Maine - DIY Bride

Jeana & Doug’s Romantic Fall Wedding

For those of you who love fall weddings (and, really, who doesn’t?), you’re in for such a treat today. Jeana and Doug’s Westbrook, Maine wedding brings together a beautiful location with a gorgeous color palette. The result celebrates the richness of fall yet still remains bright and fresh with the pops of bright orange. Beautifully done!

Hosted at the Sunset Ridge Golf Course, Jeana and Doug held their ceremony in the open air outside and moved the reception indoors under the cupola and a tent where they enjoyed an abundance of yummy food and a big dance party. (Some of their guests have serious moves!)

Photographer, Sarah of Sarah Morrill Photography, shares some details about the Doug and Jeana and their big day:

The couple is from Maine and have been together since high school, they did things in their own order and at their own speed. Moved in together, bought a house, and then threw the perfect wedding. Jeana did most of the design for the wedding, with a wonderful sense of style. She had her sister design and create a fall themed gown.

Many congrats, Jeana and Doug!

Jeana & Doug
Romantic Fall Wedding
Sunset Ridge Country Club, Maine
Event Date: October, 2014

Photographer: Sarah Morrill Photography//Jewelry:Big Rock Bridal//Other:Day of Coordinator//Makeup Artist:Jessica Candage Makeup Artistry//Other:Jill Hoverman//Equipment Rentals:Odds Are Productions//Cake Designer: Two Fat Cats//Caterer: Local Sprouts Cooperative//Other Location:Sunset Ridge Country Club//

Submitted via Two Bright Lights

Abbie & Javi’s Sea of Love Wedding

Growing up as a lobster fisherman’s daughter, what else can be served for dinner other than… well, lobster! It is of no surprise that this fun wedding is lobster themed, coining “Sea of Love”. And I want to eat that yummy crustacean so badly that I repeated the word “lobster” 4 times already in 3 sentences. OK, enough and onto the wedding. This adorable couple decided to get married at the bride Abbie’s family camp at Camp Wohelo in Maine. What makes this location so awesome is that this summer camp was actually founded by Abbie’s great-great-grandparents and has been run by her family ever since. It is where Abbie spent every summer as a little girl, and it is also where her great-grandmother, grandmother, and mother ALL got married. Talk about family tradition! So it goes without saying that Abbie and Javi had no trouble deciding where to host their wedding. Bethany & Dan Photography did an awesome job capturing all the fun and dancing, details, beautiful scenery, and of course, the yummy eats!

Since this Sea of Love wedding is all about lobsters, Abbie’s dad actually shipped 30 unpainted lobster buoys to the couple. Every night after work, they bonded over these buoys and put their creative talents to use and painted each one of them with something to represent every important aspect of their lives. What a special way to spend time and have fun with your significant other! Other DIY projects? Abbie spend months before the wedding embroidering, sculpting, sewing, and crafting just about everything else! Abbie wants to point out especially the lobster koozies, seersucker bunting, lobster cake topper, and her garter. How cuuuute was the lobster cake topper?! Definitely one of my faves for this wedding, next to Abbie’s awesome braided updo!
It’s always so much more meaningful when there is such a deep family history where the wedding is held. I love that for Abbie and Javi, it is their way of bringing their family together to continue a tradition via the wedding. There’s really nothing much that can go wrong when there is so much love at one place!
Photographer: Bethany & Dan Photography//Wedding Date: September 01, 2012//Cinema and Video: Aaron Steele Productions//Ceremony Location: Camp Wohelo//Bakery: Good Life Market//Hair Stylist:Lisa Michaud//DJ:Maine Platinum DJ//Equipment Rentals: One Stop Party Shoppe//Floral Designer:Raymond Village Florist//Dress Store: Vocelles | The Bridal Shoppe//

Submitted via Two Bright Lights

Megan + Ian’s Coastal Maine Wedding

Just when I thought I was ready for fall, this beachy Maine beauty stumbles across my desk and I’m hankering for my flip flops and a lobster bake! Sasha Felix Photography has outdone herself again with Megan + Ian’s natural, simple, and rustic wedding. On a gorgeous private residence in Rockport, Maine, this cute twosome created a hand grown, chic and sweet fete that proves simple elegance always means gorgeous, and fun always means awesome!

