Maine Weddings

If you can’t tell just by looking how happy, calm, and fabulous this bride is (facing Hurricane Irene’s threats to ruin her wedding day) I will simply have to tell you how amazing she is. See those macarons? Those mouthwatering, stomach-grumbling, delish macarons? She made them (and the flowers on that cake!). And then loved and partied the night away at her gorgeous soiree, planned by Blissful Beginnings Wedding & Events. Beautiful AND beyond talented. Meghann Gregory Photography has done such a wonderful job capturing the emotions of the day, we’re going to be laughing, crying, dancing, and singing all morning in the gallery!

Since we had talked about our wedding from early on, we already knew for the most part what we wanted. We wanted to incorporate our seacoast lifestyle and beachy decor that we decorated our house with.  We chose boxed invitations, fitted with a starfish when you lifted the lid, just like the starfish that sit on every window sill in our house. The centerpieces were vases filled with shells, sea glass, sand and pieces of driftwood, again exactly like you would see while walking through our home. We chose to use a model sailboat as our guest book, and had all our guests sign the sails. We already have it displayed on the table in our entry way.

The food had to be a highlight of the wedding, this was very important to us. We are both such foodies and enjoy food so much. As a pastry chef myself, I have always had a passion for food and Will has always enjoyed it, so it was something we had in common from the beginning. We feel like we hit a home run working with Jay from The White Apron. The wedding cake came from the Beach Pea Baking Co. In Kittery, ME, the bakery where I formerly worked and also where we both highly respect the vision and talent of everyone there. I made the cymbidium orchids that decorated the cake, it was fun to be part of the vision of the cake, without the labor and stress involved in putting it all together.

The favors were blueberry and raspberry Parisian macarons that I made, one of my specialities, as well as Will’s favorites. Melanie from Blissful Beginnings, was the life of our entire wedding. She saw our vision from our first meeting and created a seamless, magical day for us. We will forever be grateful for her hard work and passion. We are also grateful to Meghann Gregory, our photographer. Our wedding day is something that is forever now documented. I know she was able to capture every single detail, as well as the livelihood and love of the entire day. She is so talented and works magic behind her lens.

Photography: Meghann Gregory Photography / Wedding Planning and Coordination Melanie Voros, Blissful Beginnings Wedding and Event Design / Flowers: Floraventures / Ceremony: St. Ann’s Church, Kennebunkport, Maine / Reception: Home of the Bride and Groom / Tent: Sperry Tents Seacoast / Rentals: Rentals Unlimited / Catering: The White Apron / Transportation: Great Bay Limousine / Valet: Atlantic Parking / Invitations: The Green Kangaroo / Wedding Gown: Mikaella from Madeleine’s Daughter / Bridesmaids dresses: David’s Bridal / Menswear: English Laundry / Makeup: Making Faces / Cake: Beach Pea Baking Co. / Wedding Cake Orchids, and Parisian Macaroons: the Bride, Pastry Chef Leander Krulis Matos / DJ: Doug Bounds

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Smitten doesn’t even begin to describe how we feel about this seriously gorg photo shoot curated by a team of wedding geniuses. With Corbin Gurkin behind the lens, Maine Seasons Events dreaming up the design, Gus & Ruby Letterpress crafting up the paper perfection and Flora Fauna making flower MAGIC happen – the result is pure, inspiration-filled gorgeousness. The full gallery feels like you are lost in the prettiest of dreams, and we wouldn’t blame you one little bit if you lingered there for more than a moment or two this Thursday morning – you’ll probably find us in there too!

Click here for the FULL photo shoot!

From Meagan of Maine Seasons Events… Inspired by the texture and feeling of a Swiss dot wedding dress, this design started with a palette of robin’s egg blue, pale peach, raw muslin and gold. When collecting elements and props, old gold framed mirrors, cake stands and plates, the look came together with yards and yards of pale blue and raw muslin, which Maine Seasons Events sewed into fluffy ruffles to adorn the tables. Against an heirloom estate backdrop, gold ballroom chairs, a crystal chandelier and crystal stemware added glamour and sophistication to the table scape. Luscious flower arrangements and bouquets by Flora Fauna included the spring’s best picks of tulips, anemones, David Austin roses and delphinium, arranged in an eclectic mix of gold and pale blue glass containers. Custom letterpress stationery from Gus & Ruby Letterpress adorned with hand painted edges and tulle posies from Paper Posy Designs, along with a ruffled tiered cake from Nothing Bakes Like a Parrott, completed the glamorous look. 

Photography: Corbin Gurkin Photography / Location: French’s Point in Stockton Springs, Maine / Design + Concept: Maine Seasons Events + Flora Fauna / Floral Design: Flora Fauna / Custom Table Ruffles: Maine Seasons Events / Cake: Nothing Bakes Like a Parrott / Stationery: Gus & Ruby Letterpress / Calligraphy: Neither Snow / Tulle Posies, Dessert Table Buds + Place Cards: Paper Posy Designs / Hair + Makeup: Lisa Nichols Salon / Dresses: Lula Kate / Rentals: One Stop Party Shoppe

The bride is from the Midwest, the groom is from Israel, and the wedding is a superb product of a love for Maine. With help from Maine Seasons Events, the couple took inspiration from the relaxed Israeli wedding customs and infused it with nautical charm that makes us all Ahoy with glee. Every detail, as seen by Meredith Perdue, is perfect. Click here to see what I mean!

We met when my love of New England pulled me to move to Boston after finishing nursing school in Wisconsin.  Nir was already living there and starting his third year of medical school.  Nir likes to say we met on Craigslist, which is sort of true, but it wasn’t in the personals section.  I had signed a year lease on an apartment, but it didn’t start until two weeks after I was to start work.  So, I found a two week sublet on Craigslist, and Nir lived in the apartment upstairs.  The rest is history.

We had just returned from a three week adventure to Israel, where Nir was born and still has a lot of family.  Nir took me up to Acadia for my first tent camping experience.  During our first night at Blackwoods Campground he woke me up at 4:30am with tea and oatmeal in hand and asked me to take a walk to watch the sun rise over the ocean, which was a quick five minute walk from our campsite.  I agreed, which he lovingly attributes to my adventurous spirit, while I attribute it to the fact that jet lag was causing my body to think it was approximately noon.  Anyhow, we cozied up on the cliffs overlooking the beautiful blue atlantic, and as the sun rose he got down on one knee and asked me to spend the rest of my life with him.  It was a perfectly gorgeous morning in my favorite place with my favorite person.

As long as I can remember I have spent a couple of weeks every summer vacationing in the same house on Moody Beach on the southern coast of Maine with my parents, brother, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins.  Those memories are a huge part of who I am and that place has always been my happy place.  It was where my love affair with New England began (I grew up in Minnesota). Nir grew up in New Jersey, and when he was in college his parents bought a cabin in Belgrade, Maine, so they had their own special tie to Maine before we even met.  During our courtship in Boston we spent many weekends exploring Maine and staying with my friends on Moody Beach and at his parents’ place in Belgrade.  When it came time to plan our wedding, it was obvious to us that it would be in the most beautiful and meaningful place to both of us: Maine. We searched up and down the coast for the perfect venue and the second we laid eyes on the Amphitheater and Yacht Club we knew it was where we would bring our friends and family to celebrate our marriage.  It was outdoors and casual.  Both sites have a breathtaking view of the harbor and are themselves stunning yet rustic and unpretentious.  The town of Camden ended up being the most charming little harbor village for us all to spend our special weekend.  We met so many warm, welcoming locals and had a blast running into guests anywhere we went throughout the weekend.  It was a perfect destination for us and our guests!

We knew we wanted a fun, relaxed wedding where everyone just felt like they were at a good party with good friends.  During our trip to Israel right before we got engaged, we attended Nir’s cousin’s wedding.  It was so interesting to see a wedding in a completely different culture.  It was an outdoor, extremely relaxed wedding.  Guests were greeted with a cocktail on arrival and invited to mingle for 30-45 minutes before the ceremony.  When it came time for the ceremony, we were called to gather around the couple on a grassy area overlooking the mediterranean.  It was a very informal ceremony, with many guests standing and afterward a relaxed dinner was served followed by dancing and a sing along.  I was blown away, but Nir informed me that this was very typical of Israeli weddings.  We definitely borrowed a lot from that experience.  We had a cocktail hour before the ceremony to welcome guests and allow them to mingle, get comfortable and have some fun before seating them for the ceremony.  Our ceremony overlooked our favorite body of water.  And we did everything we could to throw a great party afterward.

