Hailee and Carl met on an island in Maine. They now live in Washington State, but wanted to return to Mount Desert Island to have their wedding. “We came up with ‘Cosmic Honey’ as our wedding theme while trying to combine the things we wanted to include in the event”, said the bride. “We were inspired by creativity and our love.”
“We were very hands on with our approach. This resulted in every element and detail having our personal aesthetic and reflected our unique dynamic as a couple. It took a lot of energy and time, but we are so happy with how it turned out.”
The ceremony was held at a private residence by the ocean. “The weather and scenery were breathtakingly beautiful”, Hailee continued. “We kept the atmosphere relaxed and informal. Our good friends sang a beautiful operatic piece as my family and I approached the arbour made by Carl’s father. The ceremony was officiated by our close friend Patti and included exchanging of charms between Carl and my family, a reading of the poem Wild Geese by Mary Oliver and an acoustic Bruce Springsteen song Should I Fall Behind performed by Carl’s father and brother.”
“Some of our DIY projects included invitations, buttonholes for each guest, the reception decorations, the table cloths and the ‘cake’ which was made by my brother from birch bark collected locally which he then filled with live plants (it wasn’t edible!) The wedding favours were Carl’s original drawings on tiny canvases and coasters stamped with the same cosmic honeybee design that was embroidered on the back of his wedding coat. People also each got packs of postcards using a collection of original designs, and airplants and sea urchin shells strung together with gold string to create a jellyfish-type creature.”
“The hardest part of planning the wedding was that we did it from across the country”, she explained. “It was difficult to conceptualise the different spaces without having been inside them physically. We arrived in Maine with one week to pull together months of planning.”
“Your wedding is a creative expression”, she concluded. “It should reflect your love and relationship not the expectations of others. If there are traditions or clichés that you’re not comfortable with or do not reflect who you are as a couple, drop them from the plans. If you don’t want cake in your face or to see single women scramble for a bouquet just leave that stuff out. This will help keep the focus where it should be – on celebrating love, family, and friendship.”