The groom’s father grew all of those amazing blooms in his greenhouse. As you can see everyone came together to create the pretty arrangements and handle the decor… not that this phenomenal property needed much in terms of enhancements. From her lovely lace gown, Megan let her hair down and changed into a casual ensemble, and the fun commenced! I certainly don’t blame her either; I wouldn’t want to take my chances ruining that much pretty, even with a lobster bib. The simple rustic touches shaped this soiree into casual wedding perfection.

From the Bride:

We wanted the day to be as simple and really let the setting take over. We wanted to the ceremony to be short and sweet, but meaningful for us at the same time. We wanted friends and family to enjoy the day as much as we knew we would, and fireworks, photo booth, and dancing were all musts!

Thank goodness for “musts” because they have made this a wedding a complete must-see! Big thanks to Sasha Felix Photography for capturing all of this lovely. Congratulations Megan + Ian!

Vendor Information:

Date: July 7, 2012

Location: Rockport, ME

Photographer: Sasha Felix Photography

Event venue: private residence

Caterer: Trillium Caterers

Vintage Photo Booth Rental: Maine Photobooth Co.

Tiff + Dave’s Sentimental Rainy Day Wedding

I’m feeling sentimental today, so I’ve decided to share another great wedding! Perhaps because it rained on my big day and I have been blessed since, I can’t help but smile at rainy day weddings. There’s something that happens at rainy day weddings, especially to DIY ones, that makes the day extra special.

Be sure to check out the gallery to see the super sentimental vintage details like the typewriter that belonged to the bride’s late grandma and the sparkly family brooch bouquet. There’s also some pretty pastel bunting, a ring pillow worthy of display, and a swing…weeeeee!

While some might stress that the hard work and perfectionism will get washed away, rain somehow makes all these little details shine brighter than any rainbow since they become a reminder of why you worked so hard to begin with; pure, spectacular love! A fabulous planner like Easy Entertaining Inc. and a kick-butt pair of rain boots with a gosh-darn purdy dress never hurt either. Lovely couples like and Tiff and Dave and a great photographer like Justine Johnson Photography can overcome any shower. Thanks for sharing, and nothing but blue sky wishes for the happy couple!

Vendor Information

Photography: Justine Johnson Photgraphy

Event Planner: Easy Entertaining Inc.

Floral Designer: Robin Hollow Farm

Reception Venue: Kinney Bungalow at Sunset Farm

Dress Designer: Maggie Sottero,Vera Wang

Other: Bartending by Dennis

Cake Designer: The Cupcakerie

DJ: Moondance Productions

Makeup Artist: M.A.W.Beauty Hair & Makeup Studio

Transportation: Viking Tours

Submitted via Two Bright Lights

Abby + Matt’s Summer Camp DIY Wedding

Abby and Matt held their wedding at the place where they met – Camp Manitou in Oakland, Maine. The couple had worked there together so it was the perfect familiar and welcoming venue for their fall ceremony. Guests even stayed in the camp cabins! The bride designed and decorated every aspect of the ceremony and reception, from the lanterns, to the twinkle lights, to the table runners, with the help of friends and family.

The couple specifically requested their first kiss be captured with all their guests in the background. It’s an amazing shot perfected by the DIY chuppah billowing in the breeze.

I’m loving this photo. Wedding parties with personality are totally awesome.

One of the couple’s DIY projects was this very organized table seating chart.

Reception lighting gorgeousness. Well done, Abby!

Congrats Abby and Matt!

DETAILS:

Photography: Bethany and Dan Photography

Venue: Camp Manitou, Maine

Bride’s Hair: Apollo Day Spa

Band: Wavelength Band

Submitted via Two Bright Lights

Meghan + Jonathan’s Nature-Inspired Oceanside Wedding

Oh, how I love a pretty New England summer wedding! Meghan and Jonathan were married in Maine, near their family’s summer cabin (how posh!) and their DIY decor played off the organic elements found around the coast.

From the bride: “We wanted to gather all the natural details that we love about the wilderness and incorporate them into our celebration. We walked the Maine coast collecting rocks and driftwood and foraged in the woods for pine cones, moss and berries.”

“My uncle created table numbers and candle holders from birch logs and we used the bark for seating assignment cards. My great aunt used to have a garden of multicolored dahlias on her Maine farm so I ordered local dahlias from Sweet Peas Gardens in her memory. The day of the wedding our amazing families all pitched in arranging centerpieces and hanging signs. My extraordinary aunt arranged the bouquet and assembled the boutonnieres of wild flowers. They were beautiful.

