* Sorrento, Maine, library wedding of Zoe and Theo by Emilie


photographers: Emilie and Megan, emilie inc. photography 
ceremony: Church of the Redeemer, Sorrento, Maine
officiant: Rev. Tim Morehouse
reception: Sorrento Public Library, Sorrento, Maine
coordinator, flowers: Sandy Shapiro-Hurt, Bea & Company
caterer: Cleonice
ceremony/cocktail musicians: Fiddlehead
dj: Logan Feeney, Sidekick DJ
hair/make-up: The Alchemist Salon
invitation: Lettuce Press
honeymoon: Turkey

When Zoe and Theo stopped by the office to say hello a month before their wedding, my mind went into overdrive imagining what the big day would look like as they gave me the run down of events: 

Preparations will take place at her family's three house compound. She will be dressing in her parents' cabin and he, in her late grandmother's "big house," which happens to be where they both spent their summer escaping from Laguna Beach for a few months in between classes for Zoe and working remotely as a freelance writer for Theo.

The ceremony will take place in Sorrento's tiny summer church where Theo's mom was the officiant for several summers during Theo's childhood. Guests will exit on one side leading directly to a path through the woods to the reception at the nearby library and the newlyweds will go out the other side and off to the town dock for photos. A table with champagne flutes will surprise guests en route. 

Timing will be tight for portraits, they warned, so we will have to move swiftly through the family groupings to get to the water via limo before returning to the church so that they can ring the bell and then walk through the path to their guests awaiting them on the porch of the adjacent library. On that porch, where Zoe and Theo shared their first kiss, will be a Polaroid guest book and guests will smooch for a photo and leave a note in the book. 

Inside the library, cafe lights will criss-cross the ceiling from the balcony, and their 75 guests will dine on yummy food from one of their favorite restaurants nearby before toasting and dancing after the sun sets.

What happened on their wedding day, however, was all of the above and so much more. It was a visual feast, with the most darling of details and emotions I almost couldn't keep up! I knew it would be special when I showed up early to check things out and noticed a yellow Post-It on the sign in front of the church covering one of the service times. Must not have two times for worship anymore, so what to do but cover it up with a sticky! So cute. So Maine.

Zoe and Theo embraced Megan and I right away, Zoe exclaiming "Emilie!" as she saw me walking toward her house before I was even in the door. As I squealed about the weather! The light! The itty bitty nature of Sorrento! Zoe and Theo humored me as I was learning what they've known for so long about this adorable town. Photographing here was a refreshing treat and a highlight of the season. 

Wishing you a most tremendous honeymoon and happy adventures wherever you land once you return back to California. Thank you for sharing your sweet Sorrento with me and all of your lucky guests, Zoe and Theo! xo

How they met, in their own words:
We met in the summer of 2002 in Sorrento, Maine, a small coastal community near Bar Harbor where both of our families vacationed. Zoe has been going to Sorrento her entire life. Theo started going when he was 11 and his mother, an Episcopal priest, spent the first of three summers as August rector at the seasonal church in the village. 

Everyone knows everyone in Sorrento, so we were each surprised—and thrilled—to spot an intriguing new person across a party in the summer of 2002, when we were up during a break from college. Somehow our paths had never crossed during all those childhood summers. Zoe was especially surprised to learn that Theo was staying on her family's property! He was bunking in a cabin in the woods with her cousin, an old friend. This arrangement proved very convenient over the next two days, during which we spent as much time together as possible. But just 36 hours later, Zoe flew out with her family, and since we were going to college in Providence and New York, we were both uncertain where things could lead. We started dating long distance and finally found ourselves in the same city in 2005.

1 comment:

  1. Sorrento seems like a little slice of heaven on earth. Adorable wedding!


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