Coast of Maine Wedding

“Return”  a poem by Jean Scott Creighton, Grandmother

Here on the coast

we are sea things

washed by ocean water

to be in flood has been our joy

for once upon a time we rode the waves

from our sea bed and reached the shore

where the singing air from the dark pines

the spruce and the balsam firs filled our heads

and the bayberry reached out through the open rocks to brush our passing by

Oh we delighted ourselves and thought

of time without end when a southwest

wind gave us a cloudless day

Of course, we feared drying

and a falling tide so holding

a finger to the wind late one day

we felt a change to rain

with a nip from the north

and knew we had stayed too long

when the sea current pulled at our feet

telling us to leave on the ebb

to splash through the shallows

over the bars and reefs making

our skin slick with small waves

breaking over our shoulders

filling our lungs with an ocean mist

until we were salt entire

saline to the core.

Louisa & Brigham had a true mid-coast Maine wedding.  They wanted to get married in a place that was deeply personal and meaningful to them.  The obvious choice was Cushing, Maine their part-time home.  This is a place where they gather with family and friends.  Where they’ve made memories. Where Louisa remembers childhood Summers.  As it turns out, Cushing is a short trip by boat across the St. George River from my family’s Summer home in Tenants Harbor.  I could go on about the kismet of this, but we are definitely going to have future bonfires and dinners in our shared favorite place for years to come.  Therefore I was excited to be here in a place that feels so magical and nostalgic to me.  I felt an instant connection with these two and their tribe.

In classic Maine fashion, the weather was unpredictable and the waves were choppy.  Rain was predicted up until the last minute but held off.  The couple welcomed this, and traveled by boat to their venue, a private home maintained by an award-winning professional gardener.  At the very moment when they saw each other for the first time, the sun began to peek out from behind the clouds.  I won’t ascribe too much meaning to it, as we all know about maritime weather, but it was pretty magical to witness the clouds and fog lifting.

Louisa selected wild ferns (my own favorite flora) for her bouquet and for Brigham’s boutineer.  The view from the ceremony location, and from cocktail hour on the lawn was epic and the party was perfect.  Congratulations Louisa & Brigham!!!