Our love of all things Maine and our love of bright colors was our starting point for the design.  We actually used a picture I took of some buoys hanging on the outside of the house we stay at on Moody Beach for our Save the Date card.  From that picture we pulled the idea of using actual buoys in our design as well as some of the worn shingle colors, buoy colors, etc. Meagan, of Maine Seasons Events, our wedding planner and stylist extraordinaire, was able to supply buoys that she incorporated into many of the center pieces.  Our table names were Maine town names and each table had a brightly painted frame holding a map of Maine with the town name overlaying it.  The reception ended up being more beautiful and perfect than we could have imagined.  As we have told Meagan and Charli (our amazing day of coordinator who we can’t say enough wonderful things about), if we saw pictures of our reception on a blog or in a magazine we would have flipped out and begged them to try to recreate it exactly. Can’t ask for much more!

We had a really fun time pulling in some of Nir’s culture’s traditions.  He was born in Israel and his parents immigrated to America when he was just a few years old.  To honor his family’s Jewish traditions we were married under a huppah that we made of Birch and a simple piece of cloth.  We invited our parents, siblings and wedding party to stand under it with us as we were wed.  We did the traditional breaking of a glass at the end of the ceremony, and we actually have the remnants of that glass in a jar on a shelf in our apartment.  Nir’s cousin and her husband recited part of a poem we selected, in both Hebrew and English.  The most lively tradition we incorporated was the dancing of the Hora, complete with us being lifted up in chairs as everyone danced around us.  

Another very special, personal touch was that a dear friend of ours officiated the ceremony, and set the highest of bars for all future weddings!  We continue to be blown away by the personal, touching and entertaining ceremony he put together.  And as if that weren’t enough, he has since given us a book with pictures from the wedding and the entire text of the ceremony!  We were also lucky enough to have a bridesmaid and groomsman perform “Home” by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros during the ceremony.  They were amazing, and it was a lovely, calm few moments during the ceremony that allowed us to look around and take it all in.

At one point during the ceremony Brad, our friend and officiant, instructed us to take a minute to first just look into each others eyes and then stand and look around at all our guests.  It allowed us to truly stop and be in the moment with each other and with all our friends and family.  Also, equally memorable and valuable in it’s peace and intimacy was the boat ride we took from the ceremony to the reception.  While all our guests were driven by trolley over to the Yacht Club, we boarded a small boat generously provided by the Yacht Club and took a spin around the Harbor before arriving at the dock of the Yacht Club.  It was such a special few minutes where we could just be with each other and bask in the glory of what we had just done

We planned a menu with Karen (Trillium Caterers) that highlighted Maine specialties (lobster rolls, tasty end of summer corn, blueberry pie, whoopie pies, etc) and Israeli/Mediterranean treats (grape leaves, kabobs, hummus, tzatziki, roasted vegetables).  We also had a surprise shout out to my family from the south…boiled peanuts!  And every bite of everything was absolutely amazing.  To toot Karen’s horn, we were told by many people that it was the best food they’d ever eaten at a wedding.

Photographer: Meredith Perdue / Event Design & Planning: Maine Seasons Events / Floral Design: Flora Fauna / Venue: Camden Yacht Club / Catering: Trillium / Stationery: Parrot Design Studio / Tents: Wallace Tent Company / Rentals: One Stop Party Shop / Transportation: A1 Trolley / Music: DJ Jon

I’m a former member of the Barn Brides Club and can fully attest to the fact that getting married in a big, old rambling Barn is nothing short of amazing. Honest to goodness rustic perfection and The Barn on Walnut Hill in Maine is one of the best little spots in this club. Becca Wood Photography captured all the beauty this gem has to offer and the couple? Beyond adorable and full of heart-warming smiles. That’s when you know a wedding is great – that ear to ear grin gives it away each and every time. See it all unfold right here!

Click here for the FULL wedding!

From the bride… When we got engaged in January, we knew we wanted to get married as soon as practicable. We loved Maine as a location, because although we’re currently living in DC, my roots are in New England, and J has spent every summer in Maine as well as having gone to college there. Most venues were already booked for the summer, and, as I spent the summer studying for and taking the bar exam, we figured a fall wedding was probably our only choice if I was going to maintain some semblance of sanity. We fell in love with both of our venues, our caterer and photographer on a couple of whirlwind weekend planning trips and booked them right away. Many of our decisions had this flavor: yes, we wanted everything to be festive and nice, but we didn’t have a specific vision for any particular element going into the planning, and it made it easier to make choices when there wasn’t a predetermined “just so” that we had to find.

But that’s not to say we didn’t feel invested in pouring energy and effort into the wedding, in part because I love to craft and, in part because we knew it would, in some cases, save us good money. J’s mom and grandma are both seasoned scavengers of tag sales and church rummages and did an amazing job collecting all the mugs, vases, votives, doilies and water pitchers used at the wedding. My sister designed the save-the-dates, invitations, and programs, and J’s sister painted the watercolor design that was on our invitations. We used Vistaprint and Zazzle for printing (a pretty affordable option, I might add) and printed the programs on my inkjet a few nights before the wedding. I focused my crafty energy on designing a rubber stamp for our programs, welcome bags, and thank you notes, and on embroidering the table numbers, although number 16 was stitched two nights before the wedding by a dear friend who took one look at my frazzled state as I ran around making playlists and arranging flowers and took pity on me. (The numbers are on their way to becoming a small quilt for our wall — after we finish the thank-you notes, that is.) We had a pipe dream of baking all the desserts ourselves, but I am so very glad that plan was abandoned early.  I love to bake and am surrounded by bakers, but churning out 20 pies two days before the wedding would have been a disaster. Instead, we made one of the passed appetizers ourselves, a turkey curry puff pastry, we baked two kinds of cookies (espresso chocolate shortbread and Viennese jam thumbprints), and my mother-in-law baked two cakes for the non-pie-lovers. So our baking yens were satisfied and we had delicious pie that magically appeared the day of the wedding. We also did our own flowers and DJ’ed our wedding on a laptop, both of which I will admit caused some stress — J had to finish editing the playlist right after we wrote our vows, in bed, the night before the wedding, because I had passed out in exhaustion — but we loved every song on that playlist and the flowers were beautiful! Last on the list of wedding items imbued with blood, sweat, and tears: the dress. No, I didn’t sew it myself! But I purchased it “new without tags” on eBay, and it unfortunately arrived smelling quite strongly of body odor. After two months of worrying, I decided to wash it in my bathtub– no way was I spending as much money dry cleaning a dress as I had buying it in the first place.  I found instructions that another bride had posted on Weddingbee, scrubbed it with cold water, Tide and a toothbrush, and voila! body odor gone. Best $200 (or whatever insane price I would have been charged) I ever saved.

I can’t recommend all our vendors highly enough — particularly our photographer, caterer, bakery, and jeweler. I almost wish we could do it again just to have an excuse to work with them all some more!

Wedding Photography: Becca Wood Photography / Ceremony: First Universalist Church in Yarmouth, Maine / Reception: The Barn on Walnut Hill in North Yarmouth, Maine / Flowers: DIY by The Couple, Their Friends + Wedding Party via Whole Foods / Event Planning: Sarah Crossman / Food: 111Maine / Wedding Dress: A Used Allure Gown via eBay / Seamstress: Angie Cavallaro / Shoes: Nordstrom / Wedding Bands: Custom by Digby & Iona, Friends of the Couple / Earrings: Borrowed from the Groom’s Mother / Felt Hair Flower: Katie Created / Pies: Two Fat Cats / Bridesmaids’ Dresses: Various / Bridesmaids’ Bags: Zazzle / Groom’s suit: J.Crew / Hair + Makeup: Fabu Salon (207-775-3228) / Rentals: One Stop Party Shop

When a vintage rustic venue is splashed with a modern feel and then topped off with pops of color around every corner – you better believe hearts will start to flutter. It’s wedding-swooning science. So we have  Maine Seasons Events to thank for all the pitter pattering this Tuesday morning (thank you!). With their vibrant design and style – they not only seamlessly married rustic and modern, but they also married the most darling duo while they were at it. If that’s not enough to make your heart go pitter patter, I just don’t know what is – and you can see it all here!

