Camryn & Charles’ Northport & Camden Maine Wedding | Point Lookout & Our Lady of Good Hope

When Camryn contacted me last year about photographing her wedding at Point Lookout in Northport, Maine, I was very excited. I had seen photos of this gorgeous venue and know several photographers who have photographed weddings there. Yet, after 6 years of photographing weddings, I had not had the opportunity to work there. Then, a couple of months before the wedding, I heard the news that the venue was closing down permanently. 2019 will be their last year in business. Myself, along with the other Maine wedding photographers that I network with, were saddened by the news and a bit in shock. Nevertheless, I’m so grateful to have had the chance not only to see this beautiful location in person, but also to capture this very special moment in Camryn and Charles’ lives.

Camryn and Charles both got ready in different rooms at The Summit at Point Lookout. Even the interior of the buildings at Point Lookout are stunning. The rooms, halls and dining areas are all well kept with lots of natural light and open space. Pair the venue with the landscape and it’s a photographer’s dream! Once everyone was ready for the wedding, we drove over to Our Lady of Good Hope, which is a lovely Catholic church in Camden, Maine. Family and friends gathered inside the church for a beautiful wedding ceremony.

After the ceremony, everyone headed back to The Summit at Point Lookout, where there is an elegant dining room facing the mountainous Knight Pond. The couple was announced into their reception where they shared their first dance. After dinner, they cut their wedding cake and a vintage photo booth camper drove up on the lawn. There was a gorgeous sunset that evening as family and friends mingled, danced and enjoyed a wonderful evening. I am so honored that Camryn and Charles included me in such a beautiful event.

Here is my Q&A with Camryn:

How did you two meet?

Charles and I met in middle school. He was two years ahead of me in school and once I reached sixth grade, our classes were in the same wing, so we had the chance to get to know each other in the halls and at recess!

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

We got engaged in August of 2017. We love the outdoors and always go for 4-wheeler rides in the summer. One day he convinced me to go for a ride when I didn’t really feel like going (but I’m glad I did!) and he took me to his family’s piece of land in the woods that is very special to him. We walked to a spot where there was a beautiful view and when I turned around, he was on one knee!

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

We envisioned our wedding day feeling elegant and classy! Our color palette consisted of blush, ivory, black, and gold. I loved the feel of the lightness of the pinks and ivory mixed with the elegance of the black and gold. It made our day feel like a beautiful summer wedding while still incorporating the chic black and gold touches that I had to have. I chose black for the bridesmaid’s dresses simply because I wanted to do something different! I think the incorporation of black is my favorite part of the color palette!

What is your favorite moment of your wedding day?

It’s hard to pick a favorite moment from our wedding because the whole day went over perfectly in our eyes! If I had to pick, though, I would say either all the little  touches that made our ceremony special to us, walking into our reception together as Mr. and Mrs. Charles Michaud and having our first dance in front of the gorgeous view, or just having the chance to celebrate and have a great time with all of our closest friends and family!

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

Our flowers were a combination of beautiful blush and ivory flowers and eucalyptus, and the bridesmaids bouquets had baby’s breath incorporated throughout. I wanted our bouquets and arrangements to feel light and feminine against the black of the bridesmaid’s dresses and the gold of the containers they sat in throughout the venue. My dress was literally my dream dress. It was not at all what I imagined myself picking when I was dress shopping, but after hours of trying on dresses that I thought I would like and not getting the feeling that I was hoping for, I went on a search throughout the bridal boutique to see if I could pick out my own dress. The first dress I pulled off the rack was my dress! It was covered in ivory lace with small pearls and beading throughout. It also had gorgeous beaded straps that matched the belt that I picked out perfectly. My favorite parts of my dress were the scalloping of the lace on the train and the see-through lace on the back. Paired with my bead-lined cathedral veil, I knew this was the dress of my dreams! In addition to our flowers and my dress, our venue was even more perfect than we could have imagined. We had a beautifully sunny wedding day that allowed ourselves and our guests to get the full experience of Point Lookout. From the beautiful ocean views to the amazing food and service, I can confidently say we chose the absolute best venue we could have asked for!

 

Wedding Vendors:

Venue: Point Lookout and Our Lady of Good Hope

Officiant: Rev. Robert Vaillancourt

Catering: Point Lookout

Musicians: Stretta Ensembles

DJ: Big Time Entertainment

Florist: Jessica Bell

Cake: Hana Cakes

Photo Booth: IMPRINTS Vintage Photo Camper

Hair: Angie Kirk with AK Hair Color and Design

Makeup: Kayla Smith from Alete Salon & Spa

Wedding Dress: Kasamara Bridal Boutique

Sunday River Grand Summit Hotel Newry Maine Wedding

I’m so excited to share the first wedding of my 2019 season! This gorgeous wedding took place at Sunday River’s Grand Summit Hotel in Newry, Maine on May 25th. Hara and Tyler had an amazing day celebrating their love and their Greek and American families came together to celebrate the special occasion.

