A swath of brave couples are scheduled to push on with their wedding plans despite the massive nor’easter currently blasting the Northeast.
At least 34 weddings are scheduled to take place on Nantucket island in Massachusetts this weekend, according to the Nantucket Current on X.
The plans appear to be standing strong even as the cyclone storm approaches southeastern Massachusetts with potentially life-threatening conditions.
The National Weather Service (NWS) placed Nantucket under a high wind warning and a high surf advisory around 7.30pm Friday as rainfall strengthened.
A coastal flood warning is also in place for the island through Monday night, according to the NWS.
Boston couple Maggie Lynch, 29, and Paul Flanagan, 28, whose wedding with 165 guests is scheduled for Saturday, called the weather forecast the ‘worst-case scenario.’
‘When we picked Nantucket, we joked that as long as this exact thing didn’t happen, we’d be fine, and then, of course, it did,’ Lynch told MassLive.
She explained that Nantucket, a wedding hotspot in the fall, had an ‘undeniable magic.’
More than 30 weddings were scheduled to happen on Nantucket island (pictured) this weekend as a nor’easter hits the Northeast US
Nantucket is a particularly popular wedding destination for the fall months, though that was suddenly threatened this year by the massive storm
Flanagan said the couple’s only genuine concern had been a ‘storm big enough to stop people from getting to the island,’ which is what appeared to be happening as the nor’easter set in.
Wedding planner Karina Crockett said the couple started voicing their concerns on Monday.
After that, the focus turned to making sure that as many wedding guests as possible got to Nantucket early.
The couple and their friends pulled out all the stops, getting on ferries and boats.
Some guests traveled to Nantucket through a two-and-a-half-hour boat ride from Hyannis, on the southern coast of Cape Cod.
Crockett called that option ‘very rocky’ adding that one of the guests ‘toughed it out’ to reach the wedding.
At least 120 of Lynch and Flanagan’s 165 guests had reached the island by Thursday, according to the outlet.
More arrived on Friday as arrangements for the wedding continued to be shifted to account for the challenging weather.
The average cost per wedding guest in Nantucket in 2026 is about $659, according to the Wedding Report.
Wedding planner Karina Crockett described how some of the wedding guests had to travel on a ‘very rocky’ boat ride just to make the Nantucket wedding
The nor’easter will bring powerful gusts of wind and potential flooding to southeastern Massachusetts over the weekend
Robert Flanagan, Paul’s father, posted on social media that it was ‘windy as hell’ on the island.
He also posted a video of the powerful wind blasting a trio of flags.
In another post, the dad cracked that he couldn’t tell if he was seeing a ‘beautiful sunrise or the first glimpse of the apocalypse.’
Wedding plans on Cape Cod, which is about 30 miles north of Nantucket, have been affected as a result of the incoming storm, as well.
Wedding caterer Olive Chase said that the weather conditions were ‘really hard for the couples’ with scheduled outdoor weddings, according to the Cape Cod Times.
‘I am up to my ears right now,’ Chase told the outlet.
He said some couples had canceled or postponed plans, while others were fortunate enough to find indoor sites and push forward with the planned festivities.
As a whole, millions of people across the Northeast are likely to face power outages and travel disruptions because of the flooding and powerful gusts of wind brought on by the nor’easter.
Cape Cod wedding caterer Olive Chase said the nor’easter was ‘really hard for the couples’
Four to six inches of rain are expected to drill southeastern Massachusetts, Nantucket, Cape Cod, Nantucket and nearby islands
Waves of nearly five feet were seen in the Nantucket Sound around 10pm Friday, according to the Nantucket Inquirer and Mirror.
High speed winds descended on the island starting Tuesday afternoon.
That caused some ferry service to be canceled, which continued leading up to the weekend.
Most boats were canceled on Friday, though the peak of the storm is yet to arrive.
Elsewhere in Massachusetts, some people who live near Cape Cod traveled to the mainland before the storm arrived, according to the Boston Herald.
Southeastern Massachusetts, Nantucket, Cape Cod and nearby islands are expected to get hit with the strongest rain at four to six inches.
The US Coast Guard Northeast District has urged mariners and coastal residents to seek safe harbor as the nor’easter rages.
A nor’easter is a strong storm that forms along the East Coast of the US and is named for the northeast winds that blow over the Mid-Atlantic and New England when a low-pressure system sits over the ocean.