Click here for the FULL wedding!

From Meagan of Maine Seasons Events… Emily and Dan wanted to mix a vintage rustic look with a clean and modern feel. Their orange, gray, brown and blue wedding design incorporated custom wool plaid table runners made by Dan’s mom, an eclectic mix of flower containers including wooden boxes, jars and porcelain vases, orange paper lanterns in the dinner tent and pops of turquoise for fun. Maine Seasons Events created a lounge tent with wicker and upholstered furniture, custom pillows, a bench and lamp made just for the occasion and throw blankets in gray and orange. Ameranouche, a gypsy jazz band, played for the ceremony, and Soul City provided a full dance floor all evening. Catering by 111 Maine included a dessert buffet of pies and cookie jar cookies made by the groom’s mom. 

Wedding Photography: Sharyn Peavey Photography / Event Design + Planning: Maine Seasons Events / Floral + Event Design: Flora Fauna / Venue: The Barn on Walnut Hill in North Yarmouth, Maine / Catering: 111 Maine / Music: Ameranouche + Soul City / Wedding Stationery: Gus & Ruby Letterpress / Transportation: Bo-Mar Transportation / Rentals: One Stop Party Shop / Photo Booth: Maine Photo Booth / Hair + Makeup: Head Games Salon / Wedding Dress: Marisa / Reception Dress: Jim Hjelm

You’re hearing it here first: Maine is THE place to have the most amazing nautical wedding. And Maine Seasons Events does a fabulous job designing them. We’ve seen so many great fêtes from the company (like this peachy keen soiree or this organic and moody affair) and though they are all completely different, they are all completely fab. Like this Peaks Island wedding, captured by Andrew Davis Photography. Perfectly chic, perfectly nautical, perfectly brilliant. We just can’t get enough. Luckily, there is a full image gallery for us to keep dreaming away the day!

An island wedding in Maine is a feat to plan in itself, but when it happens on the same weekend that Hurricane Irene blows into town, well that is another story entirely!

 Rachel and Jon chose to be married on Peaks Island, Maine and contacted Maine Seasons Events for design and planning for their island event.  Many factors have to be considered for an island wedding, not only getting all guests onto and off the island, but transporting staff, food, beverages, ice, flowers, linens, rentals, and décor have to be planned for, factoring in ferry schedules, and land transportation on the island side. 

Rachel and Jon live in Philadelphia, but adore the coast of Maine, where Rachel grew up. The two were married on Peaks Island at Trefethen Evergreen Improvement Association (TEIA). Originally built in 1912, TEIA is a lovely wooden boathouse with a large maple floor once considered to be “the best dance floor this side of Boston.” The couple wanted their wedding to be whimsical, rustic, fun, and chock full of Maine flavor. They also wanted the entire day to be a celebration of their incredible friends and families. Guests arrived by sea after taking a cruise through Casco Bay on “The Islander” ferry.

Maine Seasons Events created a design that reflected the natural feel of the coast of Maine, while being conscious about reusing or recycling as many of the design elements as possible.  Lanterns,  recycled glass votive holders and driftwood, mussel shells and rocks sensitively gathered over the winter after storms were worked into the table design, all atop custom made  blue ticking fabric runners and sand colored linens. Nautical monkey fist knots were used as table number holders and hand cut place cards were pinned on authentic depth charts of the area.   The bride designed the wedding stationery and each envelope was lined with a hand cut tide chart map in the color palette and tied with yellow and white twine. Her family gathered driftwood and shells for the tables and the bridesmaids got together before the wedding for an evening of wine and flower picking at organic Little River Flower Farm. The ceremony music was provided by the couples wonderfully talented cellist friend Nick Ogawa of Takenobu.

The food combined seasonal, sustainable Maine ingredients with Greek inspired flavors to honor Rachel’s Greek heritage. The caterer, 111 Maine, took the time to learn some of Rachel’s grandmother’s recipes to share with guests. After dinner, guests participated in Greek dances they had learned at the rehearsal dinner the night before with a Greek dancing instructor.  The signature cocktails– “Dark & Stormies” for him, “The Honey Badger” for her– incorporated local Maine Green Bee soda, sweetened with Maine wildflower honey. A variety of Maine craft beers were also enjoyed by guests. For favors, guests left with freshly baked chocolate chip cookies from Old World Gourmet Deli, Rachel’s favorite childhood treat.

Hurricane Irene held off just long enough for guests to enjoy the outdoor ceremony and evening reception overlooking the bay, and Irene’s gift was an incredible Maine sunset almost too vibrant to be real.

Photography: Andrew Davis Photography / Location: Trefelen Evergreen Improvement Association / Design and Planning: Maine Seasons Events / Flowers: Little River Flower Farm / Catering: 111 Maine Catering / Ceremony music: Nick Ogawa, Takenobu / Reception music: DJ Bob Wilson / Bride’s Dress: Monique Lhullier / Bridesmaids: J.Crew / Groom’s Suit: Ralph Lauren / Boat Transportation: Portland Discovery Land and Sea Tours / Ferry transportation: Casco Bay Lines / Car service: Maine Limousine / Hair styling: Voila Day Spa / Save the dates: Anela Selkowitz

It completely, utterly, totally pulls at my heart strings when a couple is SO happy, SO in love that you can feel it radiating out of your computer screen. And this couple is one of those perfectly in love couples. You will feel it when you spend some time with Sharyn Peavy Photography‘s account of the day. The gorgeous wedding, planned and designed by Maine Seasons Events, is the most wonderful backdrop for such a happy couple. Click here for more!

When we began planning our wedding, we both knew we wanted a place where people could stay within close proximity to one another. We wanted people to be able to walk from where they were staying, to the ceremony, to the reception, to the after party. What better place to do that than a summer camp?!

The family of one of Ian’s childhood friends owns Camp Vega in Maine and graciously offered the venue for Labor Day Weekend. Plus, Maine is absolutely gorgeous at that time of the year.

During one of our trips up to Maine, we were blown away by the natural beauty and the colors that fill ones senses around dusk. We wanted to make our wedding an elegantly rustic affair, and what better way to do that than by choosing colors that reflect the natural earth tones of Maine. Even the loons with their contrasting black and white coloring inspired the palette. Meagan of Maine Seasons Events helped us immensely with choosing the colors and elements that embodied that feeling.

Although we did not incorporate any specific traditions, we feel that we started one. Many of the wedding ceremonies we had been to felt stuffy and emotionally constricted. Our ceremony was traditional in many respects, but boisterous and relaxed enough so that people could respectfully express emotion. We believe this was achieved by having an outdoor ceremony (thank goodness the weather cooperated), serving a light pre-ceremony signature cocktail (lemonade, soda water, and a splash of blueberry vodka), and having readings that were more secular and metaphorically indicative of our relationship.

We loved the memories of our recessional. We had been so focused on each other during the ceremony, it was wonderful to be declared husband and wife and walk in to the loving energy emitted by our family and friends. You can really see it on our faces in Sharyn Peavey’s pictures.

Photographer: Sharyn Peavey Photography / Location: Camp Vega / Event Design & Planning: Maine Seasons Events / Floral Design: Flora Fauna / Music: The Alex Band / Rentals: One Stop Party Shop / Bride’s Dress: Vera Wang / Stationery: Parrot Design Studio

It might be close to impossible to not smile from ear to ear after setting your sights on this mood-lifting lovely by Lara Kimmerer. It’s just happiness wrapped up in on pretty (and pink) post. You can almost feel how happy this couple is through every image, and if that isn’t enough the cake from Let Them Eat Cake will stop you in your tracks! It’s a fabulous way to start your Friday, and there is even more to see in the full gallery!

