Love and Lobster Coastal New England Weddings

The Maine coast makes for such a stunning wedding backdrop that you need little more than a tent for a spectacular outdoor event. But before you drive those stakes into the ground, check out the open-air venues already nestled along Maine’s seaside.

These locales are unlike any other in the state, combining the beauty of the natural landscape with striking historic architecture.

• Camden Harbor Park and Amphitheatre: Gifted to the town in 1931, the public park and amphitheatre overlook the harbor from a high point in Camden’s downtown. Designed by renowned architects the Olmstead brothers and Fletcher Steele, both were restored in 2004. The amphitheater, made of fieldstone and brick, is woven with native trees and shrubs, with iron rails and elegant arches making it a one-of-a-kind outdoor site. In addition to concerts and fairs, the amphitheater plays host to many weddings each year.
• Vesper Hill Children’s Chapel: Just south of Camden, this nondenominational outdoor chapel sits amid a formal garden, rising above a sweeping lawn atop an intricate stone foundation. The chapel seats up to 50 people, drawing intimate weddings from mid-April through October. Named in honor of the holiness of children, the site blooms with hydrangeas and overlooks Penobscot Bay.
• Saint Anne’s Episcopal Church: In addition to its quaint stone chapel, Saint Anne’s in Kennebunkport is also home to an outdoor chapel, made up of a stone pathway leading to a pulpit at the ocean’s edge, flanked by rows of pews. Views of the rocky coastline stand in for stained-glass windows, and blue skies take the place of arched ceilings. Weddings are hosted all summer and into September.