Love and Lobster Coastal New England Weddings

With his zippy one-liners and penchant for edible glitter, Zac Young has quickly become a fan favorite on the hit Bravo TV show Top Chef: Just Desserts. The native Portlander, one of six remaining “cheftestants” on the reality show, has dazzled viewers with his kicked up comfort foods, from caramel corn with bacon to a fried whoopie pie served with chamomile ice cream and Asian pear.

When he’s not competing as part of “Team Diva,” a three-member alliance on the show, Zac heads up the dessert menu at NYC’s Flex Mussels as the restaurant’s executive pastry chef. He also puts his signature culinary style — using classic French techniques to dress up favorite American desserts — to use for weddings, creating unforgettable desserts for couples’ most memorable days.

Fresh off his appearance at Portland’s Harvest on the Harbor food festival, Zac was kind enough to share with us his thoughts on the show, reflect on his Maine upbringing and serve up tips for planning your wedding confections.

L&L: Now that Top Chef Just Desserts has finished taping, how do you feel about the experience?

ZAC: Really positive!!! It’s so great to watch. Despite our differences, I think we all really enjoyed each other. What a talented group of chefs!!!!

L&L: What was a favorite moment along the way?

ZAC: We laughed a lot. My favorite memory was outside the “Tar Pit” restaurant in episode 2. [Contestant] Yigit and I started a dance off, pole dancing on the parking meters. You can guess who won.

L&L: How has growing up in Maine shaped your culinary approach?

ZAC: Every day I walk into work at our seafood restaurants, Flex Mussels, I feel like I’m back home. My desserts are fun spins of the sweets I remember eating during the summer as a kid. Whoopie pies, fresh hot doughnuts, and peanut butter fudge. I’ve grown up, and so have the desserts, but they are rooted in childhood memories.

L&L: Which restaurants or activities do you make sure to hit up when you’re back in town?

ZAC: A brisk walk around Baxter Boulevard with my mother. Growing up we would always go there. I’d ride my bike as she ran. It was our time together. That small body of water must have heard so many life lessons.

L&L: What are some of the most memorable desserts you’ve created for weddings and events?

ZAC: I’m currently working on the logistics of frying doughnuts to order at a 300-person wedding. Flex Mussels is the couple’s favorite restaurant, ordering the doughnuts for dessert has been a tradition of theirs since they started dating two years ago. They have not found a dress or rings — they decided on doughnuts first! Also, when photographer Emilie Sommer got married in St. John, I overnighted 100 peanut butter and jelly bonbons in a cooler packed with frozen peas.

L&L: What advice do you have for couples planning desserts for their weddings?

ZAC: Be adventurous, but be specific. There are many more personal options than a classic wedding cake. What did you two eat on your first date? Is there a dessert or bakery that you both love? Favorite candy? All of these can be woven into your reception to make it that much more personal. Just make sure you communicate your wants and needs to you planner and the chefs.

L&L: Best marriage advice?

ZAC: Still waiting to legally get married. I’ll let you know then.

L&L: Song most likely to get you on the dance floor at a reception?

ZAC: “Sweet Caroline.” People of every age shout out the “bum bum bum!”

You may have heard that Maine is among the country’s most stunning and scenic locales for hosting a wedding. But you may not have heard the traditional Maine saying, “If you don’t like the weathah, just wait a minute, it’ll change.” So what do you get when you combine beautiful surroundings with unreliable weather? Tents.

Rare is the couple willing to risk hosting an outdoor wedding in Maine without some kind of protection from the elements. A well-planned tent setup can create a cozy ambience that’s nevertheless open to the sounds of crashing waves and cool ocean breezes. And if it starts to drizzle, your guests can keep on toasting instead of rushing to grab their umbrellas.

But don’t assume that arranging for a tent at your wedding requires any less attention than choosing a brick-and-mortar venue. After deciding on a size and style, there’s seating, lighting, dance surfaces and accessories to consider. Luckily, Northeast tenting company Sperry Tents make this process as easy as a few clicks of your mouse.

With Sperry’s online software, you can browse their entire myriad of table and chair arrangements, dance floor choices, bar options and more. You could design, say, a 32×50 oval tent with round tables seating four apiece, a small stage, a lounge area with half a dozen settees and square ottomans, and even add landscape features such as an icon representing that gazebo at your wedding venue, all in the course of your lunch break. Add photos and share your plan on Facebook and you’ve made some serious planning progress in the time it takes to finish a sandwich.

And Sperry’s virtual layout tool is just the beginning. The company is known for its unique canvas sailcloth tents and top-notch customer service. Special features like those can make the difference between a serviceable outdoor venue and one that incorporates the natural scenery and style of your wedding.

Take Leavitt & Parris for example, another one of our local favorites. Their clear top tents bring the outside in, invoking the feel of a lush greenhouse filled with flowers by day and a mountaintop observatory by night. Set up clear walls, too, for a truly outdoor feel, or bedeck the sides with flowing curtains for a more intimate setting. (Speaking of details, Leavitt & Parris offers a sophisticated solution to an often overlooked one when it comes to tents: bathrooms. Consider their mobile restroom trailers as an alternative to the always pragmatic Porta Potty).

