Great grounds for a wedding with your pet!

Beloved pets are often integral members of the family and so it’s only natural that some couples want to include their pet in their special day. But a pet, of course, requires unique considerations.

First of all, make sure your venue allows pets – French’s Point allows well-behaved pets that are current on their immunizations, are crated when left alone in our lodgings, and have a handler – and then consider how you want your pet to participate in your ceremony. Do you want him to have a central role? As in walking down the aisle as a flower-bearer? Or do you want him in the audience with other family?

Once you’ve figured out what role you want your pet to play, you need to find someone to be in charge of him. This person will walk him where he needs to go, hold onto his leash during the ceremony, and, most importantly, take him elsewhere to discretely do his business if nature calls. You could hire a venue staffer to perform this task or ask an amenable friend or family member. (Keep in mind, however, that a guest who watches your pet wont be able to really relax and enjoy your wedding.)

When deciding whether to include a pet, you and your partner should be honest about the risks. Dogs bark, cats can cower or hiss, pigs snort, and as I’ve already mentioned, any pet could make a mess at the worst possible time.

Still, with a little planning and some practice, a well-behaved pet can make a memorable and adorable addition to the ceremony. And for plenty of pet-lovers, it’s not a question of whether or not to include Fido, it’s simply a matter of how best to make it happen.

Jessika Brooks Brewer
CEO
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What we know and love today as the French’s Point estate has roots dating back nearly 250 years – a history to which both illicit rum smugglers and law-abiding churchgoers hold claim. The Brooks family, longtime summer residents of French’s Point, bought the property in July 2002, and renovations began to make it the beautiful private estate that it is today.

A Brief History of French’s Point

A Brief History of Midcoast Maine: Famous Residents

A Brief History of Midcoast Maine: Hersey Retreat

A Brief History of Midcoast Maine : Fort Knox

A Brief History of Celebrity Residents

A Brief History of the Rose

A Brief History of the Wedding Ring

A Brief History of the Best Man

If you’re paying for your wedding, you may want to consider purchasing an insurance policy to cover cancellation, postponement, or disappearing vendors. Most venues require liability insurance, which covers you if someone gets injured during the celebration. But what about additional coverage for worst-case scenarios that keep the wedding from going on as planned? Or if a vendor doesn’t fulfill his obligations?

Policies for wedding cancelation or lost deposits are priced according to the total wedding budget. They typically start at around $100, according to WedSafe.com. The total wedding investment – how much you spend on the gown, the ring, deposits for the venue and other services, etc. – is essentially your level of risk should something go wrong.

If you want to insure against event cancellation or postponement, it’s best to get the policy before you start giving deposits to vendors. That’s because, even if you don’t have a worst-case scenario occur before the wedding, you could run into a vendor who does not or cannot fulfill his or her obligations to you. You could try and recover your deposit by doing a stop-payment on your credit card, but you might find instead that insurance is an affordable way to obtain much more fool-proof protection.

If your wedding investment is equal to or greater than the price of your car, a relatively pricey asset for which you presumably have insurance, I encourage you to explore wedding coverage. In the end, you may decide the financial risk involved justifies the expense.

Jessika Brooks Brewer
CEO
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According to modern wedding tradition, the best man is a close friend or family member of the groom’s who organizes the bachelor party, helps the groom prepare for the wedding, and stands beside him at the ceremony. But the origins of this tradition are a little more violent.

The best man tradition was started centuries ago in Scotland. In the 16th century, Scottish men would usually marry women from their small village. But when there weren’t enough women to go around, a groom would have to invade a neighboring village and steal himself a bride. This kind of marauding was predictably risky and so the groom would bring along the best man he knew — as in, the best and most loyal fighter — to help him kidnap a woman, bring her back to his village, and eventually marry her. The best man would also defend the groom before and during the marriage ceremony against the bride’s family, who would come swords swinging to try and get her back. During the ceremony, the best man would stand to the right of the groom, hand on his sword, to battle anyone who might charge up the aisle toward the groom. Talk about wedding drama!

These days, kidnapping is thankfully no longer the norm. The best man’s strong sentiments for the groom usually come out in the toast, not in a throw-down in his honor. Usually.

