1.  Get family and friends involved.  Look around-every family has talent.  Maybe there is a pastry chef in-the-making under your own roof!   A friend or relative can bake your cake.  A professional baker can decorate it if that gives your cake the look you want.  Not only will having a baker in your family save you money, you give someone you love bragging rights!
2. Use indigenous flowers and decor.  Consider incorporating your location’s indigenous plants, flowers and all things native in the décor for your ceremony and post-ceremony celebration.  For a wedding in on the coast of New England, the florist used sea glass gathered by the bride’s family to decorate the simple white wedding cake.  The seaglass glistened against the white frosting.
3. The Bride and her attendants should consider carrying family heirlooms instead of traditional bouquets.  A family Bible or Prayer Book will have personal meaning and be less expensive for a florist to decorate than creating a bouquet from scratch.
4. Use ribbon!  Ribbon can give the effect that flowers can too. Boutonnieres can be made of ribbon by making a simple cross-over loop fastened with a floral pin.  Ribbon can also adorn a flower girl’s hair and the basket she carries.  Give your floral bouquet more volume by looping in ribbon with the flowers.
5. Use high school talent!  For my own wedding, I am using the local high school jazz band. It felt great to highlight kids who are talented musicians! 
6. Use candles!  Don’t be married to flowers to achieve an elegant look.  One bloom or even petals are beautiful when scattered amongst tea lights in votive cups.
7. Look for coupons on websites like www.TheKnot.com to receive discounts for a plethora of items.  From creating your own personal website to personalized cocktail napkins, you will save.
8. Have a pot luck meal!  Every family has a chef in the making!  Wedding guests will get a treat when they enjoy favorite family dishes.  Share the recipes with your guests by having each “chef” copy the recipe placing it by his/her dish.
9. Have a friend or family member with nice hand-writing address invitations.  Before there was an abundance of calligraphers, an aunt or family relative of the bride’s hand-addressed all wedding invitations.  Bring back the tradition and tell everyone your aunt did it!
10. Do-it-Yourself!  Choose a wedding date that allows you enough time to do things yourself at a leisurely pace.  If a year-long engagement allows you to do things yourself and save money, then do it!
    

    Roz, my sister-in-law's sister and a talented pastry chef at Grove Park Inn in Asheville, shows us how she will make the cake and Nate gets ready to decorate!

Beth Eden Chapel in the Fog-The fog lifted and we had a beautiful sunny wedding day

Pictures will tell the story, I’m going to enjoy every minute of it.  Stay tuned for photos at a later date!

Me wearing Mom's dress that my grandmother made for her when she was 16! Blue bows are made by Mom!

Today, I am told by my fiance and family that I am supposed to sleep in with my new exfoliated skin.  Not a chance, I am excited to seize the day!  I’m up by 7:00 am enjoying coffee with Roz.  All the others start trickling out to join us on the front porch.  The tent is up in front of the house (as of yesterday) so we don’t have much of a water view, but the tent looks  great, and our guests will get to enjoy the water view due to the clear walls we have used. 

I woke up this morning with a lot of new emails on my bberry from friends Val, Carrie, Jenny, Ruby and Betsy.  Their NY flight to Bangor last night was cancelled and a bus was sent for them and 30 other passengers.  But the bus was too small for all of them!  A nightmare, but they are finally enroute on a very long ride via a too-small bus and should be in Blue Hill in time for the rehearsal.  Exhausted I am sure, but not without a lot of very funny stories.  They are troopers for soldiering on and the best friends in the world.  I don’t want to call them so early in the morning, because I am afraid they are finally sleeping.  Some of their emails were from 3am!

Bryan and Dad have lined the driveway and the path down to the water with tiki torches and they look great.  Everyone at the Neuhauser home and at the Haenle house has taken turns being available to meet vendors as they are setting up and making deliveries.  Yesterday, Dad kept an eye on everything while the ladies were at the spa while Mary Lou met the dishwasher repairman.

Maria is working today on tonight’s decor for our “Merging of the Families” potluck supper.  My first offical appointment today  is going to the chapel at 2pm with Mom, Dad, Paul and Aunt Claudette to meet the jazz band we have secretly hired to play for the ceremony.  A quick run through with them and then we are ready for the 3pm ceremony rehearsal.

