When wedding vendors gather, it is usually in the thick of event planning, when every spare moment gets eaten up by a loose tablecloth, an out-of-place flower or an errant dining chair.
This week, professionals involved in wedding and event planning on Martha’s Vineyard had a chance to sit back and enjoy Martha’s Party, a three-day conference and networking event at the Winnetu Oceanside Resort in Edgartown presented by Island Weddings magazine and sponsored by PartySlate.
Off-Island planners mingled with on-Island planners and vendors to compare notes, share ideas and get inspiration. Panel discussions included talks on finding local venues, preparing for temperamental Island weather and making the best use of social media. In the evenings, conference attendees enjoyed Island-themed parties — a welcome excuse to sample the many catering options the Vineyard has to offer.
“Vendors are so busy from now until fall that they’ve never have a chance to just sit and talk,” said Alessandra Hagerty, marketing director for the Vineyard Gazette Media Group, which publishes Island Weddings.
Ms. Hagerty planned the conference with Kharma Finley-Wallace of Hoverfly Media after spending 10 years in the Island wedding industry and noticing how few on-Island networking opportunities there were.
More than 50 professionals attended the conference, with a range of vendors to the wedding industry participating in various ways. When not talking wedding shop, attendees cavorted with alpacas courtesy of Island Alpaca, practiced yoga with Yoga on the Vine’s Lora Ksieniewicz, and got a B-12 boost at the Drip Hydration shot bar, among other activities.
A highlight of the conference was a wedding-themed party Tuesday evening at the Grange, featuring a sampling of food and drink from more than a dozen vendors.
“People had the best time,” said Ms. Hagerty. “They were all telling me that this should have been done so long ago.”
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