Hara and the ladies got ready in Grand Summit Hotel’s Bridal Suite. One of Maine’s most sought after hair and makeup artists, Jessica Candage, did an outstanding job with Hara —she looked like a Greek goddess! One of the groomsmen brought a letter from Tyler to Hara. It was such a sweet moment to watch her read his heartfelt words. Meanwhile, my second photographer, Sara Cormier, photographed the guys upstairs on the other side of the hotel.

Outside on the patio of the Grand Ballroom, the ceremony site was decorated with lovely floral arrangements and elegant white chairs lined the sides of the arbor. Hara walked down the aisle with her father as everyone looked on. They had a beautiful ceremony filled with tears and laughter. After being pronounced husband and wife, family and friends joined the couple for portraits. Hara and Tyler spent a few minutes alone together on the bridge behind the Grand Ballroom. It made for a perfect portrait location!

After the portraits were finished, the wedding party made their grand entrance into the ballroom for the wedding reception. Hara and Tyler then shared their first dance as husband and wife. As their dance continued, guests made their way to the dance floor and tossed dollars into their air toward the couple, which I learned was customary at Greek weddings. This tradition continued on into the evening and was quite an entertaining site to see!

A Greek band took the center of the dance floor, where everyone joined them for traditional Greek dance. The band had two singers, a clarinetist and tambourine player. It was a lovely touch to honor their culture. After Hara and Tyler did the cake cutting, it was time for the bouquet toss. This event went on as expected. Though no one could have guessed what was to come next. When it was Tyler’s turn to throw the garter, he was carried into the ballroom on a chair. He proceeded to perform his own choreographed dance, which included several different songs. Family members even joined in! All in all, it was a memorable day of celebration that included honoring cultural tradition, the unity of two families, and of course, love.

 

Wedding Vendors:

Photography: Trina Dinnar Photography

Second Photographer: Sara Cormier

Videography: Creative Edge Arts

Venue/Catering: Grand Summit Hotel at Sunday River

Cake: Autumn Nomad, Cakes & Café

Desserts: Monique Dyke

Hair and Makeup: Jessica Candage

Bride’s Dress: Bridal Reflections

Officiant: Roger Cousineau

Flowers: Merita Papailia

Wedding Photography Highlights - Best of 2018

Year in Review - 2018

It has been an amazing year photographing weddings throughout Maine and beyond! I’ve compiled my favorite images of the year to reflect on all of the wonderful couples I’ve met and all of the beautiful places I’ve traveled.

One of the first things I do upon arriving to photograph a wedding is take time to capture all of the lovely bridal attire including the dress, shoes, veil, and jewelry. Below are some of my favorite images of the year. I love the hint of blush pink seen in a couple of wedding dresses I photographed this year.

I’m in love with these wedding rings inside the bridal bouquet. Each one representing one of my favorite weddings from 2018.

Below are my favorite wedding invitations and stationary of the year.

My favorite Maine bridal portraits are pictured below. These brides had their weddings in York, Falmouth, Standish and Biddeford Pool.

I loved photographing Natalie and Ed’s wedding reception this year at the Maine Lakeside Cabins in Caratunk. Below, this lovely bride is pictured getting her hair done. All of her friends were gathered around her during this moment, making her laugh!

Cheers! No New Year Eve countdown is complete without a wedding toast photo. Ellen didn’t let the rainy day put a damper on her day! Her Beautiful Rainy Spring Wedding made the blog this year.

Jessica and her dad walk down the aisle surrounded by guests taking photos and throwing rose petals.

I love this image of the groom’s mother and grandmother wiping their tears during the wedding ceremony.

Ashton’s bridesmaid was full of emotion as the couple exchanged their wedding vows. The Maine Falmouth Country Club was the perfect location for Ashton and John to celebrate with family and friends.

Mallori and James were surrounded by their entire wedding party. Time for a group hug!

Pictured below are two of my favorite wedding images of the year with children. This groomsmen shares a moment with an itty bitty flower girl and a bride and her flower girl are all smiles during the family portraits.

The following images depict some of my very favorite bride and groom portraits of 2018. Congratulations again to all of these wonderful couples!

Christine and Gareth were one of the sweetest couples I’ve met! They had their summer wedding at Portland Headlight in Cape Elizabeth, Maine. See the full wedding highlights of Christine and Gareth’s Coastal Maine Lighthouse Wedding featured on the blog!

Lindsey and Evan were so adorable! Here they are during their Scarborough, Maine wedding at Camp Ketcha. Check out more photos of this lovely Church Wedding!

