Visiting the ceremony venue

After more than a couple phone calls to the Maine Department of Recreation and a written letter of intent to the director of Popham State Park, I am happy to announce that Tom and I have secured the wedding venue location of our dreams, Fort Popham State Historic Site in Phippsburg, Maine. The site is an old civil war era fort that was never used in combat, but is still full of history. The fort is surrounded by ocean on all sides, with a little isthmus of land leading up to it and a parking lot up front. You can see two lighthouses from the fort, as well as lobster boats coming into the nearby marina. Last night was my first opportunity to take Tom there, I am pretty sure that he was thoroughly impressed. My favorite part of the venue is the cost. Nothing! That's right, we have the entire fort reserved for our wedding ceremony, and it did not cost us a dime. It might take a little patience and legwork to get married at a state park, but it is well worth it in the long run.

 Tom and I spent a good couple of hours exploring the fort. I've been a couple times in the past, but this was Tom's first time visiting. I loved the spiral staircases, I kept envisioning a picture of me in my wedding gown with my train going down the spirals. I was caught up in the views, it was a clear day and we could literally see for miles. Tom loved the history aspect and pointed out the cannon tracks and the intricacies of how the fort actually "worked."

After satisfying our inner history geek by thoroughly exploring the fort, we got down to business, well for a few minutes anyway, to discuss wedding logistics. Perhaps the most significant realization that we made was the ease of a rain plan. I know my wedding is over a year away, but I was already starting to stress out about what happened if it rained. Tents can run several hundreds of dollars to rent, and the idea of marrying in the reception hall was less than appealing to me. Fortunately, while exploring the fort, we realized that the inner corridors are more than big enough to set up chairs in. So in the even of rain, we will literally get married IN the fort, now I just need to figure out some sort of quick lighting... candle light perhaps? Regardless, hopefully it won't be raining on our wedding day, in which case, the ceremony will be held in the parade ground of the fort. I like how that sounds so important. Tom and I practiced walking through the gates and down the "aisle" and we determined where we would set up our wedding arch. We also found a more secluded part of the fort where the guys can change after setting up all the chairs for the ceremony.

After exploring the fort and figuring logistics out, we went for a walk on the beach. I attempted to go tide pooling, but the tide did not want to agree with me. I still hopped around on the rocks for a bit. I think my favorite time of day at the beach is early evening, when the sun is low on the horizon. I love the shadows that it makes, and the sky is always full of deep blues and purples. It's so peaceful and calm, I really can't describe it.

Tom and I enjoyed our trip to Fort Popham, and we look forward to our next visit in a week or so for our engagement pictures!