Nautical Theme Wedding: Kate and Mark at the Eastern Yacht Club
The nautical theme wedding color scheme for the marriage of Kate and Mark didn’t include yellow or blue, colors that one would normally associate with a nautical wedding. The ceremony itself was a secular one held at the nearby Unitarian Universalist Church. The nautical aspect came into play at the reception, held at the Eastern Yacht Club in Marblehead, Massachusetts. Amid the nautical venue, the newlyweds hosted a more traditional black and white wedding affair.
The couple arrived at the reception aboard the Katannah, a sloop piloted by Kate’s dad, with her family’s code flag hoisted and billowing from the foremast; can’t get much more nautical than that. As the newlyweds strolled up the yacht-club pier, the bride was attired in a white A-line cut strapless Watters & Watters wedding gown with a flouncy pick-up skirt and a chapel train.
From the back, a white, airy waltz length veil fluttered in the warm salty breeze. Jewelry accessories were limited to white pearl earrings while dendrobium orchids embellished the redheaded bride’s chignon. For her bouquet, the bride carried a nosegay of white peonies.
It was at the Eastern Yacht Club that the bride had learned to sail as a child and spent subsequent summers as a launch driver, shuttling yacht-club members from the dock to their boats. One ritual that is a tradition of nautical theme weddings, a ritual that she had participated in as a yacht-club employee, is to “observe colors.” It is a ritual that in accordance with naval protocol calls on the bride to fire the naval cannon to mark sunset. At precisely 8:23 P.M., the couple slipped away to observe colors at the flagpole overlooking the harbor as guests stood in silence, per instructions tucked into each sage dinner napkin on a “colors card.”
Groom and bride joined their 175 guest for their reception, which was held inside a pole tent, sans sides, at the water’s edge. Inside, there were no nautical theme wedding decorations. Instead, large white beach ball-sized paper lanterns hung from above to set the interior in a romantic, elegant glow.
One of the things with pole tents is that they rely on center support poles, which are not particularly attractive. Apparently, this little detail was overlooked. Upon seeing the bare support poles, the bride’s mother made a last minute order for lush garlands, which were wrapped around each center support pole and delivered a striking tone to the setting.
Skipping typical nautical wedding table decorations, guest dined at white linen-covered tables featuring a contemporary setting with the aforementioned sage dinner napkins providing a pleasing accent color. Wedding reception centerpieces consisted of floral arrangements in which white cherry blossoms were the star. The cake is one of a wedding’s sensory highlights. Again, it was not a nautical cake. Rather, it was simple white buttercream icing slathered upon luscious layers of chocolate-and-lemon cake, topped with a small romantic floral arrangement of white roses with airy clusters of viburnum as filler.