Denise and Matthew traveled all the way from Texas to the Berry Manor Inn in Rockland Maine to exchange their wedding vows on October 28th, 2017. They had a beautiful ceremony inside of the Rockland Talbot House followed by portraits on the grounds of the inn. Named as one the top Bed and Breakfast’s in the United States, Berry Manor Inn lends its guests a historic glimpse into the Victorian era. Combine the beauty and charm of the inn with the fall foliage in full peak and this Rockland location was the perfect place for a small intimate fall elopement.

Here’s my Q & A with Denise:

How did you two meet?

We actually met at my brother’s wedding. The maid of honor to my sister in law is Matthew’s sister! He was there helping babysit his nephew while his sister did maid of honor duties! I tried to flirt with him but he was in such “uncle” mode (his very first time babysitting alone) he didn’t notice the flirting lol he does however remember everything I wore from the dress rehearsal to the way I did my hair on the wedding day. I ended up adding him on Facebook and we just hit it off so well. I knew very quickly he was the one.

When and where did your engagement take place? Tell us about the proposal.

Our engagement was perfect! We came back from a birthday party about an hour and a half away and I came in the house first and there were rose petals all throughout the house leading to the backyard where I walked through an aisle of candles to a bush that was decorated with roses and floating candles. As I walked out there he was right behind me and he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him! I of course said yes! He chose that spot because it was actually the spot where we shared that we were pregnant with both of our parents.

How did you envision your special day being prior to planning?

Growing up I had always envisioned the big wedding big dress I even had Pinterest board. But when we visited Maine about a year ago. We both knew we wanted to elope to Maine. I knew I didn’t want the big wedding anymore. We wanted it to be about us and not worry about the stress of planning a wedding. We found Berry Manor Inn in Rockland, Maine and fell in love! They had everything from the officiant to flowers to the wedding cake all planned for us! It was perfect, it was better than my Pinterest board I made years ago!

What is your favorite moment of your special day?

I think we had 2 favorite parts! One was our first look. I had a great time getting ready with my mom and new mother in law. I loved saying our vows and kissing as husband and wife for the first time. But our first look we both agreed was just so special to us. It was just us getting ready to start our new lives together. We got the nerves out of the way and we’re just able to be with each other in that moment. The second, which really didn’t include anything about the wedding was actually after the ceremony and cake. We had about 2 hours before we met our parents for dinner to celebrate. We actually drove up to Camden Hills State Park! We changed into some sweats and heading out there not knowing what to expect. But once we got to the top it took our breath away! We just stayed up there looking at the amazing views and couldn’t get over how amazing our day was!

Tell us about your flowers, your dress, your cake, etc.

My dress is from David’s bridal. I got it about 3 weeks before we got on a flight to Maine! My mom and sister came with me to look and they helped grab random dresses and I think my mom picked out my dress. I remember looking at all the choices before I tried them on and I saw my dress on the hanger and just knew it would be the one. Sure enough I tried it on and it fit perfectly! Although we did have to let it out 2 inches just for the belly to grow! But we ended up getting it and alterations done within 3 weeks! I actually had no idea what my flowers or cake were going to look like! Berry Manor Inn gave us options and basically asked whatever flowers I wanted. I know nothing about flowers! I didn’t even have wedding colors! But Matthews tie had some pink in it so I just asked for blush pink flowers. And they ended up creating my bouquet for me and added matching flowers as a cake topper! Both came out better than I had imagined! I have to give it to Berry Manor Inn for everything they did for us that day! It was amazing!