We have been posting things to do in the area for our Maine wedding guests and decided to do a roundup of them in one post!

• Meet Midcoast Maine: Home to French’s Point

• Things To Do: Fort Point State Park

• Things To Do: Sail the Bay

• French’s Point: A Home Base for Coastal Excursions

• Things To Do: Hike Mount Battie

• Things To Do: Wine Tasting

• Things To Do: Perry’s Nut House

• Things To Do: Penobscot Marine Museum

• Things To Do: Visiting Islesboro

• Things To Do: Farnsworth Art Museum

• Things To Do: Primo

• Things To Do: Acadia in the Winter

• Things To Do: Fort Point Lighthouse

You might have heard the old Maine expression, “You can’t get there from here.” Or, pronounced with a proper Down East accent, “You cahn’t get theyah from heeah.” Fortunately, the saying’s more humorous than it is accurate – you can get to plenty of places from French’s Point.

We’re situated at a handy midway point between Midcoast Maine’s most famous hotpots. To the south, Rockland beckons with fantastic waterfront events including the Maine Lobster Festival and the North Atlantic Blues Festival, as well as dozens of specialty stores and the nationally recognized Farnsworth Art Museum.

Just up the road, Rockland’s sister town of Camden earns its nickname as the “Jewel of the Maine Coast” with one-of-a-kind boutiques and sweeping views from atop Mount Battie in the surrounding hills. Together, the two locales draw thousands of visitors each year.

To the east of us is the Maine coast’s other renowned tourist destination: Bar Harbor. A seaside town of rocky cliffs and bustling shops, Bar Harbor inspires Maine’s postcard image, serving as a gateway to the wilds of Acadia National Park.

Make French’s Point your home base for exploring both Rockland-Camden and Bar Harbor, and don’t miss the less publicized gems in between. Stroll the historic red brick downtown of Belfast and take in an art exhibit, or view pristine historic homes on the elm-lined streets of Castine. Slightly inland, the village of Blue Hill, which takes its name from the blueberry-covered mountain rising above it, draws hikers, kayakers, sailors and other outdoor enthusiasts.
For a bird’s eye view of all these sights, take an invigorating one-minute elevator ride to the top of the Penobscot Narrows Bridge & Observatory. From 420 feet up, you’ll come to appreciate the region in a whole new way.

See for yourself why so many refer to the Midcoast as “the real Maine.”

Maine wedding grooms who are fans of microbrewed beer have plenty to choose from in Maine, including two established options near French’s Point on Mount Desert Island – Bar Harbor Brewing Co. and Atlantic Brewing Co., located a short drive away from each other in the beautiful seaside town of Bar Harbor. Keep an eye out for these breweries’ ales at bars and markets around Maine or, if you’re in town for the spectacular sights at Acadia National Park, make sure to go directly to the source to taste these brews beloved up and down the eastern seaboard.

Bar Harbor Brewing Co. opened in 1990 and is the town’s oldest microbrewery. The company’s four standard beers run from dark and rich to light and fruity and include Cadillac Mountain Stout (named the best hard-to-find beer by Men’s Journal) and Harbor Lighthouse Ale (judged one of the world’s best English Mild Ales at the World Beer Championships). Bar Harbor Brewing has an inviting storefront in the center of town and offers free tastings daily.

Atlantic Brewing Co. began brewing in 1991 (just a year after Bar Harbor Brewing) and offers beers made with hops imported from England and water from the Town Hill aquifer. Atlantic Brewing may be a more kid-friendly destination than Bar Harbor because the brewery also makes scrumptious root beer and blueberry soda. Atlantic also provides tours and tastings at its new brewery built on the site of an old farm a few minutes outside of downtown Bar Harbor, where it also runs an outdoor restaurant, a gift shop, and an all-you-can eat BBQ on Saturdays during the summer.

Both breweries, true to Maine form, offer blueberry-flavored ales and it’s long been a point of contention around here which one is better. You’ll have to take a sip and decide for yourself.

Annie and Pete’s wedding at French’s Point from Rogier van Bakel on Vimeo.

