A weekend-long wedding celebration in Maine basically sounds like perfection if you ask me, and judging from the images snapped up by Anne Schmidt Photography that’s exactly what it was. Day after day of celebrating this adorable couple with family and friends from around the world kicked off with a sail and ending with one beautiful wedding, and you can see every last bit right here.
From the Bride… Gray and I met seven years ago in a coffee shop. He was then a professional athlete recovering from an injury, had stitches in his lip and was doing a crossword puzzle! I was a graduating medical student about to leave the country for a medical mission overseas.We connected immediately in that way you connect with “the one.” Soon after we met, Gray took me to Maine. He had gone to school and played hockey for University of Maine, and he wanted me to see beautiful Acadia National Park. I fell in love with Maine, Acadia … and Gray! When Gray and I got engaged, the thought of wedding planning was overwhelming, and I seriously thought about eloping! But I am very happy to say that my smart, sweet (now) husband put his foot down and insisted that we throw an absolutely incredible, weekend-long party. We decided upon getting married on Mount Desert Island in Maine’s Acadia National Park, where we fell in love.
In order to welcome our guests to Maine, we started the weekend with a charter sail on the Margaret Todd in Frenchman’s Bay. That evening, in honor of the autumn timing, our travels in Europe, and German heritage (and our love of great parties and great beer!), we hosted an Oktoberfest themed-rehearsal dinner. We, and most of our guests, dressed in traditional German gear. We gave our guests personalized beer steins with our own “Coat of Arms” that we designed, featuring an image of our pet Great Dane and our initials and wedding date. Our guests enjoyed embarassing us at a hilarious roast as well as taking pictures in our photo booth, singing karaoke, and playing ping pong. The Asticou and Sweetest Thing Weddings thought of every tiny design detail down to gummi bear snacks on the tables to grilled fresh brautwursts to Bavarian style window boxes full of geraniums decorating the tables.
The day of the wedding, the fog lifted and the sun came our just in time for the wedding ceremony. We exchanged our own vows under an arbor that Gray’s father handmade for us, and my uncle then married us. Our reception was beneath a sail tent with market lights above. Our tent was decorated with a beautiful map and travel theme as an ode to our travels as well as our guests. We had our “His” and “Hers” cupcakes atop vintage luggage with compasses. Behind them were family photos dating back to our great-grandparents! Each table was labeled with antique maps from our travels, and the guests took home luggage tag gifts with the sayings “All Those Who Wander are Not Lost” and “Life is a Journey, Not a Destination.” The guests marked a map with pins with blessings for us as our guest book. I changed into a tutu, and we danced the night away with our guests to our rocking ’80s band, the “Time Pilots.”
The final morning of our wedding weekend, we took the guests on a “field trip” into Acadia National Park for a hike along the beautiful Maine coastline and through the autumn foliage in the forest. At our farewell lobster bake, I wore a lobster dress specially made for the day. To help keep our guests from getting messy as they enjoyed cracking their lobsters, we dressed them in handmade lobster aprons that we ordered from France as our final gift to them. We all said our final “cheers” on the sunny Asticou porch with bloody marys and mimosas. It was an epic weekend, and we could not have had more fun or have been more thankful to our family and friends who celebrated with us … who now include our amazing team of wedding planners!
Wedding Photography: Anne Schmidt Photography / Ceremony: Thuya Garden in Northeast Harbor, Maine / Reception: Asticou Inn in Northeast Harbor, Maine / Event Planning, Floral + Event Design: Sweetest Thing / Wedding Invitations: Gus & Ruby Letterpress / Band: Time Pilots / Wedding Dress: Justina McCaffrey / Lobster Bake Dress: RetroShreds / Bride’s Shoes: Anthropologie / Bride’s + Bridesmaids’ Shrugs: Sandi McKeen Couture / Hair + Makeup: The L Factor