Val and Jenny will make it to the rehearsal, and I will be so glad to see them.  It is quite a humbling experience to see a place start filling up to celebrate you and your partner.  This is the part where they warn you about–take it all in, make it go slow, enjoy it!

Jenny, Val and Me!

Tonight the Haenles have planned a very special event at the  Holt House and a supper at the Neuhausers for everyone.  We will even  have a groom’s cake!  My favorite thing to look forward to tonight is seeing all the people we love many of whom will meet each other for the first time.  Jane has put together a program that will be a lot of fun..stay tuned.

Paul practiced in rehearsal using his Dad's ring as a special remembrance of him.

Mom, Nate and I decide to get some exercise and enjoy the sunshine (a break from the rain) and head out for a walk.  Nate entertains us my finding as much road-kill as possible.  He also has said I should be the groom and Paul the bride.

Time flies-gotta go get ready–I am wearing an ivory dress my grandmother made for my mom when she was 16!  My mom has tied blue satin bows to my cream shoes and with my new earrings I am old, new, borrowed (the dress is still my mom’s) and blue already!  Can’t forget to take the “bow” bouquet cousin LaVerne has made for me using gift bows from the bridal shower she hosted for me.  She affixed them to a paper plate!  It’s adorable.

Practice makes Perfect!

Paul gets in the car with my parents and has a scotch in his hand!  Hope this is a good sign!

More after dinner….

Jane, as toastmaster of the evening, did not disappoint.  All guests wore name tags wrote on them where they called home.  Each guest was paired up with a stranger and had three questions  to ask that one another.  (Paul, Jane and I had previously written written the questions).  I loved seeing this unfold.  Six folks-Kim, Carrie, Paige, Nova, Roy and Dan were selected to talk about their meeting Todd, Tim, Karin, Mama Jo and Nate respectively.  They all did a great job!  Other highlights from the program included, a welcome and toast from my brother, who introduced his father-in-law Hans Neuhauser to talk about the history of the Neuhauser family home and connect the home to some of Paul’s ancestors who also grew up in the area.  Julie wrote and read a poem for us, Jill made a very  moving toast and the triplets gave us a “Romeo and Juliet” basket of goodies. 

Paul and I recognized the triplets and Nate by giving them gifts and the girls received their baskets mom decorated for them and in a presentation from Paul, Nate received the rings.  We had a super time.  Off to bed after mom and I work on the triplets blue bows on their shoes for a little while!  Last night as a single girl and glad I spend it with my family!

Paul's ancestsor's home, the Holt House--now home to the Blue Historical Society--was the location of our Welcome to Blue Hill Reception for all of our wedding guests

Paul's Uncle Dave as Jeremiah Thorndike Holt. Holt is Paul's ancestor who was one of the first five settlers of Blue Hill. Here Jermiah welcomes us to Blue Hill, the Holt House and shares Paul's Holt ancestry. This was the largest assembly of Holt descendants ever gathered at the Holt House.

Paul's Meet and Greet Game pairs Mama Jo to get to know Roy at our Rehearsal dinner reception.

Paige, Carrie, Me and Heather

Todd and Paul's Aunt Carol

 

Our tables are all set for our Rehearsal Dinner and Blue Ribbons will be awarded to family potluck supper entries! Just like in Charlotte’s Web!

Tomorrow wedding day!

Tip #26:  If you can afford to, include everyone (like we did) in your rehearsal dinner or at least plan an outing such as a meeting at a bar or restaurant where everyone can stop in.  My friend Heather Patterson Robinson had a “Welcome Cocktail Reception” by the beach.  It gave her guests a chance to meet and get to know one another.  Made for an even livelier wedding day!  Heather’s wedding was at the gorgeous Gasparilla Inn in Boca Grande, Florida.  http://www.the-gasparilla-inn.com/wed_reception.php

The Groom's Cake was his grandmother's chocolate cake recipe.

