Hurricane Dorian was expected to pass by Maine on September 7th, 2019, the day of Jess and Dan’s wedding. Needless to say, everyone was a little nervous about the weather putting a damper on the day. Jess got ready at Boothbay Harbor Oceanside Golf Resort while Dan got ready at his family’s cottage on Capitol Island, off of Southport, Maine. The couple did their first look out on the docks of Capitol Island, where the day began cloudy and windy but quickly turned warm and sunny. It was pretty remarkable! After roaming the island taking photos together, Jess and Dan traveled over to Barrett Park for their wedding ceremony. They had even rented an antique car for their transportation! After the ceremony, we took more photos at Barrett Park before heading off to Boothbay Railway Village for the wedding reception. The wedding party was announced into the wedding reception and Jess and Dan shared their first dance. They had a lovely buffet dinner followed by three great speeches by members of the wedding party. After the parent dances, the floor was open for family and friends to join in on the dancing. Everyone was having a wonderful day celebrating with Jess and Dan. Finally, the couple had everyone light sparklers as they cut their wedding cake —an interesting twist from the traditional cake cutting and sparkler exit. All in all, Jess and Dan’s wedding ended up being a perfect day filled with love and laughter.

Here’s my Q&A with Jess:

How did you two meet?

We went to high school together but didn’t officially meet until college at UMaine. We met at Dan’s fraternity house, Phi Kap. He sat next to me and we talked the night away.

When and where did you get engaged? Tell us about the proposal.

We got engaged on top of Mt. Agamenticus. Dan has been ridiculed on a constant basis by friends and family (on both sides) for a few years of when he was going to finally propose to me. He asked if I would like to go to the botanical gardens in Boothbay or hike Mt. Agamenticus in York a few weeks in advance so we could have a getaway. I still was surprised because he was looking to propose!

We got to the top of the mountain, while it was sprinkling none-stop, and explored the view. Dan took his backpack off and knelt down in the mud. I then yelled at him to get his knee out of the mud (mind you I had no idea of his plans) and he then pulled out a Cliff bar and gave it to me. I was very happy with the Cliff bar and walked away with it (hunger hit and Dan knows how to deal with me when I’m hungry). He promptly asked if I could come back and pulled out the ring.

How did you envision your wedding day? Tell us about your color palate, style and/or vision.

We envisioned our wedding day exactly how it played out. Minus the rain or Hurricane Dorian trying to crash our weekend. We wanted it to be by the ocean and in a place that meant something to us. Dan grew up in Southport on Capitol Island in the summers and his family spent a lot of time in Boothbay. Knowing how gorgeous Boothbay is to us and how much our loved ones would enjoy their time there, we decided that was the perfect location. Our Sister in Law and my Mother in Law came up with the idea of Barrett Park because of the bay, and the Boothbay Railway Museum because of the location and we are both history buffs.

We had a mixture of color pallets and themes as we had a lot we wanted to incorporate. The main colors were purple, blush and navy, however, we needed to also include our family’s tartans. The Lewis, McNiel and Mackenzie tartans were included for immediate family members to honor our Scottish heritage. My Jewish heritage was also honored by our ceremony. The Nautical theme was because we were in Boothbay, but also because we love being on the water.

What is your favorite moment of your wedding day?

Our first look was our favorite moment of the entire day. We didn’t have 150 people around us and it was the only moment we had for ourselves which allowed us to breathe and take the day in.

Tell us about your flowers, your gown, your favors, your cake, etc.

The absolutely gorgeous flowers were done by Lee’s Floral and Garden. Lee is a good friend of ours and our bridesmaid Amanda’s Mom. I told her our color pallet and that we needed to include the tartans on my bouquet. She asked me what kind of flowers, and I told her I just like pretty things and she created everything!

My gown was from Andrea’s Bridal in Portland. I am not a huge shopper and I get overwhelmed with all of the choices. I wanted it to be a one stop shop. My dress was the third one I tried on, and I tried a total of five dresses. I knew it was the one I chose because I felt like a princess. I have always strived to be Belle from Beauty and the Beast and I felt like her in my dress! We knew that was the one when I tried it on.

Our cake was from the awesome creation of Renee and Jesse Landry of Landry Confections in Topsham. We told them our vision of our day and they created a red velvet cake with chocolate ganache, cream cheese frosting on the inside and buttercream frosting on the outside. Our cupcakes were absolutely amazing as well. They did such a good job blending our tastes.