Sarah and J.T., Autumnal Affair: Sugarloaf USA

Who: Sarah and J.T.
What: An elegant autumnal affair in the Maine mountains for 250.
Where: The entire wedding weekend was celebrated at Sugarloaf Ski Area in Carrabassett Valley with the rehearsal dinner and welcome party for 150 on Friday night taking place at the Sugarloaf Inn Shipyard Brewhaus, the Saturday ceremony at the Richard Bell Chapel and dinner and a riotous night of dancing held at the Sugarloaf base lodge, all coordinated by the amazing Tina, Sugarloaf's wedding coordinator.
When: Saturday, October 4, 2008
How: Three-person hair styling and makeup team led by Billy Dangler, owner of Knaughty Hair Salon in Portland and People's Salon and Spa in Waterville; Monique Lhuillier gown from Madeleine's Daughter in Portsmouth; fantastic fall flowers from Queen Anne's Flower Shop in nearby Kingfield; ceremony music by Whitefield Ensemble; and live entertainment provided by the Boston-area based Secret Service, who were literally the most "insane" (to quote a guest), energetic and entertaining band I've ever seen perform.

Why: So often it is said that the thing you are most looking for is actually right in front of you. This certainly holds true for Sarah and J.T., who grew up together in central Maine (she played soccer with his sisters), stayed in touch through college, but didn't fall in love until years later. As his mother tells it, JT was living in California, and planning to travel back East for a visit, but instead of coming to Maine, JT asked his parents to meet him down to Boston, where he "was meeting a girl." "But..." he added, sensing their frustration that he wasn't coming home. "I think you'll be happy when you find out who it was." He couldn't have been more right. And it was with their blessing, that high atop Sugarloaf, with a century old family heirloom, JT asked Sarah Browne to become his wife. And on the first weekend in October, as the fallen orange leaves and the snow (yup- it actually snowed atop the mountain the night before everyone arrived) swirled, they returned to the site of their engagement to be married during a day that honored their heritage (both familial and cultural) and celebrated the coming together of two people and their families, who in many ways are already one.

With JT being the first of his four siblings (he has three sisters!!!) and Sarah being the final of her three siblings (weddings in San Francisco, Chicago and now Maine) to get married, the wedding was such a major and meaningful milestone for these two families, making it a pleasure and a privilege to document the weekend. So struck was I by the care and compassion Sarah and JT put into every piece of their wedding, and especially into each other.


The weather over the weekend was wild! When I arrived on Friday night to photograph the rehearsal, it was sunny yet so windy you could barely stand up! I had high hopes that the former part of the weather would carry into the wedding day and not the latter. Unfortunately, it did not and while it didn't rain which was a blessing, the mercury never rose above 40 all weekend at the mountain, making for some rather raw outdoor portraits.


The groom's little cousin Josh served as the ring bearer and boy was he adorable. Here he and Sarah share a close moment during the rehearsal dinner.


Guests staying at the mountain's hotel found welcome bags in their rooms that included CDs of the bride and groom's favorite music, bearing the weekend's "logo"- the cedar tree featured on the flag for Lebanon, a nod to the groom's Lebanese heritage that was also included on the invitations, and on the shirts given to the groomsmen.


I love finding little details like these RSVP cards in the bridal suite.


Or how about this one! With 250 guests getting a plated dinner, coordinating who gets what they ordered could be impossible, but not with Sarah's sticker system, that was indecipherable to anyone who hadn't seen her clever code sheet.


The bride's mother made strawberry jam for the favors, and these little jars with their labels were so sweet, I think they would make even Martha jealous.


One of JT's sisters getting her makeup done. I love the constant color that runs through this image, from the eyeshadow to the makeup artist's ring to her shirt.


The bride's sister and maid-of-honor gets her makeup done.


But this has to my favorite preparation shot from the day, and maybe even of the summer!


I love that the groom's mom got ready with the girls! It really spoke to how family-centered the day was.


The bride's mom showing off her makeup to her daughter. She looked so stunning! I can't say enough about this woman and her kindness.


A toast from the bride's sister, with her sister-in-law looking on. I kept getting confused as to who was related to who and who married in and who was born in, because everyone was so close and connected.


Sarah's turn to start getting ready.


Lining those lips.


Sarah looked stunning in her dress, but it took some time to get there. The back had just about a billion little buttons, and everyone was so excited for the ceremony that their fingers weren't functioning as steadily as they usually did, making us about 30 minutes late. Poor Sarah had to stand there still the entire time, but as is her trademark, she kept a smile on her face.


Still waiting...


But we finally arrived to a packed chapel that still had an intimate feel. A complete sidenote, but my high school graduation from Carrabassett Valley Academy was actually held in this very chapel. (I had more fun at the wedding.)


I love the ring handoff. It took a few minutes to get them untied from the pumpkin "pillow" and JT kept his hand outstretched the entire time!


Married!


Bride's bouquet. I think fall flowers are my favorite- I love the oranges and reds.


Seeing it was about 35 degrees and bone-chilling cold when the ceremony let out, it wasn't hard to get Sarah and JT to snuggle. Because it was also almost dark (can you believe it's getting dark now around 6ish!!!), we didn't have much time.






Heading into dinner. Do you notice there aren't any fall colors on the mountain. While most of Maine is still peaking foliage-wise, Sugarloaf's elevation means the colors have mostly based, though there were some really beautiful trees all around the base area.


Laughing during the toasts, of which I think there were seven, but I lost count.


The groom's cousin took to the state to give a Sinatra-esqe performance of "Mack the Knife." The place went wild!!!


And some dance floor shenanigans, of which there were many! Outrageous!











Congratulations, Sarah and JT! I hope your week in Cabo brought your body temperature back up and gave you time to be spoiled, after being so giving of yourselves to me and everyone else at your wedding! It was an honor to photograph your wedding day, and hope to see you soon at the beach for a pooches playdate.

Update- Just received a nice email from Sarah and JT with the subject line of "wow". Here is what they wrote: "I can't tell you how happy we are with the pictures. Really, I can't think of any words that can express just how amazing they are! Just gorgeous and I can't wait to show them off! We can't stop looking at everything, over and over and over! Also, I checked out your blog a few weeks ago and found our WONDERFUL write up! That was so fun to see and send around! Thank you!!!!!! The trip to Cabo was so wonderful, we highly recommend it as a vacation spot. Beautiful and relaxing, perfect! Hope you're well, we'll be in touch! Thanks again! Sarah and JT."

And Sarah's sweet mom also sent me a note after the slideshow went online, saying "I just watched the slide show, oh, about 10 times in a row. It is absolutely wonderful. Made me cry...of course. I made my co-workers watch it too....we all cried! but happy tears of course. I can't thank you enough for being so wonderful at the wedding. More later, but thank you, thank you, thank you!"