Tamara Merri

Mar 2, 2020

DIY Backyard Maine Wedding | Elsie & Mike

Updated: Mar 2, 2023

Meet Elsie:

Meet Mike:

Elsie & Mike grew up in the same town in Northern Maine all their lives- but never knew each other. In fact, Elsie and Mike's dad worked together; Elsie's father was a potato farmer while Mike's dad was a potato inspector. Elsie had met Mike's father several times over the years, but Mike was never there. Mike and his brothers knew of Elsie because of her spunky personality. His father would always tell of the time the farmer's daughter would come along and poke fun at him.

It wasn't until college they met. Mike was working at a restaurant where he waited on Elsie. Upon leaving, she wrote "you're cute" on her receipt. Once he saw her name from the credit card - he went home and told his dad he met the infamous Elsie. Word got back to Elsie it was THE Mike. The rest is history.

They got married at Elsie's childhood home in St. Agatha, Maine. Their backyard wedding was absolutely gorgeous, with the backyard touching the lake.

They rented a large tent to fit the long wooden tables for all their guests which was covered by absolutely breathtaking greenery.

Much of the wedding decor was hand made. The theme here is DIY (do it yourself). Mike's dad built the dance floor from wood that morning, climbed up a ladder to hang all the twinkle lights in the tent, and also built a kids table out of pallets which was stocked with coloring books to keep them occupied. Aside from potatoes, Elsie's family also grows Christmas trees, so they gave mini trees to guests trees as a thank-you gift. They also made their own cocktail hour tables out of the family's potato barrels, as well as a beer tap self-serve station.

If you're a fan of DIY wedding decor, check out Krissy & Mike's Mountaintop Inn Resort wedding in Vermont from fall of 2022.

Their early August wedding begin with rain showers, which made setting up their exclusively outdoor wedding a little challenging. However, the second we began the photo timeline, the rain stopped, and the rest of the day was absolutely perfect!! The cloud cover gave way to perfectly filtered light for their mid-afternoon ceremony.

Elsie's first look with her son Ned made my hurt burst!!

They got married at the end of the family's dock, where Elsie's brother officiated the ceremony.

This ceremony was filled with so much love. They had multiple guests give speeches during the ceremony to tell stories of how amazing Elsie and Mike are- both together and separate.

After the ceremony we ventured into Elsie's family's potato farm for their couples photos. The view was amazing!

Ned stole the spotlight during the family formals.

Elsie and her dad, big Ned, are cut from the same cloth!!

A local dessert shop provided pies, cookies, and other desserts in lieu of wedding cake.

Lobster was served for dinner - the perfect Maine wedding meal.

Cheers to love and happiness throughout the years!

xo,
 
Tam