A Reel Marriage

by Kristen Kellogg

On the big screen, romantic movies can be comedic or dramatic and often both, and they usually end with a “Happily Ever After.”  While you can strive for a relationship just like in the movies, most real life couples face a marathon of hurdles which can test even the strongest bonds.  After a rough ride, those blockbuster moments in everyday life like perfect sunsets, family beach days , and curling up by the fireplace with the one you love are what makes it all worthwhile.

From watching movies to making them, extensive work goes into the details behind the scenes.  I have been dabbling in the film world this summer and even filmed my first wedding a month ago.  I had an opportunity to work with an amazing professional this summer who has taught me a wealth of knowledge, and this is how I met this issue’s ACKtastic couple.

Meet Connie & Dan Driscoll

Forty three years ago, they met in Ogunquit, Maine.  Their paths first crossed when Dan was a bartender and Connie had a very close friend who was dating his roommate.  “Truth be told, I just brought home a brand new puppy, a German Shepard, and Connie (visiting at the time) came roaring up this road in a Corvette Stingray and almost ran my dog over, so we didn’t start out on the best of terms,” he says smirking.

Connie came up to work the following summer and, according to Dan, after spending a short amount of time together:  “Something just hit me, and I said you’re the one I am going to marry.”  The two moved around for a while after still living separate young lives, but as fate would have it, found their way back to one another.  

After tying the knot in 1971, the Driscoll’s discovered Nantucket the following spring.  They were living in Lincoln, Massachusetts at the time when their children (Zachary, Kelly, and Kate) were growing up.  After falling in love with the Grey Lady, their rentals went from weekend to weekly to year-round, until they eventually became permanent residents on Madaket Road in 1997.  After buying the house, they needed to build a garage to house their other love:  the 59’ VW Bug, which you may have caught a glimpse of during a Daffodil Weekend.  Connie’s brother had called them to see if they were interested in it and before they hung up the phone, they chartered a plane to get it in the Hampton’s and were there only four hours later.  They have gone through quite a collection of cars.  “We lined our various cars up with matchbox cars one day, and I think we stretched the entire kitchen,” says Dan. 

At Connie’s first glimpse in Paris, their most recent eco-purchase had Connie as excited as a kid in a candy store.  “It’s been fabulous,” says Connie of their new Electric Smart Car, which, to their knowledge, is the first fully electric vehicle on the island.  “The music was blasting and I was dancing.  I couldn’t stop dancing!”  

They share a love for business endeavors as well as for cars.  Dan started September Productions in 1978, and the two worked together on their other company C & D Designs shortly after moving to the Island.  “I’m a workaholic,” Dan says of his film and photography career.  “My life has been, as far as when I am working for somebody, as long as I’m still learning, I’m a happy camper.  When I stop learning they have to pay me very well, and if both of those stop, time to move on.”

The film industry sort of fell into Dan’s lap.  He was a photographer and his friend, Bill Warner, recommended Dan replace him (with no prior video experience), directing industrial films.  “He said, ‘Well, come in for the interview and don’t tell them that unless they ask.’ Long and short, I got the job and three weeks after I was in Atlanta Georgia doing a seven camera shoots for the Michelin Tire Corporation.  It was pretty wild, but what I learned in the multimedia business really transitioned over.”

The Driscoll’s home is decorated with a lovely aesthetic thanks to Connie’s knack for interior design.  She did interior design for friends and family back home, and they decided once they moved to the island to begin a business venture together and C & D Designs was born.  “He does the landscape design and draws out my plans for me so he’s been a big help with the business,” says Connie. Priorities are always changing, however, as Connie spends much of her free time these days with her grandchildren, Francesca, Max, and Winter.

The Driscoll’s advice to other couples?  Laughter, communication, and keeping your own sense of self are most important.  “Humor, because we laugh a lot now,” says Connie.  “We didn’t years ago.  He worked a lot, I was alone a lot, there are a lot of things that go on.  I’m all for light.  I keep saying to my son ‘keep it light’.  I don’t worry at all because he is worrying for me.  We’ve got each other again.  It is easy to not communicate in a relationship.  It is so hard to say things you know no one is going to want to hear.  It’s important.  Just say it nicely.”

You won’t see this creative couple vacating the island with the exception of a film shoot or a visit to the grandkids.  “We met more people here in two weeks than we did in 14 years of living in Lincoln, MA,” Connie says.  

“We have our cemetery plots already and we’re not leaving!”  says Dan as they laugh.  “Most of us here are wash-ashores, but we’re definitely here to stay.”  With Connie and Dan’s 40th anniversary just around the corner on October 16, the two are delighted to be starring in their reel life movie set on the island they love.

Are you a dynamic duo or do want to nominate an ACKtastic couple? Email Kristen at kellogg.kristen@gmail.com

Kristen Kellogg graduated from San Jose State University in 2006 with a Bachelors degree in Communication Studies. When not on Nantucket, she travels the world filming and writing about her adventures. A life changing experience, she most recently spent time in Bali, Indonesia doing PR work for
Bali Eco Stay. You can find Kristen behind the bar at Corazon Del Mar, practicing Yoga or doing anything outdoors on the Island.