Russell Caron Photography

Getting real about the limits of the wedding budget is one of the toughest conversations couples have before the big day. So tough, in fact, that plenty of couples don’t talk about it until after they marry. Bad idea! Expenditures this big matter and it can be a mistake to pretend they don’t. Whether the two of you are paying for the whole shebang yourselves or you’re lucky enough to have family and friends helping out, budget talks, because of all of their potential anxiety, create a great opportunity to strengthen healthy financial and relational habits.

If you have contributors, the best way to deal with the awkwardness of money talk is head on. This minimizes misunderstandings and the collateral damage they can create. The bride and groom can make all the difference to the budget talks by modeling a respectful, honest tone. I suggest including the relevant players from the beginning by approaching them individually, seeing how much they’re willing to contribute, and allowing them to ask questions. Create an open dialogue without judgment where everyone can feel that they understand the decisions being made, even if they don’t agree with them.

Of course, you want your dream wedding to be as close to your vision as possible, so when talking with family or friends who are helping to pay for parts of it make sure you as a couple know where you’re firm and where you’re willing to bend.

But what if you’re paying for the wedding yourself? Many of our couples are in this boat. If the money is your own, that can create stress between the two of you. Again, respectful candor is key. Have an open and patient conversation with your partner that isn’t in the presence of other people. (I’ve had clients slip into the subject while meeting with me and let me tell you, it’s awkward for everyone involved and not particularly productive, either.) I think it’s great if you can talk about the budget in a laid-back environment — like at home, maybe after dinner — so that both of you are comfortable and you have the time and energy to really get into it.

Finding common ground on the budget is important for the celebration and the relationship as a whole. If you can start with your budget and plan the celebration accordingly, that tends to be the best, conflict-free way to move toward the big day. Otherwise, you risk one or both of you shopping for things you might not be able to afford, which tends to lead to disappointment and resentment.

Remember, all this money talk can help smooth the whole process. Setting parameters on costs can actually make decisions more manageable and fun – having fewer options promotes more creativity, for example – and money honesty can be great practice for similar conversations between the two of you down the road.

Maine Wedding Money Series I : How to stretch your money in Maine

Jessika Brooks Brewer
CEO
Contact

The weather today has us looking forward to our summer weddings. This is one of our favorites!

Looking to squeeze as much as you can out of your budget? Plenty of couples want to get married in Maine because of the gorgeous scenery. But it’s important to note that Vacationland can also be a great deal.

First of all, vendors and venues here tend to be more affordable. In fact, in my experience, a wedding in Maine compared with a similar bash in New York City, Cape Cod, or Nantucket can cost 25-50% less.

On top of the savings from a lower cost of living here, Maine is easy to get to from points along the East Coast and beyond, with direct flights to the Portland International Jetport from a handful of major cities. It’s also a relatively short drive from Boston (two hours) and New York City (six hours). So you get an exotic escape from everyday life without the steep travel expenses of more far-flung destinations. That’s a savings the bride and groom and all of their guests can enjoy.

Here at French’s Point, we have long-time vendors who are able to perform multiple tasks at a wedding, which can also save money. Like the associate that we absolutely adore named Captain Barnes. Captain Barnes is an officiate and a talented bagpiper. So couples hire Captain Barnes to play their ceremony music and then conduct the ceremony.

Speaking of music, another way to stretch your money here in Maine is to use the same musician for different parts of the event. It is nice to have a transition from one kind of music to the other as the event evolves, but that doesn’t mean you have to hire more than one band. If you have a five or eight-piece band providing the music their guitarist could play the cocktail hour, their pianist might accompany dinner, and the whole ensemble could play the dance reception.

Finally, another great way some of clients maximize their dollar is to offer individual desserts at the reception rather than one grand cake. One of our favorite mini alternatives is the whoopie pie, palm-sized chocolate cakes sandwiched around cream. Whoopie pies can be personalized, they’re often affordable and, best of all, they’re a nod to local culture. Last year, our state legislature officially crowned the whoopie pie Maine’s official state treat even though, technically, it was invented in Pennsylvania. Mainers aren’t known for being sticklers when it comes to good dessert.

Maine Wedding Money Series II: How to talk honestly about the budget

Jessika Brooks Brewer
CEO
Contact