I love a bride who’s not afraid to add a dose of glam to a rustic wedding. And this New England beauty did just that starting with her Sarah Seven dress that’s a sparkly touch of gold. It was the perfect point of inspiration for A Family Affair Maine to infuse on-trend design moments into the setting’s natural beauty, from sequin tablecloths to Anticipate Invitations’ watercolor suite, and every detail in between. White Loft Studio captured the full gallery all waiting in The Vault.
From the Bride… Sigh, where do I even begin? You’ll have to forgive me, as I’m still adorned in my blushing, awe-struck wedding day goggles. Absolutely every second of our wedding day proved to be my favorite moment…in life. If I were hard-pressed to highlight just a few special aspects of our favorite day, they’d be as follows:
Personal Moments
Every bride dreams of that tearful moment when she takes her husband’s hand in marriage, and subsequently gains a loving mother. Unfortunately, Jace lost his beloved mother, Ronda, 10 years ago to cancer. I was never afforded the honor of exchanging a mere hello, reminiscing over fond childhood memories, shrieking in excitement over our picturesque engagement or wedding day details, or exchanging a sincere ‘thank you’ for the amazing man she raised and gifted to me. In my heart of hearts, I know that if Heaven weren’t so far away, Ronda wouldn’t have missed a beat throughout the duration of the wedding planning process. In efforts of carrying along the amazing spirit of Ronda in our special day, I collaborated with our amazing wedding planner, Paula, and florist, Carolyn, from the beginning, ensuring that the front row bench be dedicated in her honor, saving her a front row seat adorned with her picture, a hand-painted name plate (i.e. saving her seat), and floral garland. I had also collected a piece of blue fabric from a piece of her clothing to have sewn into my dresses (i.e. something blue) in the shape of heart.
This entire process was captured on film by a close family friend at one of my dress fittings and gifted to Jace and his dad (as I pinned a replica of the heart sewn in my dress into their suit jackets) at the ceremony site prior to walking down the aisle. I really wanted them to have that special moment, raw, emotional, uninterrupted, together with Ronda prior to the mayhem of wedding festivities. The surprise was pulled off without a hitch and brought to complete fruition when Ronda’s “saved seat” at the reception was revealed at the end of the evening. I have no doubt that she was ever-so present in our special day.
Vows + Ceremony
We wanted our ceremony to be intimate and most of all, us. We poured ourselves into every heartfelt word of our ceremony, from the heartfelt ceremony script to our tearful (with sprinkles of sarcastic inside jokes) vows. One of Jace’s dear friends, Nathan, performed our ceremony. As if that wasn’t sweet and special enough, Jace’s dad, Ronn, was the best man. So much love in the small timeframe of 30 minutes!
Custom Monogram
Every wedding detail, from our initial save the dates, to our custom, ceremonial backdrop, adorned our monogram of love-struck, intersecting arrows (a clever nod to our serendipitous, travel-crossed paths) encompassed in our initials. To date, such arrows adorn the walls of our bedroom, quaintly placed over bed, as a constant reminder of our fateful love story.
Guest Seating Chart + Table Cards
Our seating chart, created in collaboration with our amazing invitation designer, resembled a Departure Flight Board (in reference to our initial meeting at baggage claim). Each table was adorned with a destination-themed table card (i.e. labeled by airport code, such as LaGuardia = LGA) of important and/or significant destinations over the course of our relationship, highlighting hand-painted watercolor skylines and brief descriptions of the significance of every location to us.
Lobster Bibs
No Maine weekend is complete in absence of a traditional, New England lobster bake and coordinating accessories. Our lobster-bake chic rehearsal dinner was hosted on the premises of the Barn at Flanagan Farm where every wedding guest received handmade Welcome Bags (i.e. including Maine Magazine; personalized thank you notes; lobster cookies; monogram koozies, custom-designed, keepsake lobster bibs; and ‘Welcome to Maine, y’all!’ gift tags).
North Meets South Food + Drinks + Details
Think fried chicken and waffles meets miniature lobster rolls; a Texas Twisted Tea (i.e. bride signature drink) meets a local Blueberry Mojito (i.e. groom signature cocktail); miniature TX pecan pies vs. traditional ME Whoopi Pies. Greeted with wedding invitations adorned with “Welcome to Portland, Y’all!” to a signature beer from every important location significant to us as a couple, Jace and I aspired to infuse our favorite aspects of our Southern homage meets Northern living in our big day.
Destination Setting
Any moment spent in Maine is a moment well spent in our self-proclaimed ‘happy place’ – they don’t refer to Maine as Vacationland for nothing! Therefore, when we began the wedding planning process, we knew that we wanted the occasion to encompass more of an extended family/friend vacation feel. Over 95% of our guests had never experienced the beauty of Maine prior to our destination wedding – it now sits at the top of their destination travel list.
Photography: White Loft Studio | Floral Design: Snell Family Farm | Wedding Dress: Sarah Seven | Shoes: Kate Spade | Rings: Leo Carroll Jewelers | Catering: Home Catering | DJ: White Label DJs | Venue: The Barn At Flanagan Farm | Bartending: Maine Mixologist | Event Planning, Design, And Specialty Rentals: A Family Affair of Maine | Event Rentals: One Stop Event Rentals | Groom's Suit, Bridesmaids Dresses, Groomsmen Ties, Best Man's Su: J.Crew | Groomsmen Custom Pants: Suitable | Hair And Make-up: Portland Hair Co | Invitation And Day-of Paper Design: Anticipate Invitations | MOH Dress: Amsale | Musicians - Ceremony And Cocktail Hour: Pete Kilpatrick | Veil: BHLDN | Wedding Cake And Lobster Cookie Favors : Nothing Bakes Like A Parrott