“We both processed in with our parents to the song that Jono had written and sung to me as a proposal. During the ceremony we handed out small rocks to all of guests. We asked that they fill their rocks with well wishes, hopes and blessing for us as we started our life together and we concluded the service with everyone tossing their rocks into the ocean releasing their thoughts back to nature.

“In lieu of favors we donated to a charity that introduces music to under served children, Jono’s passion, located in the community where I work, my passion. The entire wedding turned out to be a wonderful celebration of our many loves and communities near and far. Our fantastic photographer Anne Schmidt captured every emotion of the day. We listened to all seven hours of our homemade music playlists and our ice cream sundae bar from Mortons Moos was quite a success!

“We had a wonderful time with the planning and our wedding day was more magical than I ever could have imagined.”

Congrats Meghan and Jonathan!

DETAILS:

Photographer: Anne Schmidt Photography

Caterer: Cleonice

Ice Cream: Mortons Moo Homemade Ice Cream

Floral Designer: Sweet Pea Gardens

Reception Venue: Sealight, Sullivan, Maine

Submitted via Two Bright Lights

Tommy + Sarah

I woke up to rain today. Rain. Now, I know I live in the northwest and it rains a fair amount. Sarah and Tommy’s wedding is the perfect pick-me-up for my cloudy skies this morning. The couple were married at the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, surrounded by family, bright colors, and flowers that Sarah’s mother had grown for the wedding arrangements.

DETAILS

Location: Boothbay, Maine

Photography: Erin Kroll Photography

Venue: Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens

Jarod + Nicole

Happy Tuesday and a big congratulations to all the couples who got engaged over the weekend! No doubt you’ll be diving headfirst into the planning process this week by gathering inspiration online and marveling over all the pretty that DIY Bride has to offer. The Real Weddings section is a great place to start since the weddings we feature are great examples of how to make your budget stretch while infusing the spirit of you and your intended into the details of your day.

Today we have the wedding of Jarod and Nicole, who created their wedding around a beachy ocean theme. They were married in an outdoor ceremony near the water, and their inspiration was present in the starfish charms on the wedding stationery, color palette of navy and watermelon, the sand dollars and seaglass used in the decor, and the rosa rugosa seeds used as favors for the guests. Nicole DIY’d most of the elements of the day, including the florals, invites, cake topper, bedazzling her shoes, and sourced her materials for inexpensive decor from Goodwill, Michael’s Crafts, JoAnn’s and Etsy.

DETAILS

Location: Camden, ME

Photography: Sasha Felix Photography and Jessie Felix Photography

Venue: Merryspring Nature Center

Caterer: Coastal Critter Clambakes

Event Coordinator: Budget Brides of Maine

Dress: Nicole Miller from Filene’s Basement

Hair: I Do Travel Spas

DJ: Sound Spectrum Entertainment

Casey + Dan

Industrious bride and groom, Casey and Dan, created nearly all of the details for their York, Maine wedding. Casey, the picture-perfect DIY bride, created the programs, the centerpieces and all the other decor. Wow! What we love about this wedding: The bright and cheerful fuschia and white color scheme adds a beautiful burst of color without being overwhelming. Dan and Casey did a fantastic job choosing their projects and incorporating them into their wedding. Little details like the scalloped edges on the programs and using big, ultra pretty lilies in the bouquet add the right amount of pop.

DETAILS

Couple: Casey + Daniel

Wedding Date: 05/30/2010

Location: York, Maine

Photographer: Alecia Lauren Photography

Caterer + Reception Venue: Fosters Downeast Clambake

Carrie + Alan

Oh, how I love the personality that shows through in these shots! Carrie and Alan incorporated eco-friendly elements into their rocking DIY wedding in a fishing town on the coast of Maine.

Some of the highlights:

All the utensils, plates, cups, etc. were compostable.
The beer was served in a rowboat filled with ice.
The reception meal was a family-style BBQ dinner prepared right on the property.
The entertainment was provided by an Irish punk band.

Fun, fun, fun!

Details:

Couple: Carrie + Alan
Wedding Date: October 2009
Location: Harpswell, Maine
Photographer: Jacklyn Greenberg of JAGstudios