I gave the flower girls the baskets mom created for them to carry the next day. They also received shoes with blue bows on them like mine. Paul presented Nate with the REAL rings to carry and we gave the all copies of the book Charlotte's Web.

My hostesses and me at the Spa

Last minute details include getting the wrinkles out of wedding clothes, blue fleece blankets for the ladies, wrapping the gifts for the young wedding attendants (in Bridal Bliss wrapping of course), decorating the flower girl baskets and their shoes with mom. 

Paul’s gift from me has arrived via UPS at Fairwinds Florist from Frank Milwee Antiques and it is perfect!  Tied up with the calligraphered note Lee Ann Clark did on one of our Save-the-Date cards and blue satin ribbons, it will be ready for Nate to present to Paul on Saturday at their breakfast with the boys.

Friend Cordia has sent us flowers to the Neuhauser home.  They are beautiful and will be enjoyed by all of our guests. 

Flowers from Cordia are now our dinner table centerpiece

Mom, Jane, Karin, Roz and I head to Northeast Harbor to meet Jill, Julie, Sam, Olivia and Shannon.  Jill, Julie and Jane are hosting me for a bridal luncheon and spa!  Lunch is at the local lobster house, The Docksider, followed by a spa day at Bella Spa.  http://www.bellaskinandbody.com.  As a gift from the three J’s, I had an exfoliation massage, manicure and pedicure.  I  highly recommend the exfoliation a few days before the wedding.  It sloughs off all that dry skin!  Favorite highlight was seeing Sam, Olivia and Shannon getting manicures!  The Haenle ladies’knew it would be too hard to have a shower for me in Lockport, so this was there gift of a shower to me and was thoughtfully planned and just perfect.  See the bridal flipflops and wine and pampering basket they greeted me with!  Thank you so much for a perfect prelude to a wedding weekend!  I am very lucky to get such good girlfriends in these women.

Being treated to the Best Lobster Roll Lunch in Northeast Harbor before going to the Spa!

Olivia Gets Ready for the Big Day!

Getting Ready to Enjoy Tim's Chili-Two Kinds of It with Heather, LaVerne and Phil!

A walk down Main Street of Northeast Harbor takes us into Shaw Contemporary Jewelry.  Here I find the perfect last accessory I need for the weekend–blue earrings for Friday night.   www.ShawJewelry.com.  Roz enjoyed looked at the unique settings they had on display for jewels of all types.  Gorgeous!

Once back in Blue Hill, Mama Jo, Karin and I head over later this afternoon to my hair dresser’s house so she can meet Karin and Mama Jo and talk hair styles for Saturday.  Melissa and her twin sister Rebecca do a great job with wedding hair and make-up and will come to you on the day of your wedding!  You can be in your bathrobe and sipping coffee out of your own mug and  have your hair and make-up done!  We do this at our house and so do the Haenle ladies at their house.

Tonight it is the Haenles turn to make dinner.  Tim, Julie’s husband has been working all day to make two kinds of chili to feed 18 of us now! 

Evan and Tim him get Paul's Holt cigar's ready for Custom "H" labels!

Tip #25-Have your hair and make-up done at home the day of your wedding or wherever you are getting dressed!

  Don’t run around, just sit and relax with your family and friends while sipping something yummy while they come to you!

Then the groom insists they try them out!

Uncle Reverend Dr. Robby and Bryan are put to work at the Chapel

Today we have more friends and family coming!  How exciting!  By late-morning, Bryan and Paul head-off to deliver every welcome bag to the various inns and houses our guests are occupying.  With printed directions verified and string maps drawn out by the map expert Hans (navigation systems don’t work too well here so good Army string maps by Hans are perfect), the two of them set out to deliver then meet us at the chapel to help decorate and move heavy furniture.  We will also meet my Uncle Robby (our minister) and Aunt Claudette (our musician) at the chapel.  They are driving to Maine from NC and have called to report they are only about 45 minutes away. 

Some of our inns…

The Blue Hill Inn (located in town)

www.BlueHillInn.com  Innkeeper Sarah Pebworth is great!

