cream. We had 6 flavors, each ours or our families’ favorites. Other special touches were our bride and groom gifts; I gave John a customized art easel from Italy, inscribing it “All my love, my life, forever my best friend”. John gave me his grandmother’s gorgeous diamond tennis bracelet. Our “getaway” car was my father’s 1966 Corvette Stingray convertible, and after a beautiful and romantic weekend in historical St. Michaels, we were off for our honeymoon in Tahiti to visit the islands of Moorea and Bora Bora!