Click here to see the entire gallery of images!

From Lara Kimmerer…Amy & Eddie are two of the most joyful people I’ve had the pleasure to know. There’s a playfulness between them that’s infectious. Amy grew-up in Massachusetts, and Eddie was raised in Singapore. His parents had quite the love story of their own – during a time in Chinese history when couples didn’t often marry for love. I’m sure being raised by two parents who truly respected one another gave Eddie a high standard for a lasting relationship – and he found his match in Amy.

Both have done a good deal of world traveling and each ended up in New York City. The two met at a mutual friend’s party. Eddie immediately took a liking to Amy. Amy was busy enjoying life and being young in the city, and didn’t notice Eddie right away. After a bit of coaxing from Eddie she agreed to go out for a drink. The conversation over drinks led to more conversation, which led to dinner and eventually a marriage!

Their wedding was hosted by Amy’s wonderful parents at their home in Cape Porpoise, ME. Eddie had family travel from all over the world – including his 88 year old father, who came all the way from Singapore! The ceremony was the perfect blend of traditional and personal. They each wrote vows to one another, and Eddie’s Maid of Honor read a selection from The Velveteen Rabbit. Immediately after the ceremony Amy & Eddie took a few minutes for themselves to soak in everything that had just happened. In the meantime, their guests enjoyed an incredible spread from Kitchen Chicks. The presentation was fantastic – and the food was delicious.

The reception was beautifully decorated by Kitchen Chicks and Anniebells. The pink gingham tablecloths and gorgeous flower arrangements came together to create a feeling of casual elegance – perfect for a Maine summer evening. For the guest favors, Amy & Eddie showed their humor, while being serious about their commitment too! Each person was given a bag with candy – as well as Toms of Maine toothpaste and a toothbrush. The note to their guests read, “Marriage is a balance of holding on, and letting go.”

All of the details were beautiful, but their friends and family were what was most important to them that day. Smiles didn’t leave their faces for a moment.The party culminated with sparklers on the front lawn and finished with all of their guests circling around Amy & Eddie for their final dance. Everything was absolutely perfect!

Wedding Photography: Lara Kimmerer / Wedding Dress: Nicole Miller / Dancing Dress: Adrienne’s Bridal / Bridesmaid Dresses: Watters & Watters / Location: Private Residence / Floral Design: Anniebells / Catering: Kitchen Chicks Catering / Wedding Cake: Let Them Eat Cake / Make-up: Joanne McDonough of Joya Beauty / Hair: Lena Hartford of Hair That Moves / DJ: Amazing DJ Music / Transportation: Intown Trolley

Up next in our pretty parade is a charming backyard affair by Meredith Perdue that has me seriously considering a move to Boothbay Harbor, Maine.  It’s true.  I could not be more charmed with the magical seaside setting, divine details, vintage touches and casual, yet elegant vibe.  And that gorgeous, gorgeous bridal bouquet created by Ravenswood Farm?  Yep, I am in love.  Click here for more of this fabulous fete!

Click here to see the entire gallery of images!

From the Bride… David and I knew from the very beginning that we wanted to get married in Boothbay Harbor, Maine, as it is a very special place to us! There are already so many family memories there, and we wanted to create another one that both of our families could share. Since David’s family lives there during the summer months, the planning went smoothly.

We were married in August on the most gorgeous lawn of a private residence. David arrived to the ceremony with his groomsmen on a lobster boat, while my parents, bridesmaids, and I arrived on an old ferry boat. We were inspired by all things vintage and natural, and wanted a backyard wedding with simple elegance. We choose not to pick out an exact color palette, but instead decided to go with what we liked. Everything came together beautifully! Gray was a base color, and the blues, greens, and purples that we chose complemented it very well. I am a details kind of girl so I knew that I wanted our day to be very personal, with the smallest details to make it “us.” All of our paper goods were done by my close friend and bridesmaid, Ashley. She created a blueberry out of watercolors, and we kept that theme throughout the wedding, using blueberries in the champagne and punch glasses.

Choosing our wedding vendors was fairly easy since Boothbay Harbor is such a small town. Most of them had a connection with David’s family somehow, and we were so happy to have them share our special day with us. We didn’t have a wedding planner, day of person, or someone to style it for us, so David’s mom, family, and friends helped to make our vision come true. My favorite wedding favor was the Maine maple popcorn from the popcorn shop in town. We wanted our guests to have a real Maine experience and hopefully each of them fell in love with this small coastal town.

I was so happy with how our table arrangements came together! The vintage place settings were mismatched china and each lace table overlay was different and unique. We had so much fun with all of our DIY projects! If I had to pick our two favorites, the first would be our wishing tree and the second would be the chocolate covered blueberry place cards. Our wishing tree tags were so much fun to make and since David was eager to be involved with all of the details, he helped a lot with this one.  When we got to Maine we went with our family to pick out a blue spruce tree for the tags to hang on. After the wedding his mom planted the tree in their yard so we will be able to remember our wedding day for years to come whenever we see it. We’d like to think that it represents all of our family and friends who were there that day to support us. I also loved the blueberry place cards that we put together a few days before the wedding with the help of our family. We found that DIY projects provided us with a chance to relax and enjoy time with our loved ones before our wedding. It was a perfect day filled with joy, laughter, and emotion that made us fall in love all over again!

Wedding Photography: Meredith Perdue / Wedding Ceremony + Reception Location: Private Residence / Flowers: Ravenswood Farm / Caterer: The Gallery Gatherings & Events / Stationery: AM Designery / Transportation: Antique Auto Rental / Bridal Gown: Melissa Sweet / Bride’s Shoes: Vera Wang / Bridesmaid Dresses: J.Crew / Bridesmaid Flower Pins: Emersonmade / Mens’ Attire: J.Crew / Bridesmaid Shoes: Express / Band: The Holy Mackerel Band / Place Settings: New England Vintage Rentals / Tent: New England Tent & Awning / Favors: Coastal Maine Popcorn

This colorful celebration by Rachel Olsen Photography is just a feast for the senses. Vibrant in every way, from the textures on the traditional garb to the to die for color palette to the gelato bar – it just doesn’t get more sensory rich than this. It’s not what you expect from a typical seaside Maine destination wedding, but I think that’s what I love so much about this soiree for the senses! Click here for even more!

Click here to see the entire gallery of images!

From Rachel Olsen Photography…Shawn and I began planning our wedding with one word in mind. Destination.We dreamed of being married far from home, in a relaxed environment with inspiring views. We found all this and more at Newagen Seaside Inn in Southport, ME.

For our marriage ceremony, we wanted to highlight our passion for travel and adventure, our deep appreciation of Buddhist philosophy and traditions, and fueled by my own Indian heritage and our fascination with Indian weddings. In the end, I believe we created a unique, sensory rich, and multi-cultural wedding experience that everyone could enjoy and remember.  And many of our family and friends happily participated in dressing the part with us by wearing traditional Indian dresses (sari or lehenga) and suits (kurta or sherwani).  This of course only added to the vibrant color palette of the day.

As the amazing night wore on however, east did meet west and clothing changed to summer dresses and shirts and ties. For dessert we had a gelato bar (a huge hit!) as a nod to the Italian heritage of Shawn’s family. Bringing our guests all the way to India or even Italy was impossible, but I think we succeeded in bringing a small piece of it to them. We were able to create many memories filled with rich beautiful color, exotic and delicious cultural traditions, and dancing! Lots of dancing!

Wedding Photography: Rachel Olsen Photography / Flowers + Lighting: Kate Marin of Beautiful Days /
Henna: Remarkable Blackbird / Hair: Andrea Torre / Make-up: Linda Forgues of About Face / Band: Boss / Wedding Cake: European Bakery / Gelato: Gelato Fiasco / Indian Dress: Pashmina / White Dress: Nicole Miller via The Dressing Room / Jewelry: Two Tightly Wound / Wedding Coordinator + Event Planning: Jason Schlosser at Newagen Seaside Inn / Officiant: Lama Padma Karma

One of the great things about living in Massachusetts is the close proximity to all of the beautiful places in New England. When I was engaged I must have dragged my sister and fiancé all over New England, including Maine, before finally settling on a little barn in New Hampshire, but I’ll never forget the rustic beauty we encountered in Maine. It’s just the perfect location for a wedding. And this next wedding, with gorgeous images from Michelle Turner Photography is the proof. I can literally smell the fresh, crisp, clean air in these images and I’m totally head over heels for all the nature inspired decor. See even more here!

