Luke and Breanne were married on September 14th at the picturesque backyard of Breanne’s uncle’s home, Trott Farm in Gardiner, Maine. The rain, which had gone on for days before, broke just in time for their big day. The sun warmed the guests while watching the outdoor ceremony and the evening air helped cool everyone down during the dancing portion of the evening.
How they make their wedding their own: Luke & Breanee’s wedding was undeniably a true Maine outdoor, backyard, white-tent wedding in so many incredible ways. But what’s more – Luke and Breanne figured out how to make this wedding their very own without breaking the bank, but while still making it look fabulous. Let’s just start with the fantastic homemade DIY bride & groom wedding road signs (created by the groom, Luke) helping the guests (and me!) reach the wedding destination. The sign above is one of many road signs posted along the way.
It just takes some creativity and a few helpful resources from friends and family. One of my favorite parts of their wedding day was seeing (and capturing) Luke & Breanne’s unbelievable Do It Yourself resourcefulness and creativity. To this day I am still talking about all of the amazing details—from the handmade chalkboard wedding guest signs, hand-stamped flower seed packets for guest’s wedding favors, glass Ball mason jars adorned with markable paper name tag labels—to all of the other many personal touches the couple added to make this wedding their very own.
Beyond the homemade signs and labels, the bride Breanne also did something I have never seen before at a wedding. She asked family and friends for unused plates, silverware, and Ball mason jars. Most of the items came from the farmhouse on the property, which contained many collections from the generations of family who have lived there, while other items were generously loaned from friends and family to create one of the most colorful and amazing table layouts I have seen. Mismatched yet complimentary, full of color and design, wedding table settings of napkins and plates were placed on white table linens, giving each setting it’s own unique personality.
“Mark your glass!” This was absolutely fantastic. Talk about having an environmentally-friendly green wedding! The mason jars especially, I have been recommending to so many clients, friends, and family. It’s like a solo cup with a sharpie except much, much better. What a great way to not confuse glasses and save – especially for an outdoor backyard DIY wedding.
So we will (finally) jump from the impeccable wedding details to the gorgeous Maine outdoor backyard wedding ceremony. Standing in a field, surrounded by tall Maine trees, their wedding ceremony was about as picturesque green Maine as you could imagine. Friends and family gathered in white folded chairs and watched through laughter and tears as the new couple exchanged their vows.
We enjoyed some fantastic late afternoon lighting after the wedding ceremony and captured some shots with Luke, Breanne and their puppy in the backyard of the Maine farmhouse.
Honestly, I am at a loss for words when it comes to the “guest book” that was a framed photo of Patrick Swayze. Wedding guests were quite delighted when instead of seeing a frame-matted photo of the bride and groom to sign, they instead were treated to write a message on the matte-framed photo of the Dirty Dancing star. (Yes, Mr. Swayze is just temporary holding the space until a wedding day portrait takes his place.) I don’t know how anyone (over the age of 30) wasn’t humming, “I had the time of my life…” when signing this bad boy!
On-Location Wedding Photobooth! When Luke & Breanne added the on-location outdoor HAL Photography Photobooth Snapshots to their wedding day, they were happily surprised to see what crazy/fun photos resulted from the open-air photo booth. My second shooter, Will (thanks, Will!), captured the spontaneous, hilariously funny, and sweet poses of the wedding guests (and bride & groom) rocking out with smiles, photobooth prop masks, and of course fake mustaches!
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – the photo booth has an astonishing way of capturing one’s inner fun personality. Some guests who may sometimes shy away from a direct capture by the photographer will end up being a part of the most amazing photos in the photobooth. Let’s be honest, it can be pretty sweet to take multiple shots in a row with all different facial expressions while donning a mustache. ;)
The dinner and reception was held under the tent and included a pot-luck style of homemade food donated by friends and family. Tell me these two do not have the coolest “framily” ever! There were not many dry eyes to be found or smiles and laughter not heard during the celebration and speeches.
The Bob Band, which includes four veteran musicians and long-time fans of living legend Bob Dylan, recreated the vibe & spirit of America’s greatest singer/songwriter all evening long. Dancing, laughter, and happiness were had by all. One very special moment came when we were treated to a very special guest – Luke – who picked up the guitar and sang a song for his new bride. It was pretty fantastic, I’m not going to lie.
CAKE! Who can forget the cake? Not me. Instead of the traditional wedding dessert cake, Luke and Breanne again used their incredible resources to reach out to their friend at Two Fat Cats Bakery in Portland, Maine. And oh did she come through. Pictured below are only three of the eight, that’s right EIGHT mini wedding cakes of the evening. I have more photos of each cake, but I didn’t want the entire post to be taken over by cake photos… And it wouldn’t be too hard to do! Seriously, these cakes looked and tasted fantastic. Feel free to email me for more photos of the scrumptious homemade cakes!
As the moon rose and the sun set behind the vast treeline of western Maine mountains, I had the chance to appreciate the infinite amount of beauty that surrounds us in the state of Maine. This is one of my favorite reasons why so many couples choose to have Maine Weddings (destination or local) – the views are totally worth it.
Luke and Breanne – Congratulations on your fantastic wedding day. Your (DIY) wedding day was a representation of the two of you and it shined through in all the details – from the table settings, Ball jars, homemade signs, custom “wedding day” microbrew beer, to the colorful place settings and silverware borrowed from friends and family. Your day was amazing and I thank you for letting HAL Photography capture your wedding day happiness.
A huge thank you goes out to my second shooter, Will Wohler, who not only rocked the photobooth, but also captured many amazing shots. Thanks, Will!
-heather
HAL Photography
Capturing
fun, laughter, tears
happiness
