Alexandra & Demetrios at Private Beach Club

As a Cape Cod wedding caterer for nearly 40 years, we thought we’d seen it all. Not quite.

Alexandra and Demetrios, or Lexy and D.B. as they are known to family and friends, spent months planning every detail for their September wedding at Nauticus Marina, one of our favorite waterfront wedding venues on Cape Cod. A ceremony at the Osterville Historical Society was to be followed by a tented wedding reception.

In the end it was not to be, but it all worked absolutely beautifully.

As their wedding day drew closer, the couple began paying close attention to the weather forecast, as did we. Fall on Cape Cod is nor’easter season. The intense, windy storms form quickly and, every so often, we find ourselves making plans for added stability by securing tents and bringing in generators. This September storm story was a little different.

More than a week prior, forecasters started talking about a hurricane hitting the Cape on Lexy and D.B.’s big day. As the week went on, Hurricane Lee gained strength, and Cape Cod appeared to be directly in its path.

Less than a week before the wedding, the couple and their families, and their team of wedding professionals, realized that added tent tie-downs and generators just weren’t going to cut it.

Yet the building clouds of Hurricane Lee had silver linings.

The bride’s parents are members of a private beach club on the Cape, a historic, Shingle-style place that is the embodiment of Old World elegance. Even better? They actually had event space available.

Less than 72 hours prior to their wedding, D.B. and Lexy made the call to move it. With the decision made, everyone jumped into action. With menus planned and food already ordered, the club graciously allowed our chef and his team to use their kitchen to prepare the food. Kelly, of Kelly Elizabeth Events, worked with the couple on revising the floor plan and their order with PEAK Event Rentals. The florist, Dennis DelSignaore, reviewed the site and worked their magic, and everything was in order when Lexy and D.B.’s wedding day arrived.

The big day dawned dark and breezy with intermittent showers. It was not pouring, and the wind was by no means of hurricane strength. Such is life on Cape Cod.

The bride spent a leisurely day at her parents’ summer home with family and her wedding party helping her get even more gorgeous than usual.

As the three o’clock hour neared, Lexy tapped her beloved on his shoulder, wowing him with her beauty.

Following their first look, D.B. and Lexy posed for a few not-too-formal formal portraits with photographer Alex Paul before moving on to the beach club for their ceremony.

The ballroom of the club was bedecked with fairy lights and swathed with miles of white tulle. A sophisticated palette of pewter, and deep oranges, pinks and reds, proved perfect for a fall wedding on Cape Cod.

The couple was clearly thrilled with their “first look” of the quickly reimagined event space.

With months of meticulous planning, and a week of fretful “re-planning” behind them, the moment that mattered most was upon the couple. It was time to say “I do.” And so they did.

By the time D.B. and Lexy were officially mister and missus, the rain had stopped and the wind had dropped to barely a breeze. Guests were able to enjoy cocktails and hors d’oeuvres on the terrace, and the new husband and wife were able to put their toes in the sand in front of the beachfront club before joining the party.

The tables for dining were sumptuously decorated with lush florals. Chargers with an intricate lace-like border were paired with stemware in a mix of modern and vintage styles and textural napkins with a bit of a sheen. It was a singular look that was strikingly contemporary and nostalgic at once.