Click here to see the entire gallery of images!

From Michelle Turner Photography…Martha and Eliot met while they were both stationed at Brunswick Naval Air Station in Maine.  Several years, base reassignments, and deployments separated them, but their wedding day marked the beginning of their life together, as they were both finally assigned to Virginia- at the same base again for the first time since Brunswick NAS.  Their ceremony site was situated overlooking the Penobscot River at historic Fort Knox in Maine- this picturesque piece of American history served as the beautiful backdrop for these two active duty naval aviators.  Martha and Eliot radiated love throughout the day, smiling and laughing at each other constantly.  The ceremony was punctuated by moments of tenderness and humor- they had several surprises for each other, and Eliot (and most of the guests in attendance) was first surprised and then delighted as the cannons were fired upon the pronouncement of the two as husband and wife.  Likewise, Martha was surprised by the two antique vehicles (one of them an antique Mack Truck!) which appeared to whisk her to and from the reception site.  The fireworks display and sparkler exit was a surprise to all of the guests, who enjoyed each and every unexpected turn of the wedding day.

Wedding Photography: Michelle Turner Photography / Ceremony Location: Fort Knox / Event Planning + Reception Location: The Retreat at French’s Point / Tent: Sperry Seacoast Tents / Flowers: Branch Pond Flowers / Fireworks: Central Maine Pyrotechnics / Wedding Dress: Lea Ann Belter / Jacket: Sandi McKeen

Maine has always been on my travel bucket list (which seems to be growing and growing since I started this job!) but after this fantastic waterside affair, I might be heading north pronto. The wedding, captured by Jenny Moloney Photography, went down at the groom’s family’s private home on Malden Island, and was designed and planned by Maine Seasons Events. The result? Well, let me go out on a limb and say it is the absolute perfect mix of nautical chic and northern elegance – ideal for the beautiful Maine surroundings. The superb affair continues in the full image gallery – so I’ll meet you there!

We met at Colby College, while living in the same dorm our sophomore year.  After dating for about seven years, we became engaged in Paris in October 2010 when Will flew over to surprise Kate (who was on a business trip) on the point of Ile de la Cité.

We were married on Malden Island, a 10-home summer community off the coast of Maine. Will’s family has been part of the island community since 1881 (the Home Club was founded in 1872); his is the sixth generation to spend summers there. Kate and her family have been visiting for years now, too.

With the lobster boats, buoys and fog in the harbor, boardwalks, old wooden houses, and pine trees on the island, the location is classic coastal Maine. Our hope for the wedding was that it was “of the place” – laid back and rustic – while being fun and distinctive. Instead of ribbon we used twine, the groom and his brothers wore boat shoes, flowers were in wooden boxes and medicine bottles. While we didn’t have a single wedding color – flowers were a medley of hues – blues predominated. The maid of honor’s dress was navy and the flower girl’s was light blue seersucker, the groom and his brother wore navy suits (with ties in their family’s Scottish tartan), escort cards were lots of different blues, invitations incorporated a cobalt blue, the bride wore lapis earrings.

The ceremony, held in the island’s cookhouse (where island members eat together during the summer months), was intimate, simple, and thanks to our minister, pretty funny.

Location: Private Home Club, Malden Island, Maine / Event Design and Planning: Maine Seasons Events / Catering: Ian’s Eats / Music: Steam Powered / Airplane: Steam Powered Airplane / Flowers: Friend / Tent: Sperry Tents / Rentals: Be Our Guest / Photography: Jenny Moloney Photography

Happy Labor Day LBBers! I hope it’s time for a quick break from your summer celebrations, because boy is it worth it. The fantastic floral and event designers at Bea & Company sent this charming wedding our way all the way from Maine, and I am in love. It’s the perfect mix of Americana Summer and Classic Chic for your holiday (and it even took place over Labor Day Weekend last year!). Every single image from Emilie Inc. has me giddy. Seriously. Every single one. When you’re ready, click here for even more. You’ll be so glad you put down your hotdog for just a few minutes.

Just days after our engagement, Joe brought me to Paris Hill, Maine for the first time to spend the Fourth of July holiday with his immediate and extended family. I knew that Fourth of July was Joe’s favorite holiday, but I did not fully grasp why until I went to Paris Hill that year and partook in the fantastic Brooks family annual celebration. What I saw when I got there was a pristinely beautiful setting filled with people who went out of their way to create family togetherness, preserve tradition and honor history.

Paris Hill is like a time capsule. An historic township, the beautifully preserved buildings are centered around the open, grassy Common. The landmarks are simply the church (built in 1803), the courthouse, the old jail, jailer’s house, registry, and the old Paris Hill Academy. You can’t help but feel transported back in time when you’re there. The Hill is set against the backdrop of a spectacular view of the White Mountains. The physical beauty of the place is trumped only by the family traditions that made the visit truly visceral for me. From the family softball game played in vintage baseball jerseys to the lobster dinner in the barn, I fell in love with Paris Hill and the deeply rooted family traditions that my fiancé’s family was bringing to life. Paris Hill is slice of pure Americana, so few places could be more apropos of celebrating the Fourth of July. It also turned out to be the perfect setting for our wedding…

On the plane ride back to California, as I watched the tiny islands off Portland fade into the distance, I leaned over and asked Joe if he ever thought of having our wedding in Paris Hill. A broad grin swept over his face and I knew that’s where we would be exchanging our vows. Joe had assumed I would want to get married in Laguna Beach, where my family lives. Laguna would be a no-brainer because of the natural beauty combined with my family’s history; but Paris Hill just felt right. Not only was it such a special piece of Joe’s family history, but his Grandmother lived steps from church! From that day on, we began what would become one of the most fun projects I’ve ever been part of. Because we had such a wonderful, authentic setting, all we really had to do was not mess it up by trying to get too fancy or overdo it. We knew that we wanted a rustic, understated, elegant affair that was all about family, but the challenge was how, from 3,000 miles away, we would find someone who could understand what Paris Hill meant to us and execute our vision.

Joe was a fantastic partner in the wedding planning because he wanted to be involved in everything and helped with all aspects. In fact, he is the one who found our AMAZING wedding planner, Sandy Shapiro-Hurt, founder of Bea & Company in Portland, Maine. Once we were in her hands, it was smooth sailing. During the first of many phone planning sessions to come, we told Sandy we wanted our wedding to have the feel of “Anthropologie meets rustic Maine.” She knew exactly what we were saying. We did only one wedding planning trip, and Sandy helped us do a one-stop shop that weekend. We went to her house to do the tasting with our caterer, Chi Chi Chef, and the moment I walked into her house I knew we had chosen the perfect person to design our wedding. The aesthetic and décor in her house was exactly what we wanted at our wedding and from that moment on, I knew we were in good hands. She listened carefully to what we ruminated on and helped us pull together all the elements that would create the perfect celebration for us. One of our best resources we used for accents was etsy.com, on which we relied heavily for those random custom items (wooden signs, vintage candy jars, table and name cards, etc.).

We were married over Labor Day weekend, and when we deplaned in Portland, our spoiled Southern California senses were hit with a wall of heat and dense humidity. In addition to the heat, we had the looming threat of Hurricane Earl that we heard was causing last minute location changes to weddings all along Maine’s coastal areas. I could hear my family and friends whisper about the weekend forecast, doing their best to insulate me from worrying about it. Despite the imminent wrath of Earl, we managed to stay calm and optimistic over in Western Maine. The night before the wedding, it began to rain torrentially just as the last guests dispersed from the rehearsal dinner, and that had us a little worried. Luckily, I awoke the next morning to my sister excitedly pulling the drapes in my room apart to reveal blue skies and news that the hurricane had passed us overnight. And in fact, the storm had lifted the unbearable heat and humidity and the weather was absolutely gorgeous! Another thing the morning revealed for me was that my sisters surprised me with hand-made programs for the ceremony. They used vintage paper and apparently it was quite the undertaking, and even caused them to have to pull an all-nighter the previous week to finish them!

