Love and Lobster Coastal New England Weddings

As much as you try to avoid it, weddings have a way of flying by in a blur of favors and flowers, leaving precious little time to spend with friends and family. Enter the bridesmaids’ luncheon, a chance to honor your gals and recharge in the days leading up to the big day.

Coastal Maine is home to a number of restaurants well suited to hosting such an event. The following three are among our southern favorites.

Blue Sky on York Beach One of Maine’s oldest ocean side towns, York lured famed Boston chef Lydia Shire away from the Bay State to start a restaurant that’s quickly become known for its sophisticated fare and cozy atmosphere. Reconnect with your bridesmaids next to the wood-burning fireplace and share one of Blue Sky’s signature lobster pizzas. Then head downstairs to Clara’s Cupcake Café (named after Lydia’s granddaughter) for a sweet treat.

Inn By The Sea Overlooking the popular Crescent Beach in Cape Elizabeth, the inn just underwent a multi-million-dollar renovation that’s cemented its place among Maine’s top luxury ocean side resorts. Gather your group at the inn’s restaurant, Sea Glass, for one of their delectable blueberry martinis and crab cakes with mango salsa, whipped up by Chef Mitchell Kaldrovich, known for imbuing local, seasonal ingredients with an Argentinian flair.

Black Point Inn Situated on a rocky peninsula just 15 minutes from downtown Portland, the historic Black Point Inn has afforded its guests prime waterfront views for more than 130 years. Sip cocktails and scan sailboats from the porch, then grab a bite at The Point, the inn’s fine dining restaurant, or kick back in the more casual Chart Room. Walk off your lunch on a nearby sandy beach or hike the Prout’s Neck Cliff Walk to enjoy breathtaking views that inspired the paintings of Winslow Homer.

Surely you’d be flattered to hear your guests ooh and ahh in admiration over your wedding gown as you walk down the aisle. But imagine if cousin Julia sidled up as you cut the cake and ripped off a handful of tulle to snag as a keepsake.

For brides marrying back in the 14^th century, such acts of dress defacement were par for the course, as guests believed snatching a piece of the gown would bestow on them similar good fortune. But early brides’ frustration at being manhandled spawned one of our most venerable wedding traditions – the bouquet toss.

Brides initially started throwing their stockings or garters to fend off the throngs , but then opted for more dignified bouquets of flowers (drunk and eager bachelors who grabbed for the garter themselves were largely to blame). Those brides of yore would no doubt be shocked to see the custom surviving centuries later, sometimes provoking an entirely different kind of mob scene to the tune of Beyonce’s “Single Ladies.”

That’s not to say the bouquet toss, believed to bring the recipient luck in love, hasn’t seen some changes over the years. While it’s customary to involve only unmarried female guests in the tradition, couples today sometimes ask all of the women, regardless of marital status, to participate, or present the bouquet to a newly engaged woman. Others offer the flowers to a wedded couple or guest whose own marriage has inspired their union.

Many modern brides and grooms also forgo the bouquet toss entirely. But for those who do want to incorporate a flower fling, it never hurts to know the tradition’s origins. Turns out there’s historical significance to the phrase “Don’t mess with the dress.”

credits (clockwise from top right): Belle Fete Events, emilie inc. photography, Amy Atlas, Stephanie Williams, Bellz & Whistlez, emilie inc. photography, emilie inc. photography, Stephanie Williams, Mark Davidson

The first dance song at your wedding, as tradition dictates, should be the tune that played the very first time you and your intended ever met on the dance floor. But what if Kanye West’s “Gold Digger” was blasting in the background when the two of you initially locked eyes at the club?

Before you resort to time-worn classics in a desperate attempt to come up with a first dance song, check out these suggestions from Wavelength, one of our favorite local wedding bands. From country to jazz to R&B, this five-piece ensemble has heard and played it all.

We know you want your first dance song to be “Unforgettable,” so we hope you “Can’t Help Falling in Love” with Wavelength’s picks for more modern melodies (the descriptions are ours).

“By Your Side,” Sade. Say “I’ll never leave your side” the British way.

“Better Together,” Jack Johnson. This mellow fellow makes for some easy listening.

“Be Mine,” David Gray. Intense and soulful, you’ll wish the crowd wasn’t watching.

“Shelter,” Ray Lamontagne. A young Van Morrison’s gotta be hiding behind that scruffy beard.

“Whatever It Is” (slow version), Zac Brown Band. Your hubby’s thinking it, Zac’s singing it.

Oh Etsy, how do we love thee? Let us count the ways. Our latest find on the endlessly inspiring crafting site not only manages to bestow even more meaning onto a cherished wedding tradition, but the artists live right in our backyard. That’s, sigh, already two ways.

Brent and Jessica Williams of Topsham, both graduates of Portland’s Maine College of Art, create by hand one-of-a-kind wedding rings featuring you and your sweetie’s fingerprints. Using a lost wax casting process, they imprint the rings – in platinum, palladium, sterling silver or gold – so you can wear your hubbie’s fingerprint and he can wear yours. As the Williams (aka fabuluster on Etsy) put it, you’ll have your intended “literally wrapped around your finger.” After placing your order, you collect the prints with a kit that arrives by mail. The Williams then sculpt the prints onto either the inside or outside of the bands, creating an exact reproduction that preserves your fingers’ original textures.

All that for an exceptionally reasonable starting price of $365. No wonder the rings finished among the top 20 in the Martha Stewart Weddings-Etsy DIY Wedding Craft Contest. Make that three ways, and counting.

Tucked away on one of the many islands dotting Casco Bay is an intimate wedding venue known for raising the bar behind the bar. The Inn on Peaks Island, just a 15-minute ferry ride from Portland’s waterfront, mixes up signature cocktails your guests won’t soon forget.

Tapping into a trend toward more personalized reception refreshments, the inn’s distinct edge comes from its connection to an iconic Maine beverage company. Shipyard Brewing Co. owns the six-room inn, which is why you’ll see its popular Export Ale and many other microbrews on the menu.

But it’s the brewery’s line of sweet sodas that puts the pop in the inn’s two signature drinks. General manager and cocktail connoisseur Fred Hayman incorporates Shipyard’s selection of Capt’n Eli’s sodas into the Blueberry Hill, a fruity favorite among brides, and the more masculine Dark & Stormy, says events sales manager Amanda Conley.

To create the Blueberry Hill, Hayward pours 1.5 oz. of vanilla-flavored vodka into a 10 oz. flute, then adds Capt’n Eli’s blueberry soda. He tops it with fresh blueberries for a final Maine touch. The Dark & Stormy is a deceptively simple blend of Gosling’s dark rum and Capt’n Eli’s sweet and spicy ginger beer.

In addition to its two signature drinks, the inn works with couples to design a range of personalized cocktails. A recent bride served up mojitos, made with mint grown right on the property, to match her bridesmaids’ green gowns, Conley says. And for the under 21 crowd, the inn sets up soda stations featuring all of the Capt’n Eli’s flavors, from a refreshing orange to a tropical Parrot Punch.

We’ll raise a glass to that kind of cocktail creativity. Cheers!