A DIY Maine wedding

JB and I were thrilled to celebrate with our friends at their destination wedding in Boothbay Harbor, Maine this past weekend. It was standing room only at their Saturday afternoon ceremony, which took place “in the middle of cocktail hour,” according to the day’s schedule of events. It was short but sweet, and I definitely teared up during the groom’s vows. (It didn’t help that he did, too!)

After the ceremony it was time for hors d’ourves — passed appetizers, cheese and crackers, and oysters. Freshly shucked oysters. Omigosh, they were incredible.

Dinner was a buffet inside the Main Lodge and included lobster and roasted pig. The tables were adorned with empty wine bottles collected by the couple, each holding a single giant sunflower, and handmade doily runners. As a way to encourage guests to mingle and meet one another, there was no assigned seating.

Then it was time to move into the West Lodge (where our room was located) for dancing and dessert. As you can see above, the bride and groom eschewed a traditional wedding cake for a buffet of whoopie pies! Besides classic chocolate with vanilla filling, there were blueberry, pumpkin, and mocha whoopie pies.

But wait! There’s more! Towards the end of the party, Portland’s Gelato Fiasco showed up with a refrigerated cart and started serving the most delicious gelato I’ve tasted outside of Italy. I tried a trio of Blueberry Crisp, Sweet Resurgam (burnt sugar and roasted almond gelato with big chocolate slivers, named for Portland’s motto, which means, “I shall rise again”), and Maine potato donut (cinnamon and sugar glazed with big bites of potato donuts).

By that point, I was beyond full, but I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to make (and eat!) s’mores at the after party bonfire! Naturally, they weren’t your run-of-the-mill s’mores; the marshmallows were approximately the size of four standard marshmallows.

Needless to say, I’m watching what I’m eating this week — until I head into New York City for Alt Summit later today! Tonight I’m attending a dinner hosted by Hayneedle at Morimoto. To say I’m excited about both the food and the company would be an understatement!

P.S. - If you’ll be attending Alt Summit tomorrow, contact me via Twitter or email so that we can meet up and say hello.