Our wedding day was perfect and I still savor every detail to this day. Sandy took our vision and elevated it to a level Joe and I never imagined possible. The wedding was designed to be a procession from the church to the cocktail hour and finally to the Paris Hill Academy for the reception, all located on the same winding road. It all unfolded gorgeously as I had hoped. On the advice of my best friend and maid-of-honor, Stephanie, I was adamant that we take a group shot of everyone immediately after the ceremony. That is one thing I truly recommend if possible. There is something so American Gothic about those shots.

At the backyard cocktail hour held at Joe’s cousin’s home, guests sipped prosecco with a single blueberry and local beer, while the bluegrass band played at the edge of the lawn. Our reception was held in an antique building that was formerly the Paris Hill Academy. Multi-colored dahlias of all sizes were arranged delicately in vintage glass bottles, along with several other rustic accents. The ambience was simple and reflected the relaxed elegance of Paris Hill. We dined on an Italian-inspired menu (Joe’s favorite) served family-style (my favorite). We wanted people to pass and share food, and refill their wine glasses from bottles open on the table. We had a delicious red velvet wedding cake, as well as homemade whoopee pies, but guests went crazy for the candy buffet (go figure!). We danced late into the night to the Beatles and Elvis, as sleepy kids went home one by one (unless, that is, they fell asleep on the benches that lined the dance floor, and allowed their parents to sneak a few more songs in ). Being surrounded by our families and closest friends in a place so special to us – I couldn’t have imagined it any other way.

Photography: Emilie Inc. / Flowers: Bea & Company / Event Design: Bea & Company / Event Planning: Bea & Company / Ceremony Location: First Baptist Church / Reception Location: Paris Hills Academy / Catering: The Chichi Chef / Wedding Cake: Two Fat Cats / Make-up & Hair: Lisa Satorn, Ken Paves Salon/ Stationery: Maida Vale / Wedding Gown: Vera Wang via Saks Fifth Ave / Bride’s Shoes: Jimmy Choo / Groom’s Shoes: Calvin Klien / Groom Attire: Hugo Boss, Brioni / Groomsmen Attire: Burberry / Bridesmaid Dress: Lela Rose via Bella Bridesmaids / Engagement Ring + Wedding Band: Tiffany & Co. / Bride’s Earrings & Necklace: Joy Baxt Collection

Ok, ok – I know it’s Wedding Wednesday and on this lovely day we typically just show fabulous snap shots of each wedding so we can fill your google reader with pretty and let you get lost in the full galleries of each affair. Well, I sort of broke the rules. I couldn’t stop building boards for this gorgeous, flower-filled fête by Maine Seasons Events. I.just.couldn’t.stop. So my SMP board builder profile is full of pretty boards because this gorgeous wedding is jam packed with inspiration. Wanna see what I mean? Check out the full gallery of images captured by Alexandra Daley-Clark Photography. It’s board building, wedding inspiration heaven.

Click here to see the entire gallery of images!

From Maine Seasons Events…Erin and Sam’s Spring Maine wedding was hosted at the Maine Audubon Society at Gilsland Farm. The ceremony was held in the orchard, under blooming apple trees, in front of a blooming field of wild narcissus. The acoustic guitar ceremony music was provided by the bride’s brother.  Maine Seasons Events’ design was inspired by a color palette of navy blue, peach, orange, and oatmeal, with accents of blue transfer ware and gold.   The design included custom fabric table runners, hand cut cork place card holders, collected vintage blue transfer ware, vintage typewriter key thumb tacks, and vintage gold frames.  To echo a French countryside feel, natural wood farm tables from Rentals Unlimited were mixed with glamorous gold Chiavari chairs for guest dining under a sail cloth tent provided by One Stop Party Shoppe.

With a special interest in food the bride and groom chose a scrumptious menu provided by Black Tie Company, inspired by seasonally fresh selections. Custom letterpress stationery in the color palette was created by Gus and Ruby Letterpress with design involvement from the bride. The groom’s mother made homemade strawberry jam for favors, that were displayed in muslin pouches which were hand stamped by the bride.  When the forecast called for rain the bride’s father did an emergency procurement of white umbrellas on his way to Maine,  just in case.

Flora Fauna created luscious floral arrangements including, peonies, roses, tulips, sweet peas, orchids, freesia, dahlias and stock.  The bouquets were hand tied with vintage ribbon and trim, and the flower girl fairy wands were created with a giant peony, tulle and satin ribbon.  Being avid wine lovers the couple wanted to incorporate wine corks that they had been saving and Flora Fauna created cocktail table centerpieces incorporating wine corks and candles.

Venue: Gilsland Farm Audubon Center / Catering: Black Tie Company / Event Design + Planning: Maine Seasons Events / Wedding Photography: Alexandra Daley-Clark Photography / Floral Design: Flora Fauna / Music: The Waiters / Guest Transportation: Bo-Mar Transportation / Couples Transportation: Maine Limousine Service / Stationery: Gus & Ruby Letterpress / Hair + Make-up: Bei Capelli Salon / Table Rentals: Rentals Unlimited / Other Rentals: One Stop Party Shoppe / Wedding Dress: Christos / Bride’s Shoes: Butter / Bride’s Earrings: Alexis Bittar / Bridesmaid Dresses: J.Crew / Groomsmen Attire: Banana Republic / Groom’s Suit: Alton Lane

I’ve never heard of a pisco sour but apparently it is the national drink of Peru and I’m thinking if those fabulous Peruvians have a national drink they MUST know how to party. Well this Maine wedding between a Canadian girl and her Peruvian love proves my theory to a T. It is packed to the gills with so many fun details all captured by Cuppa Photography and the party doesn’t stop here. Hop on over to the gallery for the whole affair from salsa dancing, to ceviche and pisco sours a plenty.

Click here to see the entire image gallery!

From the Bride… Our wedding day was the perfect way to celebrate our two cultures but most importantly, it was a really great party! Cesar and I met five years ago in Northern Peru, when I went to volunteer with a community development project and he had a room for rent in his house. So we knew when we were planning our wedding that incorporating elements of Peruvian and latin culture was important to reflect who we are as a couple. That meant salsa dancing, margaritas and mojitos, ceviche hors d’oeuvres, and shots of pisco sour (the national drink of Peru)! Even the wedding flowers were Peruvian wedding lilies.

And how did a girl from Canada and a boy from Peru come to be married in the small town of Biddeford Pool, Maine? My family is spread out throughout Canada but has vacationed in Biddeford Pool since the 1950s and Cesar’s family is now living in New York City. So it ended up being the perfect place to bring our two families (and lots of friends!) together to celebrate! There’s something about the Vacation State that brings out the best in people, and everyone was super relaxed and looking to have a good time.

The day started off sentimentally when my dad walked me down the aisle to Eidelweiss – the song my parents sang to me as a child every night before going to bed. Cesar’s cousin read a beautiful reading in Spanish. But as guests streamed out the little chapel, they found the first sign of a good time ahead… an ice cream truck was parked outside and gave out ice cream to all of our guests. It was a great way to have everyone mingle outside on such a beautiful day, and it was a perfect getaway car!

Our guests joined us for an outdoor cocktail reception as the sun began to set on Biddeford Pool. We couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful day! Our first dance was a salsa and we hired a dance teacher to come give our North-American guests a lesson in latin dance moves. The dance floor was hot all night long and we had to send our last guests home at 2am! We loved every moment of the day, and look forward to celebrating our anniversary in Maine every year!

