While we were in California last year, spending the day photographing Lake Tahoe with our friends, Adam Katseff and his wife Amy, they told us about the Greyfield Inn…the magical place they stayed on their honeymoon, one that they knew I would LOVE (turned out to be a major understatement). I knew the name sounded familiar, and once they mentioned it was on Cumberland Island, it all came back to me…an enchanting wedding, an all-American couple…but more on that tomorrow…
After hearing about it, I knew I had to see Greyfield Inn for myself and with the trip down to visit SCAD, it was the perfect opportunity. I’m an extremely visual person and I’m sure it comes to no surprise to you that I quite often dream about the way life looked “back then”. I think walking through the doors of Greyfield will be as close as I will ever get to knowing the way it might have actually looked…
You leave your car on Amelia Island and Mitti, one of the four owners and inheritors of Greyfield and the Carnegie property, takes you by boat to Cumberland Island. Walking up from the dock the giant, old live oaks seem to wave at you with their long fingers of Spanish moss, diffusing the afternoon sun into a sparkling haze underneath their centuries-old canopy. Then, from behind the trees you catch the first glimpse of the four story white mansion they call Greyfield. Built in 1900 as a wedding gift to the Carnegie’s daughter, Margaret, this home is still furnished with many of the original pieces of that era but with exceptional modern day comforts (ummm…air-conditioning). As you walk up the grand staircase to the second floor porch lined with rocking chairs and swinging daybeds, you regret how short your stay is. Now, up in the canopy of live oaks, you overlook the property of white picketed fences and fields of grazing wild horses and as they offer you organic rosemary lemonade, if you’re like me, you think you’ve died and gone to heaven.
The house, grand as it is, still holds a very sweet intimacy. At night, sitting out by the waterway looking back on her, she stands a soft pearly white in the light of the moon, framed by Spanish moss draped trees with a golden light glowing out of every window, so warm and welcoming you would swear the evening was meant just for you. The charm extends to the inside with its historic clawfoot bathtubs, immaculate upkeep, full service bar, organic meals, classic high quality southern linens and L’Occitane toiletries. Every evening, men in dinner jackets and ladies in our sweet southern dresses snack on hors d’oeuvres and classic Southern cocktails (recipe for my favorite below!), awaiting a dinner bell around 7:30 where we all move into the formal dining room for that night’s seasonal meal which at times can harvest ingredients from Greyfield’s own impressive garden.
I know on busy New York days or times when I’m caught in a blizzard, I will think back on this memory and my soul will fill with the warmth of these sunny afternoons, lost on Cumberland Island in a dream called Greyfield…
Our Savannah friend Molly told us, if we were going to Cumberland we *had* to visit Gogo. In a house sitting next door to Greyfield, you’ll find an ocean, quite literally, of treasures: a jeweler’s studio full of precious metals in formations of found bones, plant life, shells, you name it, found on Cumberland Island and Martha’s Vineyard. I didn’t know what to expect meeting Gogo other than she would be fabulous…and that she was. She walked us through the collection her and her daughter Hannah Sayre-Thomas have created inspired by the natural wonders surrounding us. She showed me the bird skull cuff links Wes Craven had just purchased, told me about the wedding bands she custom made for JFK, Jr and Carolyn Bessette and then laughed as she asked me if I knew what “these” were… “these” being a porcupine penis bone she crafted into earrings! I didn’t walk away with those, but these came home with me and I have been quite enjoying them.
~The Maple Southern~
2 oz Bourbon
1TBS Maple Syrup
4 dashes Orange Bitters
Juice from one lemon
ICE
Can be shaken or stirred!
Oh, and another funny fact, Wes Anderson originally hoped to film Moonlight Kingdom here!
amazing place!! the pictures are really good!!
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This is such a Moonlight Kingdom type of scene! It’s so chic and beautiful! And that dress + the lippy obviously look beautiful… thanks for the drink recipe 🙂 x
You got it! 🙂
oh what a cosy place! btw Jamie I thought it’s you with a wedding dress in the painting on the wall 🙂 xx Betül
hahaha, that’s what people said on instagram too and then I looked at it and I was like OK… I see it… ummm awesome!
Such a beautiful romantic image of you with your drink, Jamie.
And thanks for all of your words and images on Savannah! Loving it!
Thanks doll 🙂
Note to self: make Maple Southerns for friends over the long Easter weekend…
Excellent choice!
Hi Jamie, not only are your photos amazing but your writing is lovely. I think you should do a book.
Wow, that’s a whole other thing! you know my father is an author and I’ve always been a photographer so writing is such a scary thing to me. I’m trying to just write from my heart, my experiences my thoughts and I hope that people can feel what I feel and learn what I learn. I appreciate to know that someone reads it!
You’ve definitely inspired us to visit. Out of curiosity, what room did you stay in?
Oh gosh, I don’t remember the exact name but all the rooms in the main house are heavenly! I peeked my head into a few when checking in that were open awaiting future guests 🙂
From beginning to end….the portraits are just mind blowing and perfectly executed 🙂
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Ohhh thank you! 🙂
You are always welcome 🙂
wow great i have
read many articles about this topic and everytime i learn something new i
dont think it will ever stop always new info , Thanks for all of your hard
work!