* emilie inc.: Mary + Ryan's wedding at Point Lookout in Northport, Maine

Ryan was an adorable groom with butterflies before his wedding ceremony - not because he was nervous about marrying Mary, but because he hadn't seen her all day when Denise and I arrived.  His Mar-Bear, as he calls her (the first word in his vows that he wrote), is the other half of him.  Together, the two have an undeniable energy that is easily witnessed, if you are around them for longer than a mere two minutes.  You can see the love, passion, friendship, and fun that these two have together.  I think they wear their hearts on their sleeves for each other, their friends, and their family.  Because of that, their day was filled with tons of emotion - laughter, smiles, hugs, tears, funny faces with the ring bearer and flower girls, and wedding cake frosting on the groom's cheek, courtesy of the bride, that he playfully ate off his face with a fork.  And of course, this also meant they didn't hold back from dancing most of the night away.  DJ Aaron Topfer played hit song after hit song, and the dancing got wilder.  Just as we were leaving, Mary, Ryan, and most of their wedding guests were refueling on pizza and drinks, and getting ready to continue their night of celebration with bowling at the eight-lane alley right on-site at the venue, Point Lookout in Northport, Maine.  

Please click here to visit the emilie inc. blog to read more about Mary and Ryan's story.

Thanks to Denise Farwell for being the second shooter on this wedding and making some of the pictures below!

 

* emilie inc.: Sarah + Brett's Wedding at Spruce Point Inn in Boothbay Harbor, Maine

I was nervous about possible holiday traffic for my drive up to Boothbay Harbor for Sarah and Brett's wedding at Spruce Point Inn, so I left extra early.  Of course, there was no traffic in my direction.  I had a couple hours to kill and parked at the little lot overlooking the harbor.  Soon after, I couldn't help but notice a group of dudes riding Huffy beach cruisers.  I had a hunch these were groomsmen entertaining themselves before a wedding.  My eyes spied the groom Brett, and I grabbed my cameras - couldn't miss the pre-ceremony activity!  Brett and the guys were just happy to be outside and dry, considering the torrential downpours that saturated much of coastal Maine the couple days prior. 

Though high winds were swirling in the air, the short and sweet ceremony on the Oceanfront Deck was a go.  Brett and Sarah officially tied the knot after six years together and a dreamy, surprise proposal in Cuba, one of Sarah's bucket list locales.  The couple had opted for some family formals to be taken pre-ceremony, so we finished up the rest post-ceremony to allow Mr. and Mrs. some time to enjoy the end of their cocktail hour with guests.  The sun even began to peek out.

Pemaquid Hall hosted the rest of the wedding celebration.  The room was filled with lots of love and laughter from about 130 friends and family, with the exception of Sarah's brother Andrew and his wife Alice who was overdue with their first child - cell phones were nearby in case there was news of grand-baby #3!  Not to worry, Sarah's twin brothers Paul and David carried on the toast (er, roast), a family tradition for the newlyweds.  Both the bride and groom's fathers, Don and Wylie, spoke heartfelt and humorous words.  Carolyn and crew at SPI kept the day on track, and the Lisa Love Experience kept the guests on the dance floor (emilie inc. couple Courtney and Tim tore it up, Denise photographed their engagement session and wedding last year).  Lisa used her special powers to get the groom to make snow angels on the dance floor with the bride's brother (she also played at his wedding!), and managed to get the bride to sing "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" while doing a tambourine solo!  Sarah, if you ever quit your day job, you've found your calling.

While the reception ended with sparklers illuminating the happy couple outside the Pemaquid (the first round of sparklers inside doesn't count!), the after party was about to kick off at the Inn!

Please visit the emilie inc. blog to read more about Sarah and Brett's story.