Wedding Photography: Cuppa Photography / Flowers: 48 Long Stems / Catering: Mountain Caterers / Wedding Ceremony Location: St. Brendan’s Chapel / Wedding Reception Location: Hattie’s Restaurant / Tent Rental: Marshall Tent & Event Rental / DJ: Larry Thibodeau / Ice Cream Truck: North East Ice Cream / Salsa Instructor: Rickey Hines / Wedding Dress: Dessy / Bride’s Shoes: Nina

This outdoor Maine wedding by David Wittig Photography, described by the couple as Great Gatsby meets a Mid Summer’s Night Dream, is just filled to the brim with personal, heart-felt touches. I am so in love with this couple, their sweet love story and their darling family that made the wedding all come together so beautifully. I am also quite enamored with the darling Bride’s hand-painted pink tulle treasure of a gown by Vera Wang. Swoon! There is a lot to love about this affair, so float on over to the full gallery of images for even more.

click here for the full wedding gallery!

From the lovely Bride…Alex and I met and became friends in the summer of 2005 when we were both living in New York. We were both students in our university’s writing program and though there was a fabulous amount of flirtation, we stayed friends and nothing more for years. There were times when we spoke everyday and times when months went by without a word. Alex left New York for Austin and later moved Santa Fe; I got a dog, Finnegan. In 2007, Alex was ready to come home to Manhattan and I offered him my couch while he looked for a more permanent home. To make the story short, and spare you awkward details, Alex moved in but never slept on the couch. He found an apartment in Chinatown, but after living there for only a few weeks, he called and said he wanted to come home. And he did. We both felt so lucky to have fallen in love with our best friend that we began discussing marriage right away. Neither one of us had ever had a great desire to be married but we were certain that we had found our partner, and with Finn, we were very much a family. Alex first mentioned getting married in his mother and stepfather’s backyard more than a year before we got engaged. I had never imagined a wedding before, never put a napkin “veil” on my head as a child, never thought of colors, or cake, or big white dresses, but as soon as Alex mentioned his mother’s lovely home I knew it was right. On May 1st, 2009, Alex proposed in the rain on Pier 54 with Finn by his side.

When it came time to plan the wedding, our ideas took shape around our location. Though we are now living in Chicago, Alex’s family are all in Maine, where he grew up, and his mother’s Holden, ME property felt nothing short of dreamy to us. We wanted a small and simple, fifty-person, homemade wedding with personal touches. We wanted the wedding to sing and radiate love and joy. We wanted laughter, family, comfort and peace. And we were lucky enough to have everything we wanted. We were also so lucky to have such giving families. Alex’s stepmother made me a gorgeous bouquet of sweet peas; his mother baked our delicious pink cake. My mother made our favors, tiny burlap bags full of wildflower seeds from Maine and Illinois, and included a little note with our “love story.”

Alex and I also knew right away we wanted nothing too traditional. White or ivory didn’t seem quite right for me, so I went with a hand-painted pale pink Vera Wang gown, with layers and layers of tulle, like elegant cotton candy. Our dress code, “Dress In Your Pleasure.” We invited the guests to come at 5:30 for cocktails and nibbles, as it was really important to us to let people know we wanted them to relax and enjoy themselves; we wanted nothing formal. We joined everyone and drank St. Germain cocktails, and snaked on figs, cheese, and fresh vegetables from Alex’s mother’s garden along with delicious bites of bacon, swordfish, and of course, lobster—it was Maine!

Our ceremony was held at 7pm, just as the sun was beginning to set. Our wedding party was comprised of our two dearest friends who walked Finn down a mowed path to the tree where Alex was waiting (Alex’s stepfather had carved our initials into the tree, an Eastern White Pine). My father and I followed shortly behind, while the Beatles’ “All You Need Is love” played through the summer breeze. And as neither Alex nor I are religious, we asked two other dear friends, Howard Skolnik and Robert Milanowski to officiate the ceremony as Alex and I so admire their relationship and their respect and love for one another.

Alex and I had been buying lanterns since we got engaged and a few days before the wedding, Alex hung all 50 of them in the branches of the tree; he would later tell me this beautiful feat was a valentine for me. We also collected vintage tablecloths, which I placed on the ten tables we scattered around the property; mason jars full of fresh flowers from the garden and more lanterns held them down against the day’s strong wind. A mix of music from Andrew Bird to Django Reinhardt echoed through the tent. As we are both writers, we wanted to write our own vows. They were full of tears and laughter, as was the entire wedding. And after a very romantic kiss, and a short breath away together, we arrived in the tent for toasts, cocktails, cake and dancing. Pure happiness. We wanted a wedding that felt like a Gatsby garden party and A Midsummer Night’s Dream, what we got was the best day of our lives.

Dress: Vera Wang / Photography: David Wittig Photography / Catering: The ChiChi Chef / Stationery: Float Paperie

The brilliant colors of Sam and Sasha’s Maine wedding is just one of the things that will catch your eye in today’s Little Black Blog feature from the always fabulous Michelle Turner and Amber Small at Sweetest Thing Weddings! As you’ll read below, they were married at the Asticou Inn near Acadia National Park. They incorporated a very special blessing of the rings ceremony that is definitely steal-worthy!

See Sasha & Sam’s entire gorgeous gallery here!

from the beautiful bride …
Sam and I met in 2006 while I was apprenticing on an organic farm and he was working as a timber frame carpenter. We became friends, fell in love, and started dating. In 2009, we bought a farm in Milbridge, Maine that we called Salty Dog Farm. Nowadays, Sam is the full-time farmer while I help in the summers (during the rest of the year, I am a teacher a local high school). We grow a diverse crop of organic vegetables that we sell at local farmers’ markets, restaurants, and within the local community.

We were engaged for a long while before we started planning the wedding. We both wanted a wedding that reflected our values – a strong commitment to the environment, family, and community. The thought of planning a wedding that would fulfill those values while also being fun, relaxed, and elegant was overwhelming. And yet time was passing quickly. Luckily, we hired Amber Small of Sweetest Thing Weddings in November of 2009. I described what we looking for and she organized the entire thing. She had a design sense that fit what we looking for – casual elegance with lots of color and individuality. She also connected with us all the amazing vendors that we worked with including the Asticou Inn and Michelle Turner Photography.

Our wedding began at the heart of that important day – the marriage ceremony. Our ceremony reflected our strong beliefs in family and community. Our dear friend who married us, Stephanie Morgan, suggested a ribbon tradition as part of the ceremony. We had a gold ribbon woven through the audience as way of uniting the separate families and communities. It symbolically ties everyone together. We then placed our rings on the ribbon and the rings followed the ribbon so that everyone had a chance to bless the rings, and our marriage, before we placed them on each other’s hands. At the end of the ceremony, our friends and family raised the ribbon and we walked underneath of it. It felt like such a uniting of our different worlds as we became a married couple.

After the ceremony, we wanted the reception to reflect our support of local, organic food. The Asticou Inn connected with four different, local and organic farms that supplied the ingredients for our dinner. In terms of decorations, Amber found a supplier of local dahlias and she collected an amazing amount of driftwood and antique glass bottles to decorate the tables. The beautiful Sperry tents were made from recycled sails and even the chandeliers were vintage. We loved that Amber was able to use so many local and recycled decorations at our reception.

The only thing that we “imported” was the band. Slavic Soul Party is a brass band from New York City and they were amazing! They kept everyone on the dance floor for the entire night.

I loved our wedding. Amber helped create an event that was beautiful, unique to us as a couple, reflected our “farming” values, and helped tie together our families and friends. We couldn’t have asked for a more special day.

To see and hear lots more about the day, take a look at Michelle’s blog ~ here

and Amber’s blog ~ here !

Photography: Michelle Turner Photography / Tent: Sperry Seacoast / Flowers: Sweetest Thing Weddings / Event Planning & Design: Sweetest Thing Weddings / Ceremony & Reception: The Asticou (Maine) / Invitations:  Peak Creative

We always do a little happy wedding dance when Corbin Gurkin sends something our way. She’s that lucky photographer that seems to score one gorgeous wedding after another, with details that are off the charts gorgeous and a sense of style that is always this perfect combination of timelessness and chic. And yet without fail, with every wedding, she takes that luck and elevates it to an entirely new level with her photographs. And this wedding in particular shows off her skills to no end. Add to that coordination by Maine Season Events and floral design by Flora Fauna and well, perfection. The bride and groom have opted to keep their faces out of the mix so instead, we’re focusing on the fabulous details. And when I tell you they are good, well…see for yourself. Click here for even more.

click here to see the full wedding gallery!