With options like these, you’ve got it covered.

credits (clockwise from top middle): Clockwise from Top middle: Claris Photography, emilie inc, Red Hot Pottery, Martha Stewart Weddings, Stephanie Williams, Jeremy & Kathleen Invitations, emilie inc.

Here are a few items you might not expect to pop up on a wedding registry: a remote-controlled drinks cooler, an inflatable beer pong surface, and a personalized poker chip set. Search for these items at Bed Bath & Beyond or Williams Sonoma and you’ll come up empty, but you will find them at a site dedicated solely to gifts for the groom — The Man Registry.

Described as grooms’ answer to the traditional bridal registry, the site features hundreds of gifts for the guys, replacing lemon zesters and Egyptian cotton towels with barbecue tools and PlayStation games. From electronics to bar supplies to outdoor gear, The Man Registry has it all. It’s even put a masculine spin on personalized merchandise – out with monogrammed napkins and in with the NCAA hot dog grill topper, which brands the name of your man’s favorite team right onto his Ball Park frank.

The site also includes how-to articles and expert advice designed to guide grooms through every step of the engagement, wedding and honeymoon planning processes. There’s tips on how to select the perfect engagement ring, bachelor party planning (to strip or not to strip?) and destination honeymoons. Plus subjects you won’t see tackled on most other wedding sites, like “How to plan your fall wedding around football,” “How to be a great groomsman, if you don’t like the bride,” and “10 nasty bachelor party shots.” A few of the topics are sure to crack up the bride-to-be, such as one man’s quest for an answer to the age-old question, “What the hell is a macaroon?”

Founded by two brothers and their future brother-in-law, The Man Registry has taken off since its founding in 2007, though if a recent informal Glamour poll is any indication, the reaction among brides has been mixed. Asked whether they’d let their man sign up for such a registry, the reactions ranged from “Neat website! Totally passing it on to my boy” to “I think this is pretty sexist…You don’t need a separate registry for things like those.” What do you think?

An artfully placed flower has become one of the most popular ways to add some instant glam to wedding day hair. But fresh flowers start fading right about the time your DJ hits play on “Build Me Up Buttercup.”

Thank goodness for Handle & Spout, whose elegant floral hairpins are sprouting up on many a bride’s locks these days. Constructed of layered silk fabrics and tulle, the pins are delicate, lasting versions of their living counterparts. Use one to pin back a section of flowing curls, or bunch several together in a bouquet to nestle atop a loose bun.

The shop’s bridal collection features pins in whites and pastels, while their full inventory also includes vibrant shades of coral, blue and lavender. For an especially dramatic ‘do, check out their look-at-me lily hair pins, also available as headbands.

Best of all, Handle & Spout takes custom orders for hair accessories in any color. Just mail them a swatch and wait for a special kind of flower delivery at your doorstep.

Standardized colors. Unflattering cuts. Scratchy fabrics. Resentful participants. All bring uniforms to mind, but we’re not talking about UPS drivers or Catholic school students. We’re talking about bridesmaids.

If you’re looking for dresses your gals might actually wear more than once, several bridal shops offer lines that stylishly balance a consistent look with flexible options. Thread Bridesmaid’s classic party collection is a wonder of customization that could please even the pickiest bride. Choose from a number of silhouettes, colors, fabrics and lengths to assemble the dresses of your dreams. Gotta have everyone in knee-length navy? Go for it, then let your gals decide between strapless or V-neck and satin or taffeta. (Not even sure what you’re wearing yet? Check out Thread’s wedding gowns, which all retail for under $1,000).

To get multiple looks out of a single dress, let alone a single retailer, check out Two Birds’ amazing wrap dress, a fluttery, flowing length of fabric that can be twisted and tied in 15, count ‘em 15, different ways. Some other impressive numbers: 18 colors, four lengths, and just two cuts that can fit sizes 0 to 24 (props for such maternity-friendly wedding wear). From a casual one-shouldered number in mint green to a striking cabernet red strapless gown, this dress can do it all for around $300. Your maids will wear it long after the wedding, mercifully letting them kill “two birds” with one dress.

Also take a look at a similar wrap dress by Brooklyn, NY boutique Butter by Nadia that comes in both jersey and satin in an array of rich colors. And for the clumsy: If you’re imaging yourself straight jacketed in an endless loop of fabric, both sites feature how-to instructions on wrapping the dress.

For an off-the-beaten-path look that requires little more than zipping and buttoning, browse Calypso’s inventory of bohemian yet timeless dresses in looks perfect for a casual wedding event. Their sleeveless smocked-waist dress flatters any figure, while their linen tank dress looks right at home on a sandy beach. And right now, both are marked down to $99 from $165.

Remember, your bridesmaids will get married one day too. Bank yourself some good karma now, or face the possibility of ruffles – lots and lots of ruffles.