The sunset was absolutely perfect during Emily and Kim’s wedding at the Dockside Restaurant on York Harbor! I loved all of the gorgeous details from this gorgeous Southern Maine Same Sex Wedding.

Jennifer and Michael could be mistaken for models —their love was as radiant as the early fall sunset on the evening of their wedding. See the full feature of this Romantic Fall Maine Wedding!

What’s a reflection without a reflection? As I reflect on 2018, I’m reminded of Lindsey and Chris’ lovely Portland Maine Wedding that included a train ride and a fortunate rain puddle.

Mallori and James had the best fall foliage during their October wedding at Clay Hill Farm in Cape Neddick, Maine.

Jodi and Michael stopped for a moment on the way to their reception for a photo on a gorgeous beach in Kennebunkport, Maine.

The contrasting shades of black and white in this image of Jennifer and Michael’s wedding makes the list of my favorite photos of the year.

Fall, fall, fall! No mistaking the season of this stunning image from Lindsey and Evan’s southern Maine wedding.

Jessica and Christopher (pictured below) had their wedding during the biggest rain storm of 2018. Nevertheless, The Sheraton Hotel proved to be a wonderful place for bride and groom portraits.

Christine and Gareth look out at Portland Headlight in Cape Elizabeth, Maine.

The top 7 wedding cakes I photographed in 2018 are absolutely stunning! Almost too gorgeous to eat!

Lindsey and Chris had an unforgettable grand entrance into their wedding reception at Ri Ra Irish Pub & Restaurant in Portland.

My favorite bride and groom dance photo is pictured below. Lindsey and Chris had an excited and engaging crowd throughout their entire reception!

Jessica and her dad make my list of favorites for best father/daughter dance photo.

Evan and his mom shared quite an emotion moment during their dance and have topped my favorites for best mother/son dance of the year.

The wedding guests dancing the night away during Jessica and Chris’ wedding.

Jennifer dancing with her dog was one of my favorite wedding dance photos of the year!

And finally, my favorite image of 2018 is from Jennifer and Michael’s breathtaking wedding in Biddeford Pool, Maine. A photographer’s dream come true!

That sums up my favorite images of the year. I hope you enjoyed them as much as I do! Leave a comment below and let me know which is your favorite(s)!

See you in 2019!

Clay Hill Farm Cape Neddick Maine Wedding | Mallori & James

Mallori and James were married on October 7th, 2018 at Clay Hill Farm in Cape Neddick, Maine. I was very excited to be returning to Clay Hill Farm after second shooting there this spring. I have a lot of great memories working one of my first jobs there as a teenager setting tables. Clay Hill Farm has since renovated and there’s a lovely bridal suite upstairs, where Mallori got ready.

There was light rain falling as Mallori and James did their first look upstairs on the balcony. Luckily, the rain was short-lived and cleared up right in time for the couple’s lovely outdoor ceremony. The property has a lovely walkway and gazebo location that’s perfect for wedding ceremonies. While guests enjoyed cocktail hour, we took photos outside with the gorgeous Maine foliage as a stunning backdrop.

Once everyone was inside and seated in the dining room, Mallori and James were announced into their wedding reception and shared a beautiful first dance together on the dance floor. Clay Hill Farm served up the delicious food and then Mallori had a dance with her dad and James had a dance with his mom.

The rest of the reception was a lot of fun. There was dancing inside and games outside. I particularly loved Mallori and James’ last dance to the lesser known Symphony version of “Perfect,” sung by Ed Sheeran and Andrea Bocelli.

As the wedding came to an end, everyone gathered outside for a group photo in front of the venue. They also did an adorable exit where family and friends tossed seeds as they walked through the crowd. Lastly, Mallori and James waved goodbye to family and friends as they drove away in an adorable antique car. All in all, it was a perfect day and I’m so glad Mallori and James chose me to capture this special day.

Wedding Vendors:

Venue: Clay Hill Farm

Wedding Coordinator: Rachel Davenport with Clay Hill Farm

Second Photographer: Andrea Simmons

DJ: Scott Langlois

Guitarist: Pat Keane

Cake: Hippie Chick Bakery

Hair & Makeup: Erika St. Pierre

Officiant: Bob Young (friend of Bride and Groom)

Bride’s Dress: Pat’s Gowns

Bridesmaid’s Dresses: David’s Bridal

Men’s Attire: Express Suits

Lindsey & Evan’s Scarborough Maine Wedding | St. Maximilian Kolbe and Camp Ketcha

I was so excited when Lindsey reached out to me last year about photographing her and Evan’s wedding. Her and her family were so nice and I knew right when I met them that the wedding was going to be wonderful!

