Jenna McCann, 26,  grew up spending summers on Block Island with her family. She says she had dreamed about getting married on Block Island, and at the Sullivan House in particular, since she was a little girl. Jenna met her future husband James (Gil) Messer, 27,when they were students at the College of William and Mary,  and he made those dreams come true.

Gil actually booked the Sullivan House with Jenna’s parents in August 2013, a couple months before he proposed.  “The night we got engaged he told me the date,” says Jenna.  

“We both love the island and so we knew we wanted to get married there and share it with our family and friends. It is the place on earth where we are most relaxed and happy.  We love being away from reality and wanted our guests to experience that for our wedding weekend.”

“Weekend” is a bit of an understatement. The extended Messer and McCann clans made it their summer vacations, spending the week before the wedding with beach bashes, backyard barbecues and dance nights at Yellow Kittens.  “It was an amazing week and it was only possible on Block Island,” says Jenna.

More guests arrived in time for a welcome bonfire on Scotch Beach, a rehearsal dinner at the Surf Hotel, the ceremony at St. Andrew’s Catholic Church, the reception at the Sullivan House, an after party at Captain Nick’s, and finally a Farewell Brunch at the Manisses Hotel.

A constant across the venues? Fabulous flowers! Jenna’s family owns 1-800-Flowers and was able to help achieve her vision of “bringing the natural beauty of Block Island inside.” 

Their advice for others planning a wedding on Block Island:

1. Book the Sullivan House for a week in the summer. It was the best decision we could have made because we got to spend a week there before, and our guests fell in love with the island.

2. We had a variety of table sizes and shapes so we could have diversity in the centerpieces and so close groups of friends could sit together. 

3. Just remember that the reason Block Island is so special is because it is a more relaxed and simple way of life.  That can be frustrating at times during wedding planning and coordinating with people, but it all comes together in the end.

 Everybody is still talking about...

… the flowers.  Our flowers were so unique and beautiful. They were done by an incredible team at 1-800-Flowers Carle Place and they really listened to what we wanted.  We wanted bright, natural colors that accented the views of the island from the Sullivan House.  We really wanted hanging wreaths, which came out beautifully and added a lot of dimension to our tent.