Before we met Susannah and Fred, we had never heard of Monhegan Island. As we started making travel arrangements for their remote island wedding, we learned we would need plane tickets, ferry tickets, a rental car and good walking shoes for the two-day trip to get there. Stepping off the ferry onto Monhegan is like stepping into someone’s secret. All you want to do is thank them continuously for letting you in on it. Monhegan, a working lobster village 10 miles off the coast of Maine, has about 70 full-time residents, and most of the homes don’t even have electricity. The only vehicles on the island are a few trucks, so everyone simply walks the square-mile island, which only adds to the charm. Susannah’s family purchased a home here when she was a child, and they have spent summers on the island for most of her life. She even attended the one-room schoolhouse for a short time. It was a perfect setting for such an intimate wedding where the caterers were their lifelong friends and the reception was held at the inn Susannah worked at as a teenager.
Now Susannah and Fred are settling into their new life in Washington, D.C, where Susannah recently began work on President Obama’s communications team. Even though Fred, a Republican, blames the Democrats for not getting a honeymoon (Susannah’s job started five days after the wedding), we’re sure they’ll find some time to sneak off on another adventure. As for us, we will always remember Monhegan, and will always be secretly hoping for an invitation back.