Stunning Fall Wedding at Agora Grand

When the term “badass” comes to mind, I think of my bride Blake: a First Class Petty Officer, more recently promoted to Ensign. During our wedding planning process, sometimes we’d hop on the phone and she’d apologizing for not having a voice. From what? Giving orders to the many (cough cough... men!)  underneath her. Like I said: badass. Further, I knew we’d hit it off when she said she wanted to incorporate red into her color scheme. My favorite color!

Blake and James chose a unique wedding venue. Similar to Grace (a former church turned popular event space in Portland, Maine), Agora Grand is a reclaimed wedding venue in Lewiston, Maine. The rehabilitated space boasts creative repurposing of many historic elements, including soaring 55-foot ceilings and several stained glass windows. In short, I knew it would make for an extraordinary backdrop to this wedding, and the pop of color Blake wanted would be a fun touch. Field Floral adorned the tables with lush greenery, and also created an epic installation that included hanging tea lights over the head table. Garden Gate Lettering delivered the final touches with a mirrored seating chart and hand lettered place cards. Our favorite addition? The couple’s son, Barrett, who had the important role of ring bearer.  

Keep reading to learn more about Blake and James as a couple, and their Beech Hill Barn wedding in Maine.

Q&A with the bride, Blake

1)  How did you and your husband meet?

We are both in the military and met when we both got orders to the same location. The first time I saw him, no joke, I ran and hid because he made me feel instantly like I might throw up. I proceeded to spend the next few weeks avoiding him/ keeping him from seeing me because I knew I would turn all red and blushy and not say actual words. (I escaped through a bathroom that connected two unrelated offices once because he knocked to come into the office I was in and I was too afraid to see him—not my proudest moment) We “met” for the first time at a party one of our coworkers had that we both attended. We were both sitting around a fire outside and he struck up a conversation and the rest is history ❤️

2)  What is your favorite memory from your wedding day?

Ah! The whole day was so great that’s a hard one. So many little moments that make me tear up when I think of them but I think my absolute favorite part was right after we did a sort of “first look” with my brother. He came outside and I wasn’t ‘not’ in full blown panic haha he was doing his thing trying to make me laugh to calm down, we went inside and he said in his brotherly way that it would all be fine once I saw James and holy smokes was he right! As soon as I saw James I felt like all the panic was gone and I couldn’t wait to be standing beside him and then looked back up at my brother as we were walking together and then back at James. That moment right then when I could see my wonderful future before my eyes and see my lifelong support system at the same time was my most favorite part. I just felt so loved and so happy all topped off with the most excitement of all time.

3) What was your favorite part about having a wedding planner?

Oh my gosh! Every part! Having a wedding planner totally made the wedding have “the magic”. All the fairy tale dust was sprinkled by the wedding planner’s ability to tie everything together, create the image we saw in our minds and add modern flair that went above and beyond our imagination. Tied with the magic sparkly stuff is that allllll of the wedding day set up, breakdown, mechanics, and organization were handled thus reducing the stress immensely! I didn’t have to worry about remembering all the things (which is good because I failed at remembering the whole 2 things I needed to lol) or worrying that something was wrong on a day that I wanted to remember only the love and soak up every moment.  All I had to worry about were the crazy nerves that creeped up, as if from out of nowhere, the day of the wedding.

Maine Wedding Vendors

Be sure to check out each of the wedding vendors that made this military couple’s November wedding in Maine come to life:

• Venue: Agora Grand

• Planner:  Pinch Me Planning

• Photographer:  A.Fogarty Photography

• Caterer: Hurricane’s

• Florist: Field Floral

• Rentals: One Stop Event Rentals

• Hand Lettering: Garden Gate Lettering

Let’s Plan Your Event

Do the details of this real Maine wedding get you excited for your big day?  If you need help planning, designing, or coordinating your New England wedding, get in touch with us today. Our approach to wedding planning and design is collaborative. You’ll share your own vision of your event concept, and together we’ll make your vision a reality. And since no two events are the same, all packages are customizable to your needs. We can work together to make sure the planning process and timeline suits your needs. Review our wedding planning packages and contact us to start the conversation today.