She: 27, from Rockaway, NJ

He: 27, from Scituate, MA

Now reside in: Atlanta, GA

The Details

Ceremony: St. Andrew Church  
Reception & Catering:  Atlantic Inn  
Rehearsal Dinner: The Surf Hotel  
Photographer: Kiyah C  Photography 
Videographer: Bear’s Den Creative, Atlanta, GA 
Music: Ceremony: Doug Trudeau and the Waltham High School string quartet. Cocktail hour: Marc Philip. Reception DJ: Frank Zapulla.  
Flowers: Painted Rock Designs  
Cake:  Atlantic Inn  
Favors: Blocks of Fudge  
Transportation: McAloon’s Taxi and Block Island Taxi & Tours

Before the Ring and Proposal
Andrea and Greg met when they started on the same day at a consulting firm in New York, and as fate would have it, they sat the pair right next to each other. The rest is history. On the day Greg proposed, he had come up with an elaborate story that included a picnic in the park to “re-celebrate” a friend’s wedding. They picked out a bottle of champagne to bring, put on some fun picnic party outfits, and made their way to a hill in Piedmont Park in Atlanta. When they got there and no one was around, Andrea just thought they were early. Turns out there was no picnic at all, and instead Greg got down on a knee and asked Andrea to marry him.

Block Island Because...... 
Greg has been vacationing on the island every summer since he was three months old. His parents rented a house for years, until they bought a house on Southwest Point. When Greg proposed in the summer of 2016, they happened to be traveling to Block Island the next weekend, and the decision was easy. Block Island would be the place for their dream wedding.

The Day and Design 
The couple incorporated Filipino wedding traditions honoring Andrea’s family into the ceremony at St. Andrew Church, and a unity candle and candelabra was a special touch from Greg’s home church. Andrea and Greg provided a wedding bus from the Atlantic Inn to the church, flip flops for the ladies to dance in, babysitters and a “cool kids table” at the reception. There were plenty of personal touches as well — from Andrea’s mom’s famous egg rolls during the cocktail hour, to the table assignments hand painted on rocks by Andrea’s cousin Hope, to the custom signs arranged by Greg’s parents.

The Wedding Weekend 
Hurricane José was supposed to clear out a week before the wedding, but decided to stick around for the whole week. Knowing the risks in planning a wedding on Block Island, the couple didn’t expect ferries to be cancelled for three out of four days before the wedding. Traveling guests got creative — coming to the island by plane, and even chartering a helicopter — to make it for the wedding weekend. Thursday evening dinner was hosted at the groom’s home, a welcome party and dinner was held on Friday at The Surf Hotel, the wedding was on Saturday at the Atlantic Inn with the reception under a tent on the lawn, and a Sunday farewell breakfast was held at the Atlantic Inn.

Top 3 pieces of advice:

1.    Highlight the natural beauty of Block Island
2.    Bring some personal touches from off island to truly make it yours
3.    Have a backup plan(s) for getting your guests to the island, and trust that the people of Block Island can make the impossible happen.