Love and Lobster Coastal New England Weddings

We have been following Brooklyn graphic designer and handmade talent Jen Pepper as she settles into life in Maine and plans her coastal New England wedding.

It’s so easy to get caught up in all the little details, sometimes I find myself losing track of the big picture. A wedding isn’t about Pantone colors, finger foods or boutineers- even though they do look pretty in photos. A wedding is about one thing, and one thing only. LOVE. At the end of the day Matt and I will be married, joined together for the rest of our lives, bound by our love, affection and keen senses of humor, and we knew we wanted an officiant that embraced us as a couple.

Since we don’t attend church here in Maine the obvious choice in officiants was not even an option for us. We then toyed with the idea of inviting a very dear friend from New York to act as our officiant on our wedding day, and have a quick city hall wedding the day before just to make it official. I also did a little online searching for notary’s in the area but no one really stood out to me. For a few months i just put this very important piece of the puzzle on hold. I figured we would figure something out eventually.

I think it was right after Christmas, and an afternoon of watching Four Weddings with a box of tissues, that I decided we needed to find an officiant that we vibe with. I did a little bit of searching on Google, and then suddenly I stumbled upon A Sweet Start. Right in the first paragraph, I knew Maria was our officiant… “the fact that you’re looking for a notary public as an officiant probably means you want a wedding that’s a little different, a little creative, and a lot YOU.” Those words just made my heart melt, and I knew if she wasn’t available she was going to break my heart.

I sent her a quick email inquiring about our wedding date, and I swear I checked my inbox like a teenager waiting to hear back from the cute guy in Home-ec. Then it came, the sweetest little email that said indeed Maria was available for our wedding! I think I exploded in joy, this was more exciting than booking our venue, our florist and buying the dress combined. We had an officiant, we had someone who could make our dream a reality. Maria and I have been emailing ceremony ideas back and forth for  about a month now. She has so many great ideas to really make our day special, unique and so very us. Heck, she even sent over some sea shanties that she thought would be cute since we are saying “I DO” on a boat.

Now instead of file folders filled with photos of flowers and table settings, I have a running Document of ceremony inspiration. I can’t wait to sit down with my husband to be and help craft the words of love that will ultimately bind us together, and I am so excited that Maria is on-board to help us.

Previous posts in this series:

I’m engaged. Now what?

Decisions, decisions

How to find a wedding venue without leaving the couch

Finding a wedding venue that won’t break the bank

The wedding guest list

Let’s get organized

Wedding weight loss

Finding what’s right for you

Setting the table

Invitation dilemma

The dress(es)