The Barn Castle Inn (has a great restaurant and bar)

www.Barn-Castle.com

On our way to Brookin, Mom, Karin and I eat lobster rolls from the Lobster Shack.  We have loaded the car with our ancestors’ photos , Mama Jo’s lace table cloth, six foot table, guest book and blue ribbons, guest book pen, kneeling cushion, silver candlesticks and off to Beth Eden Chapel we go.  We decorate, clean up a little and listen to Aunt Claudette practice on the original turn of the century pump organ while we wait for Bryan and Paul to show up to help move the heavy stuff.  When they arrive they tell us of the sidetracking adventure.  They found a LST boat similar to the one my grandfather was on in World War II and they stop to review it. 

However, there was a slight delay in the arrival of Paul and Bryan at the chapel when Bryan spotted these!

Aunt Claudette practices the Wedding March on the 20th century pump organ.

We set up the ancestors’ photo table-my favorite part of the chapel decor.  For months now, Jane, mom, Aunt Claudette, Paul and I have been collecting and researching ancestors’s photos.  We have framed them and Aunt Claudette is doing a small tent card for each photo (a tent card is a foldover stand up card that can be made and cut to any size using card stock).  We have at least 50 photos-25 from each side-that go back to great-great grandparents, the Holts (orignal owners of my diamond) all the way down to the ’70s where we realize we have matching family photos of the Haenles and Dennys taken by our respective parish photographers.  Ours of course was in North Carolina and theirs in New York, but who knew fashion was universally bad to include hair-do’s!  This project was a lot of work, but truly a family exercise that brought us closer together and laid out a lot of history in writing that we will be able to pass on to future generations.  We hope our guests enjoy them as much as we have!

Our Ancestors' photos are done! They look awesome!

The chapel is decorated so we head back into Blue Hill to receive the Haenles for a dinner prepared by my mom, dad and my grandmother.  Hot dogs and mom’s homemade chili.   While we were in Brooklin, Cullen has decorated the Neuhauser drive entryway with blue ribbons and pretty potted plants so guests know how to easily spot the festivities.

I make a quick trip into town with Paul to pick up our paperwork for our marriage license that will need to be signed and witnessed on Saturday by Uncle Robby, Karin (matron of honor) and Paul’s Uncle Wayne (best man).  I also can’t resist a stop in Blue Hill Antiques and Emerson Antiques for a quick peek at what’s in stock.   I am never disappointed and leave with a silver scallop shell spoon that we can use on our coffee bar at the wedding luncheon.

Paul and I have our marriage paperwork, now we are looking for signatures to confirm it!

Located side by side on Water Street, catch as catch can…

Blue Hill Antiques and Emerson Antiques-two shops worth visiting.

8 Water St
Blue Hill, ME 04614
(207) 374-8825

Paul and I are heading to the library to use the internet.  We want to send out the final wedding itinerary, recommended weather attire, maps and helpful info to our guests most of whom are arriving Friday.

As I said, the library is always hopping, especially today since a chipmunk is hanging out in one of the reading rooms.

It is a little bit of the calm before the storm hits now so I am also going to take this opportunity to go to the local Blue Hill book store and pick up some good reading for the honeymoon.  I’d like to read Colony which is a book about the Blue Hill area society life in the mid-1900s.  Also, Grace and Power by Sally Bedell Smith concerning life in the Kennedy Administration. 

Our tent goes up early so to allow the ground to keep dry

Our friend Tim has arrived today too and has ensconced himself at the charming and internet-connected Blue Hill Library to work on a proposal he has on deadline.   The Blue Hill Library is what every town should be–the hub-bub of activity!  Not many TVs here in the this area, but books are way more cool!

Tip #24-Decorate the chapel or church as far in advance as you can.  It’s nice to get that set and not have to worry much about it any more!

Nate welcomes the Haenles (Julie). We had just been decorating trees with blue ribbons when she arrived. Welcome to the Haenles!

Olivia, Shannon and Sam, our flower girls, warm up to a dead Jelly Fish! Cute but very brave girls.

