Love and Lobster Coastal New England Weddings

Traditionally, wedding anniversary gifts are determined by the year: paper for your first, leather for your third (who knew?), silver for your 25^th, and gold for your 50^th. But what if you’d rather have a memory govern your choice of gift than a material?

Toss tradition aside and opt for an annual memento that represents your wedding day or the year you’ve just spent together. Consider purchasing a piece of art for each anniversary, say a painting of the rocky coastline where you married, a sculpture that reminds you of your honeymoon in Italy, or a vase from that flea market you visited during a day trip last summer. Thanks to Megan Clouse for this great idea!

Marry on the shore of a Maine lake? Adopt a loon that calls the same body of water home. Through the BioDiversity Research Institute, choose a loon from among more than 25 lakes in Maine, including the popular Sebago and Rangeley lakes, and follow the bird’s life from year to year as your contribution funds important conservation efforts. You’ll receive, among other perks, a description of your loon’s history, including its age, size, whether it’s hatched young, and, awwww, its choice of mate.

If it’s a taste of Maine you pine for, enjoy succulent lobster year-round through Catch a Piece of Maine, even if you live hundreds of miles away. Their premium lobster club membership gives even landlubbers their very own trap, fished all season by a specially assigned lobsterman. A minimum of 13 lobster dinners will be delivered (with free shipping!) right to your door. You can even monitor the trap online while you await your meals, which also come with clams, mussels and dessert.

Speaking of sweets, another iconic Maine treat can also be delivered to your door every month, with a seasonal twist. Sign up for the Whoopie Pie of the Month Club, a sugary scheme cooked up by one of our favorite vendors, Nothing Bakes Like a Parrot. Enroll for either six or a dozen whoopies to be delivered at intervals of your choice, and look forward to such flavors as the Hello Summer! — a strawberry whoopie pie with vanilla filling — and the All Hallow’s Eve — a Nutella whoopie pie with Nutella and chocolate ganache filling. If you’re one of the many couples who chose whoopies as your wedding favors, this option is extra sweet.

We won’t tell if you eat one of those whoopies for breakfast, but a more proper morning treat comes in the form of Stonewall Kitchen’s delicious jams. Set up an auto-delivery schedule to have Maine specialties like their wild Maine blueberry jam delivered on your anniversary, and throw in blueberry scone mix and Maine maple syrup to keep the rest of the year packed with New Englandy goodness.

They say you’re supposed to give a gift of pottery on your 9^th anniversary — a pancake batter bowl counts, right?