A family tradition lives on under the big tent
The bride and groom are introduced as Mr. & Mrs. Michael Moore on June 16 under the same tent in Sayville where other relatives were wed. Credit: Hallie Martin Hanlin
In 1963, my Italian American grandparents purchased three-quarters of an acre of fully wooded bayfront property in Sayville. Five years later, after they built an eight-room, four-bathroom Colonial there, they moved in with their four daughters and son into a developing neighborhood.
With its jaw-dropping backyard view of the Great South Bay and entire length of Fire Island, they envisioned an evolving mecca for their ever-growing, large extended family.
My mother and her three sisters, now my aunts, were 6 to 10 years old and already had begun to dream of getting married there one day. It was as if my grandfather William Truglio had bought the property with this in mind.
In the early summer of 1979, the eldest daughter had her wedding reception in the backyard, sheltered by her father’s ingeniously designed tent that stretched from the apex of the Colonial rooftop to the bulkhead along the bay, without requiring poles to sustain it. This was a unique do-it-yourself wedding, with home-cooked food for over 100 guests.
Ten weeks later that summer, daughter No. 2, now my mom, was married with a ceremony on the front lawn followed by a reception under the same roof-to-bulkhead backyard tent, with an even larger guest list. Daughter No. 3 was married under the same tent in 1986.
I couldn’t wait for my wedding, so my Sweet 16 took place in 2007 with about 150 guests. One cousin was married there in 2014, another cousin in 2016, daughter No. 4 in 2018, and another cousin this past April.
Getting married where my parents were wedded, at the same house, has been a dream of mine as long as I can remember. I was too young to recall exactly when Grandpa had planted the idea in my head, but it stuck. So much so that when my fiance, Michael Moore, and I talked about getting married during our 18-month engagement, it was never a question of where but when.
He had heard of this family tradition for some time and, being maybe even more sentimental than I, he was up to the task of realizing my childhood dream, on June 16.
With a desire for our wedding to have a special flair, we opted for continuous cocktail hour-style dining. We investigated prices for the type of lounge furniture we wanted for our 200-person guest list. The rental prices stunned us.
Luckily, I can be a little like my grandpa, a former Grumman engineer who passed three years ago. (My grandmother Diana Truglio is turning 90 in August and still lives there.)
Although I didn’t hoist a tent from the roof, with the help of family, friends and Facebook Marketplace, we successfully thrifted over 100 pieces of furniture that would give the wedding the boho anti-formal-sit-down vibe we were looking for — wicker and rattan pieces that included peacock chairs, rockers, boho swivel chairs, love seats, lounge chairs, coffee tables and couches. Who needs traditional dining tables and chairs?
On April 22, with the help of our bridal party and family, we laid out the furniture in the backyard to see if it would all fit. Success!
After the wedding, we held a yard sale with a good portion of the furniture picked up by a Freeport thrift shop.
I like to think that Grandpa is looking down at us, laughing and smiling at the evolution of our family’s backyard tradition. Not too shabby for a do-it-yourself bride, eh?
Reader Erica Moore lives in Long Beach.