The feel of the design was a little woodsy Maine, natural, but clean, vibrant, and fun and with a hint of vintage. Early in the design process, the bride mentioned to Meagan at Maine Seasons Events that she loved the color orange and from there an orange and gray palette was born, with accents of white and green. The design incorporated local Maine gray forest rocks with pale green moss and tiny birch logs, discs and birch bark on the tables, with a base linen of dove gray, accented with white linen hemstitch napkins and assorted vintage white milk glass flower containers.

To satisfy the love of orange, Judy Bourgeois of Flora Fauna, created lush floral arrangements in a combined collection of vintage milk glass from Maine Seasons Events and Flora Fauna. The orange and green flower arrangements included ranunculus, dahlia, freesia, roses, mums, orchids, calla lily, celosia, seasonal berries, sage, dusty miller and moss.

The mix of rectangle and round guest tables were set with several vintage milk glass containers of flowers, moss, forest rocks, and surrounded by votive candles on perches of little birch logs and discs.

The bride loved games and designed the place cards to each have a little riddle on them and the answer to the riddle led each guest to their table, all named for animals. (“In the morning when you are groggy and need a little booster, listen for me to wake you up, because I am a____” (Rooster!) The table names were illustrated by the groom’s sister and placed in white IKEA frames on each table.

The custom made green place cards with white ink were arranged in a bed of moss, inserted into slotted birch logs created by Flora Fauna and illuminated with votive candles. Flora Fauna’s bouquets were hand wrapped with vintage ribbon and fabric details and the bride’s bouquet featured a gold wire collar. The ceremony in the apple orchard was decorated with vintage apple crates containing white birch trees, orange flowers and moss.

The dessert buffet included moss, birch bark, candles and wooden log pedestals created by Maine Seasons Events and Flora Fauna, mixed with vintage wooden crates to elevate the assortment of desserts. Orange paper lanterns were hung in the antique barn, where post reception music and late night food was served. A custom made fabric backdrop was installed in the barn as a photo backdrop area, along with a twine string displaying pictures of the couple throughout their lives, affixed with tiny clothespins.

Photography: Corbin Gurkin Photography / Event Design and Planning, Meagan Gilpatrick, Maine Seasons Events / Floral design: Judy Bourgeois, Flora Fauna / Venue: Clark’s Cove Farm / Catering: 111 Maine / Music: Cocktails: Ameranoush / Reception: Redline

Let me let you in on a little secret – I am starting to really love the winter. Winter weddings in particular, they just have a ethereal way about them. And may I just say, It could be winter all year long in my book if it looked anything like this absolutely stunning photo shoot in Maine by Corbin Gurkin Photography. With drop dead gorgeous floral design by Emily Carter Flowers and invitations from Ceci New York that sparked the design process with Maine Season Events and Corbin Gurkin, this shoot was going to be hit before it even came to fruition. All of it’s dreamy inspiration is perfect for this festive holiday week or those lucky brides planning a winter wedding, and of course there is even more in the gallery.

click here for the full gallery!

From Corbin Gurkin, photographer: Drawing inspiration from Ceci’s invitation suite, Meagan Gilpatrick of Maine Seasons Events and Corbin Gurkin of Corbin Gurkin Photography designed a winter table setting at Foxhill in Camden, Maine.  The design included birch, snow, and other winter themed elements.  We wanted a dreamy, ethereal look that would highlight Camden, Maine as a gorgeous wedding backdrop….snowy vistas overlooking the chilly Atlantic.  We kept the design classic using mercury glass accents and found objects to contain the jewel toned palette. The cake was designed by Gayle Forte/Let Them Eat Cake with a topper from Lauren Christensen of “Lo Boheme”.  Additional desserts were made by Anastasia Glassman of Swan’s Way.

From Emily Carter, floral designer: Our inspiration board combined a lush, simplistic vintage elegance with subtle touches of explicit detail.  I used this to direct my overall look and feel for the floral elements.  The beauty of full blooms of New Zealand peonies and the intricate detail of lady slipper orchids as well as the organic textural elements of various berzillia baubles and brunia berries brought forth a wonderful combination of a vintage style elegance with a touch of organic texture.  French and double tulips were icing on the cake with the combination as their natural tendency to flow and have such a beautiful curve and shape is one that I will always adore.  Silver dusty miller was a beautiful complement to all of these above flowers as its texture speaks for itself, but it also conveniently mimicked the silver mercury glass bowl that we used for the container in the shoot.  Finally, it is a shame that images can not be scratch and sniff, as the aroma of the peonies and the tuberrose was a nice breath of Spring in the midst of a frigid winter day.  For the bouquets, it was impossible to simply create one as I wanted to do a bouquet that would nicely complement the centerpiece elements; however once I found impeccable anemones with black centers, I was compelled to create yet another.  These flowers have the most amazing contrast of not only color, but also the dainty delicate petals contrasted with the heaviness of the dark center is so very inviting.  I will always love these flowers and that is the reasoning behind the second bouquet, as I simply could not go without showcasing their stellar and distinctive beauty.

Photography: Corbin Gurkin Photography / Design: Meagan Gilpatrick of Maine Seasons Events / Florals:  Emily Carter / Invitations and Paper Design: Ceci New York / Venue:  Foxhill / Cake: Gayle Forte of Let Them Eat Cake / Catering & Desserts: Anastasia Glassman of Swans Way / Hair Accessories & Cake Topper: Lo Boheme / Gown: Temperly London / Necklace: Out of Hand / Stylist: Tina Warwell / Mercury Glass Ornaments: Anthropologie / Brown Leather Boots: Cole Haan

Meagan at Maine Season Events always sends us the prettiest weddings. She’s just got a way with weddings that is pretty, without being stuffy…elegant, without being over-the-top. And this last little wedding shows off Meagan’s skills to perfection. Obviously the backdrop is gorgeous, but more fabulous…are the details. The amazing, homemade cake. The perfectly pretty flowers. The gown, the color palette, the everything. Remember, you can see the whole shebang of beauty right here.

click here to see the full wedding gallery!

Nick and I met at our Colby College orientation trip. We were camping on Rangeley lake when I first saw Nick. I saw him from behind, catching a frisbee, and I thought to myself, “there he is.”  Fast forward to sophomore year of college, Nick promised me that he would be by my side for the rest of my life. Seven years later, Nick officially proposed on my Birthday. He surprised me with a picnic of prosecco and ice cream cake at our favorite spot in a park across the street from our apartment. On the cake was written “close your eyes” in frosting. Nick proposed with his Great Grandmother’s ring from the 1920’s. We celebrated in true Bostonian style atop the Green Monster at Fenway Park.

Nick and I knew that we wanted to get married back in Maine where our relationship first formed. The Barn at Walnut Hill was exactly what I had envisioned as the perfect location for our wedding. I wanted our wedding to suit our personalities; we wanted something that was down to earth and rustic yet also elegant and traditional at the same time.  Then I read about Meagan at Maine Seasons Events on Style Me Pretty’s Little Black Book.  When we first met, I showed Meagan my inspiration boards that I had made on SMP’s Style Circle website. Meagan and I were completely on the same page throughout the planning process.

Our goal was to mix rustic decor elements with elegant details.  We mixed mason jars with antique silver vessels. I wanted everything to be incredibly romantic so we had a plethora of candles, lanterns, and utilized antique candelabras on the head table.  The flowers were also very important in my vision. I wanted the arrangements to look like I had gathered them in the morning of the wedding from a lush garden. They were loose and organic in composition. The palette was subdued with ivory, peach, and a dusty lavender.

The table runners, which Meagan designed, combined oatmeal colored linen with a peach satin ribbon. They were the perfect combination of natural and understated elements mixed with something luxurious and unexpected.

Photography by Sharyn Peavey / Design and Planning by Maine Season Events / Floral design: Judy Bourgeois, Flora Fauna / Venue: The Barn on Walnut Hill / Catering: Jennifer Banis, 111 Maine / Ceremony and Cocktail music: Peter Miles / Reception music: The Waiters Band / Rentals: One Stop Party Shop