While Bryan heads to the Bangor airport, Roz, Nate, Paul and I go out for a nature walk by the water and decide to survey  the driftwood gathered in two piles for our bon fire (weather permitting) Saturday night.  It looks great.  We also look for shells, sea glass and any thing else from nature that might be pretty to decorate around our cake pedestal.  Later, Roz, Karin, Nate and I go for a muddy walk in the woods and find really pretty light green, wirey moss and white birch shavings that will be great around the base.

Nate practices decorating our wedding cake with his nature walk findings!

Karin, Roz, Mary Lou and I are a day ahead of schedule and decide this quite, drizzly afternoon will be great time to assemble our guests’ welcome bags.  Paul and I have picked up local maps and brochures from the Blue Hill Chamber of Commerce (staffed by the extemely competent and effecient Sue, who was an amazing help to all of our wedding planning.  www.bluehillpeninsula.org.  Sue provided a name for just about every vendor we chose).  We also have the apples that Cullen ordered for us, local Maine bottled water so we are officially ready to use the big blue table and form an assembly line!

KELP!

Tonight’s welcome dinner is prepared by the Neuhausers for the Dennys.  We all sit around the big blue table and have a great night.  A crackling fire is going in the large, rock fireplace.  All is well and great.  The Haenles arrive tomorrow and have rented their own home.  Paul will move out of the Neuhauser house.  Nate has started calling him the “groomer.”  So off the groomer goes tomorrow, back to his own family until the wedding.  A small consolation, knowing we get to share him for good come Saturday!  Paul and I are both enjoying this time of being under the same roof with our family.  My family-Hans, Mary Lou, Roz, Bryan, Karin, Nate, Dad, Mom, Mama Jo and Me.  Paul’s family-Jane, Julie, Tim, the triplets (Samantha, Olivia, Shannon), Jill, David and their three boys (Paul 2, Sean, Ryan) and Paul.

A Welcome Dinner for the Dennys at the Neuhauser home

To rent your vacation home, check out a local realtor like Malone at www.SlavenRealty.com or www.vbro.com

Tip #24-Use local surroundings and resources to decorate  and plan for your wedding.  As a family and with the help of Cullen, we have gathered driftwood, sea glass, mussel shells, moss, birch shavings, rocks, fern springs, crab shells to decorate our wedding luncheon table.  Nate is quite the nature lover so we have found a way to get him really involved in helping Roz decorate the cake and the base of the pedestal below.  As for the Blue Hill Chamber of Commerce–Sue was invaluable.  Call or visit  your wedding location’s local chamber for information you would want as a visitor to a new place.

Paul has our Marriage License Paperwork in Hand!

Last night we had a wonderful lobster and clam stew over rice prepared by the Neuhauser family.  No dieting this week!  Prior to this week, we had a family dinner sign-up going around on email.  Each family took a night of food prep while in Maine, so we could all relax a little and not all be in the kitchen at once.  Tonight is Paul’s and my turn!  It will be no competition for the gourmet cooking the Neuhausers are capable of.  So we will stick with what we know–hamburgers!  That’s stress for later though.  For now, we are up early.  Wedding executor Maria is on  her way up from Portland with Paul’s sister Jill and mom Jane.  This will be the first time I have met Maria so we will have a lot of ground to cover in a short amount of time as she is here only today and then back Thursday night to begin work. 

We are meeting at 11 with all of the vendors–caterers, tent company, florist-to walk through final check lists, introduce all the key players to one another and do a final walk through of the property and the set-up times.  The meeting is done around the pretty French blue table that has been in the Neuhauser house since they bought it.  It’s a perfect place to seat all of us.  The meeting instead of one hour goes on about 2.5 hours.  Folks divided into sub-groups and started tackling issues that put everyone working together on like subjects.  So by 1:30pm when my sister-in-law said there are sandwiches in the kitchen for everyone we were thrilled! 

All of our Vendors and Key Family Coordinators around the French Blue Dining Table!

(Note:  I ran the meeting using the vendor load-in schedule I had given a copy to everyone.  We then ran through the complete supply list so everyone knew who was providing what–equipment was coming from two different sources).  

At the end of the meeting, we had established that I was stepping out of the executing and Maria was now in charge!  What a relief for me!  Maria is quickly making good relations with each vendor to coordinate all the various details!

