A classic New England seaside wedding with Southern charm

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Have you ever been to Maine? Oysters, lobster rolls, dreamy New England marina views – it’s truly seaside magic. So it’s no surprise to us that this adorable Texas couple opted for a Nor’estern destination wedding filled with Southern charm.

Spending childhood summers in Maine visiting grandparents, Bride Paige had a special connection to Maine. With a library park ceremony (where little Paige used to play) and marina reception under a fitting sailcloth tent, their wedding was iconically Maine. Not only thanks to the seaside views but the incredible spread of New England fair: mini lobster rolls, oysters & other seafood delights.

But the couple found plenty of ways to incorporate their Texan (& Oklahoman) identity! Pretty blue & white vintage china, linens & details filled the reception venue giving the space a “Martha Stewart’s Southern Home” feel. Connor sported cowboy boots & special Texan cufflinks & the dinner menu appealed to their Southern guests as well, with steak, pulled pork & fish tacos supplying a tasty ode to Texas.

Our Love Story

Connor and I actually met on Tinder. Despite having the app for years and mostly using it as a joke with friends and being too scared to actually meet up with a stranger in real life, Connor was my first Tinder date. I’m not sure what made me say yes to going on the date – maybe it was the super cheesy pick-up line he used or that fact that we messaged each other non-stop for days but there was something about him that made me want to get to know him better.

Connor proposed at my 10-year high school reunion. I had known the proposal was coming soon but didn’t know the exact moment it would happen. However, Connor did start to give it away the night before the reunion when he kept stroking my left ring finger and then again the next day on the flight to my home town. Connor proposed during the reunion tailgate barbeque before the homecoming football game. He told one of my best friends ahead of time so she could be ready to take pictures.

Connor asked me for a tour of the grounds of my school and proposed when we got to the rose garden by the tennis courts. This meant a lot to me because I was a tennis player in high school and after every big match or tournament the head of the tennis department, Father Perez, would cut us each a rose from his garden by the courts. Father Perez had passed away a few months prior and I was really sad I wouldn’t be able to see him there so it was special that Connor thought of this.

The Dress & Attire

My dress was Hayley Paige, my shoes were the Badgley Mischka, and my veil was Toni Federici (all from Nordstrom). My clutch was my great grandmother’s and my earrings, a wedding gift from Connor, were diamond and sapphire studs from Effy Jewelry.

Conner wore a black tuxedo from Generation Tux, Lucchese cowboy boots, and Texas needlepoint cufflinks from Smathers & Branson. The groom and groomsmen also wore custom suspenders from El Ray Apparel.

Connor’s father passed away from pancreatic cancer when he was little so to honor him, he carried his father’s wedding band in his tux jacket all evening. He didn’t want to do something obvious that would make him or other family members sad during the wedding so this was a perfect and subtle way to do it.

The Destination

I’m originally from Tulsa, Oklahoma (now living in Dallas) but spent most of my summers as a child in Maine visiting my grandparents in Camden. I was never the type of person who planned my wedding when I was little and most of my adult life I thought weddings were silly. The idea of eloping seemed great. I wanted to have a tiny elopement/wedding on the top of Mt. Battie in Camden overlooking the water and that was it. This all changed when I met Connor. Connor is a romantic. He loves love and cries at every movie or TV show wedding. He was the one who had been dreaming of his wedding since he was little. He wanted a real wedding and I wasn’t going to turn down the chance to throw a big party so I obviously agreed.

When we got engaged, we thought we would probably just have our wedding in Tulsa at my parents’ country club. The country club ended up being booked on the dates we liked so this gave us the chance to explore having the Maine wedding I wanted but the bigger (yet still intimate) ceremony Connor wanted. Connor visited Camden for the first time the summer before our wedding and fell in love with it. Pictures do not do it justice; it truly is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to.

Wedding Week Events

Since most of our guests had never been to Maine, we wanted them to really enjoy everything Camden has to offer. It’s one of the few places where you can stand on top of a mountain and look out to a harbor full of sailboats. It was an intimate wedding with about 90 guests so we planned various events throughout the week & weekend to make everyone’s trip special. We arranged group hikes up Mt. Battie, kayak trips, tee times at the various golf courses, and a group sail. We also threw a welcome party Thursday night on the rooftop of the 16 Bayview Hotel. The rooftop has great views of the town, harbor, and Curtis Island. It was a great way to start the wedding weekend.