Lindsey and Evan’s wedding ceremony took place on October 6th, 2018 at St. Maximilian Kolbe Parish in Scarborough, Maine. They had a lovely full mass Catholic ceremony with Rev. Innocent Okozi. Following their ceremony, everyone drove up the street to the wedding reception at Camp Ketcha. We were lucky enough to find some colorful foliage on the property for portraits, as much of the landscape was green. It was certainly worth walking around to find the best locations though.

Guests greeted Lindsey and Evan into their wedding reception by waving racing flags in the air —the perfect touch considering Evan is a racecar driver. The couple shared their first dance together to their special song, which was the acoustic version of “Everlong” by the Foo Fighters. They even had an adorable cake cutter engraved with lyrics from the song: “Hello, I’ve waited here for you, Everlong.”

After enjoying a lovely dinner, Lindsey shared a dance with her dad. I loved that he had sung the song to her as a baby and had known that someday they’d be dancing to it at her wedding. Near the end of the song, he lifted her up and danced across the dance floor, still with his little girl in his arms. Truly heart-warming! Equally as emotional was Evan’s dance with his mom. There were tears as they danced and he told everyone after the song that his mom had a bout with cancer. There wasn’t a dry eye in the room.

Lindsey and Evan cut their wedding cake and danced the night away with their family and friends. As the the reception came to an end, the couple had a special sparkler exit before departing for the night. All in all, it was a beautiful day celebrating Lindsey and Evan’s love. I’m so grateful they chose me to capture these special memories for them.

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

In Evan’s words: “She thought I was being super sweet, asking her for a night out to dinner with her parents, little did she know I had a plan in place. I texted her dad on the way down, told him I had an important question that Lindsey COULD NOT find out about. This was the most nervous I had ever been to ask someone something, and I make cold calls on a regular basis at my job. I asked her dad if I could marry his daughter, he was glad I asked him and gave me his permission. It was a good thing, because I had just dropped my savings on a ring for her just days before. I had a great plan in place that my coworker Mark had helped me on. She loves horses so I knew taking her on a carriage ride would be incredible.

 

The day before I was planning to propose to her, the guy from the carriage rides called me to cancel, it was too icy out. I was stressing. I had already told her dad that I was going to do it THAT DAY and I couldn’t look like I chickened out. Lindsey noticed it during the day, I was stressed more than usual, but luckily for once in my life I could keep a surprise. I talked with my sister, and we decided to try LLBean, who always did carriage rides in the winter. Well, we get there on the day with everyone, and the carriage rides there were cancelled too. Just my luck right? Finally, I took her to the podium in their tree display, I knew how much she loved that backdrop and the entire place in general, and I told her I had a very important question. I think at first she thought I was joking around as usual, I’ve fooled her a few times with “important questions.” I pulled the box out of my pocket and she knew this time I wasn’t joking. I was down on one knee with an audience around us of people spending their evening checking out the tree displays. I asked her to marry me and she said yes as they all applauded us. For being my plan C, it was still perfect. I think it was meant to be to propose to her at LLBean because now her initials are LLB.”

What song did you do your first dance to? 

In Lindsey’s words: “Our first dance was a song that is very close to Evan and I. On our first date, we had listened to this song in the car on our way to the racetrack and we had a mutual love for both the lyrics to it as well as the band. It has become both of our favorite song and favorite band and we actually saw the band perform just a couple months ago at Fenway Park. Who would have known 3 years ago riding in that car with him that we would be listening to our wedding song. The song is Everlong by the Foo Fighters.”

Tell us about your wedding dress and any other details you'd like to share.

“My gown was a Melissa Sweet dress that I got from David’s Bridal. It was the third and last dress I tried on. I loved the simplicity of it as well as the lace and beadwork detailing. It had everything I wanted and dreamed of for my wedding dress. It even had the tulle bottom that added a rustic feel to the dress and the beadwork and lace gave it more of a vintage look. My something old was my parent’s champagne goblets that they used when they got married. My something new was my hair piece that had pearl and crystal detailing on it to match my dress. My something borrowed was my grandmother’s authentic pearl and gold earrings. Lastly, my something blue was the bottom of my shoes.”

 

Wedding Vendors:

Ceremony: St. Maximilian Kolbe Parish in Scarborough, Maine

Reception: Camp Ketcha

Catering: Above & Beyond Catering

Officiant: Rev. Innocent Okosi

DJ: Andy Austin (family friend)

Florist: Prestige House of Flowers

Cake: The Winey Baker

Hair & Makeup: Bei Capelli

Bride and Bridesmaid’s Dresses: David’s Bridal

Men’s Attire: Men’s Warehouse

Stationary: Nitro Designs

Rentals: Savvy Event Rentals