Wednesday-Four Days until the Wedding and the In-Laws-to-Be Arrive!
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)
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.