The Ceremony

We chose the Amphitheater at the Camden Public Library because it’s in a spectacular setting overlooking the harbor with the colonial library as the backdrop to the ceremony and ivy-covered walls surrounding it. I also grew up playing in the park below the amphitheater when I was little so it’s a very special place to me.

Our officiant was one of Connor’s relatives and it was so special having someone close to us marry us. Before the wedding, he asked us to email him why we fell in love with the other person but we couldn’t share our emails with each other. During our ceremony, he read parts of the emails and it was sweet hearing both of our reasons.

The Photography

I chose Jaimee because I liked the style of her photographs. A number of Maine photographers had photos that were a little too rustic or dark and moody. Jaimee’s photos were classic and not overly edited. I actually found Jaimee through another photographer in Maine. That other photographer was booked on our date but recommended Jaimee and once I saw her work, I knew she would be a good fit.

On our way from the ceremony to the reception, we stopped at one of my all-time favorite places, Aldermere Farms, to take pictures with the Belted Galloway cows, or as I like to call them, oreo cookie cows. Growing up, they were my favorite thing about Camden. They’re just so cute. I’m obsessed with them. Our wedding pictures by the cows are some of my favorites. Connor also grew up in a small town in the Texas panhandle raising cattle so bringing the cows into the wedding seemed appropriate.

The Reception

For the reception, Kristen had the idea to have it in a sailcloth tent at Marine Park in Rockport, ME, which was the best idea because all of our friends and family got to see both beautiful harbors.

The views around both venues are incredible so I kept the design simple as not to distract from the natural surroundings. The one design element I definitely wanted was for the reception to feel like a classic, beautiful, southern home. We did this by incorporating blue and white everywhere with lots of hydrangeas. The entrance of the tent was marked by two beautiful limelight hydrangea trees, which is something that Connor and I also grow in our backyard in Dallas.

During the cocktail hour, we had mini lobster rolls (yum!), an oyster bar with Pemaquid oysters, and brisket tacos and fish tacos (to bring in some Texas flare). Dinner started with a plated spinach, strawberry, and feta salad and the rest was served family style with steak, shrimp, mac and cheese and mixed vegetables. Our late night snacks included classic grilled cheese, “grown up” grilled cheese, pulled pork sliders, and Cape Cod kettle chips.

The Planning

The idea of planning a wedding, especially a destination wedding, stressed me out more than anything. I’m a consultant who usually travels every single week and regularly works sixty hour weeks. When we had decided that we were going to have our wedding in Camden, I had some ideas in mind but had no idea how to execute them and definitely didn’t have the time required to plan it so I started googling Maine wedding planners. I found a lot of planners in Portland, ME or Boston but wanted someone that would just “get” me.

I eventually landed on Beehive Creative’s website and saw some of the beautiful weddings Kristen had planned. Not only did she live in Rockport (the town next to Camden), but she was originally from the South! I knew she would understand the aesthetic I was after. The fact that she had master’s degree in psychology was just a bonus (and really comes in handy during stressful wedding planning or when the weather decides not to cooperate and rain on the day of your outdoor wedding).

The Cakes & Dessert

I wanted a super simple wedding cake and Connor wanted a Star Wars groom cake. The design he loved wasn’t going to work out so a couple weeks before the wedding we were scrambling to come up with something that he loved but would also work with our budget and the elements. I had the idea to buy Han Solo and Princess Leia Lego pieces from Amazon that could be placed on top of a simple cake with the words, “I love you… I know.” written beneath (it’s a Star Wars quote). It was simple but we loved it! We also have the words “I love you. I know.” engraved inside our wedding bands.

The wedding cake was white cake with vanilla custard layers and the groom’s cake was carrot cake with cream cheese frosting. We also had a salt water taffy bar and served mini whoopie pies for dessert.

Favorite Moments

I think the combination of being in Maine surrounded by such beautiful scenery plus some Texas accents (like Connor’s cowboy boots, Texas needlepoint cufflinks, and Mexican inspired suspenders) with some weird nerdy things thrown in the mix describes us perfectly.

Advice to Other Couples

If you’re having an outdoor wedding, look into clear umbrellas. There are tons available on Amazon for not a lot of money and will save your life if it rains on your wedding day. They also can make for cute pictures. I had totally forgotten to buy some before the wedding and looking back really regret it because only one person out of our entire wedding party brought an umbrella so we had to take cover under trees and the umbrella was an ugly one borrowed from a hotel so it wasn’t cute in pictures.