To maximize Maria’s time with us (she had to drive back to Portland), we go right over to Fairwinds Florist to see all the boxes I have shipped and Cullen has graciously stored for me. 

Jane, Jill, Maria and I start opening the numbered and inventoried boxes so I can show Maria the items she will need to set the table.  We quickly make a pile to deliver to John, our Saturday caterer—Starbucks coffee and custom Liz and Paul paper cups, wooden coffee stirrers, silver spoons, linen napkins, custom blue fortune cookies and vanilla ones to0, embossed paper cocktail napkins etc.

Sorting through our UPS Inventory with Jill, Maria and Jane! Our personalized coffee travel cups have arrived!

Everything is working well because we have lists of inventory to work from.  My binder is full of them and now Maria has seen what our look is.  Cullen is showing her floral examples and Maria will use my candlesticks, silver scallop bowls (those I have been given over the years but the majority a gift from David Bell and Debbie Striklin at David Bell Antiques) and salt and pepper shakers (those I have bought at Blue Hill and Emerson Antiques) to work with Cullen’s simple, elegant driftwood pieces.

Eeh Ghads!  Paul and I have to go apply for our marriage license by 2pm at the Town Hall!

At the end of the day, we are all tired, but feel organized going into the week.   Glad to get this day over with!

Maria and Me!

Tip #23:  Have one group vendor meeting.  This will ensure everyone is on the same page!  It should be done the week of the wedding on site if possible!

Paul on the Steps of the Blue Hill Town Hall!

We make a quick stop in center of Blue Hill and take photos of ourselves on the steps of the Blue Hill Town Hall, but not for long because Nate awaits us at the Neuhauser house!

Once at the Neuhausers’ we get right down to work finding Nate!  He’s hiding….

We find him!  And soon we head out to the point to find sea life with Roz and Nate and all of the Neuhausers…

Off we Go!

And then off to the airport to pick up my brother who if flying in today from Vilseck, Germany!  He doesn’t expect us at the airport because he has rented a car,  but that’s not our style.  We like to surprise!

Tomorrow is a full day of meeting with vendors so rest today.

Tip #22:  Relax and Enjoy  your loved ones!

Hello Hans! Thank you for having us!

Roz and Paul find the first crab!

Bryan had not expected us to be at the airport when he arrived from Germany because he had rented a car! Surprise!

Karin, Roz and Nate watch the moonrise under a family blanket!

Carolina Crown Drum and Bugle Corps, my hometown favorite and they are wear Peridot Green plumes! Their uniforms are cream--with the silver instruments, they look like a page out of a design magazine! Great color combination for their uniforms.

We have to swing through Ikea in New Haven, CT to pick up a few more blue blankets I need for the wedding.  We have coordinated this so we can have lunch with Paul’s cousin Grant who lives there and have received a recommendation from our friend Evan to have lunch at Louis’ Lunch.  It was a really terrific recommendation.  Here’s the story from their webpage….”One day in the year 1900 a man dashed into a small New Haven luncheonette and asked for a quick meal that he could eat on the run. Louis Lassen, the establishment’s owner, hurriedly sandwiched a broiled beef patty between two slices of bread and sent the customer on his way, so the story goes, with America’s first hamburger.”  www.louislunch.com

After lunch we are enroute LL Bean in Freeport, Maine.  Our friend Vicki has given us a wedding gift certificate there so we can buy items for our honeymoon.   It was so fun!  We got clothes and a roller duffel bag all for the honeymoon to ????  After all of that shopping we are hungry for our first lobster roll and lobster stew at a great dinner next door and decide to forgo driving the rest of the way to Blue Hill tonight.  Instead we will get up early and arrive for breakfast!  That way Nate is sure to be awake when we get there and we will have all day to catch up with the Neuhausers, Karin and Nate. 

A rite of passage-arriving in Maine and shopping at LL Bean!

Tip #21:  Take a navigator on a road trip with your fiance!  We borrowed my parent’s Tom Tom and it changed our life and our routes!  It was great.  We never had to stop for directions.  We were able to find Starbucks along the way and avoid traffic jams!  It saved us time and now we are adding one to our gift registry.  It could save our marriage!