A Historical Summer Wedding at Camp Kieve
We’re so excited to finally feature Kate and Sam’s Camp Kieve wedding from last summer. This wedding had a lot of history woven into the details, so let’s give those of you who may not know much about summer camps in Maine a little lesson.
A History of Maine’s Camp Kieve and Wavus
Founded in 1926, Camp Kieve is a boys’ summer camp on Damariscotta Lake in Nobleboro, Maine.
Campers range from 8-17 years old, and from what we’ve gathered, campers tend to hold their Kieve experiences with the highest regard. Often times, many many generations from a family will attend, and campers often return summer after summer after summer, making their summers at Camp Kieve an important part of their adolescent years.
Wavus Camp for girls is right around the corner from Kieve. It’s also on Damariscotta Lake, and its campers are equally as passionate about Wavus, as the boys are to Kieve.
Kate and Sam’s Summer Camp Wedding
Now, when does our couple, Kate and Sam get involved? Sam, and many other Kaplan men, attended Camp Kieve during his childhood. Kate, our bride, started working at Wavus and lo and behold, her path crossed with Sam’s. Fast forward a few years, and this couple couldn’t imagine hosting their wedding anywhere but at the summer camp that drew them together.
What made the wedding even more special is that the majority of the wedding guests had also spent time at either Kieve or Wavus, so having the weekend at camp was a familiar routine for many.
As wedding planners, we loved incorporating special details into this couple’s wedding plans that acknowledged not only the couple’s history at camp, but also the relationship between the Camp Kieve and Wavus. For example, Wavus’ symbol is the forget-me-knot flowers, so it was appropriate of Shelley’s Flowers to incorporate these into her bouquet. Kieve on the other hand is represented by the thistle. You’ll see this marked on many the details around camp. We found a creative way to incorporate these symbols into the wedding, and it came together as one of my favorite design elements we have done to date. We had custom wax seals created for Kate and Sam’s seating cards: one thistle and one forget-me-knots. We added these custom wax seals to the top of each seating card depending on whether the guest would have attended Kieve or Wavus. LOVE!
Let’s Chat with Kate, Our Bride
1) How did you and your husband meet?
Sam and I met while working at Camp Kieve and Wavus, where we had our wedding! Sam had been a camper at Kieve since he was 10 years old, and was working as an assistant director when I met him in 2010. My best friend from Gettysburg College, who convinced me to come work at the girls camp (Wavus) also happened to be Sam's best friend at Kieve, so he gets all the credit in the world for introducing us! Sam and I are both still directors at Kieve and Wavus so getting married there and bringing our families together with our camp family was incredibly special.
2) What is your favorite memory from your wedding day?
We had a cocktail hour at the camp dining hall overlooking the lake and after a few fun camp traditions, Sam and I led the entire party on a walk down to the reception tent at the other end of camp. The walk was about a half mile long, and Sam and I kept looking back at the scene of all our friends and family winding through the trees laughing, smiling, and singing. Being able to share a bit of camp magic with all of our friends and family was so important to us, and I think we knew in that moment that we had succeeded. Everyone was so relaxed and happy.
3) What was your favorite part about having a wedding planner?
My favorite part about having a wedding planner (Christina, specifically!) was the peace of mind it brought to both of us. I always knew I would be grateful on the day of the wedding to not worry about all of the moving parts, but I am also so thankful for her help in the months leading up to the wedding as well. I had so many visions in my head about what the day might look like, but having a wedding planner to converse and collaborate with helped bring everything down to earth and brought up new ideas I would have never thought of on my own.
We also found it so helpful to have an advocate to navigate all of the conversations between vendors, especially since Sam and I live in Maryland when we aren't up at Kieve and Wavus in the summers.
Christina was such a professional but also spent a great deal of her time just looking out for me and Sam and making sure we were having fun.
Our Maine Based Wedding Vendors
Cake: Barn Door Baking Co.
Catering: Seacoast Catering
Entertainment: David Gagne
Flowers: Shelley's Flowers
Beauty: Lindsey L Green
Photography: Rachel Buckley
Transportation: Country Coach Charters
Wax Seals: Artisaire
Ready to work together?
Did you love the way this camp wedding in Maine came to life? If you need help planning, designing, or coordinating your upcoming Maine 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.
More Rustic Weddings We Think You’ll Love
And while this may be our first Maine camp wedding, we’ve planned our fair share of rustic weddings in Maine over the years. So if you loved Kate and Sam’s wedding at Camp Kieve, we think you’ll also enjoy these weddings we’ve featured on the blog.
