Wedding season is in full swing! We spent a weekend in Portland, Maine, to celebrate the nuptials of our friends Jen and Carlos. I met Jen and Carlos four years ago, when we were all working in the same restaurant. I had the privilege of seeing their love story unfold, and it was such a treat to be join them on their special day.
It was also so nice to be back in Portland. We fell hard for the city back in 2012, and even considered moving there!
Brien and I left for Maine early on Friday morning, stopping at Plan B for lunch. A former coworker had once mentioned that their veggie burger was especially delicious, so it’s always been in the back of my mind. Unfortunately the veggie burger isn’t gluten-free, but Plan B does have an entire gluten-free menu. My salmon burger and truffle fries were pretty good, although I think all the grease left me feeling a little… off.
We pulled into our AirBnB rental right on time, and couldn’t have been more satisfied with the room.
It was slightly larger than the average New York City studio, and we had plenty of space.
The proprietors, Julia and Peter, left us freshly-baked cookies, and a refrigerator stocked with seltzer. There was also silverware, dishes, a microwave, speakers, a TV with DVD player and Roku box.
And coffee! Let’s not forget that.
We changed clothes and drove out to Jen’s family’s house for the rehearsal dinner. Her parents put on a fantastic lobster bake! I’d never seen them baked on a grill before.
Lobster and drawn butter? Yes, please! A lot of my friends also got into town on Friday night, so it was nice to see and catch up with them all. Some have moved across the country, and I hadn’t seen them in over a year!
The next morning, Brien and I searched for breakfast. In New York, it’s hard to find a place that’s open before “brunch” hours (i.e. 11 or 12), but in Maine, we had a long wait at 9:30! Still, we found seats at the counter at Becky’s Diner, where we ate epic omelets and (gluten-free!) toast.
We knew we would be hungry for lunch, so we picked up fish and mushroom tacos to-go at El Rayo. They were good, but we were sad to discover our fancy rice krispie treat didn’t make it into the bag.
After lunch, we got dressed for the wedding and hopped on a trolley Jen and Carlos had rented to take us to Fort Williams Park, where the ceremony would take place.
The park is really beautiful, and you can see several lighthouses from the grounds.
Portland Head Light, shown above and below, is one of the most photographed lighthouses in the United States. Chances are, you’ve seen photos of it in magazines or scenes of it it in movies!
It had been raining a lot the night before, and Jen and Carlos were prepared to have the ceremony at home. Luckily, the sun broke through, and it was a beautiful day.
Jen brought, as her mom put it, “Old Hollywood glamour” to the day.
Married!
We took the trolly back to the house, where the property had been beautifully decorated. I loved this table setting!
We spent the evening talking with old and new friends, eating delicious food, and making merry. Somehow I hardly have any photos of the night, but I guess that means I was having too much fun!
Before heading home on Sunday morning, we stopped for a quick breakfast at Local Sprouts, the cooperative I fell in love with a couple years ago. Brien and I shared two scrambles: tofu + veggie-filled with lots of spices, and egg, pesto + goat cheese. The best part? The gluten-free English muffin. Some gluten-free breads are absolutely terrible (either crumbly or dense as a brick, or both), but this was deliciously yeasty. Wish I’d bought some to take home!
We stopped for a late lunch of cheese-on-cheese at Claire’s Corner Copia in New Haven, Connecticut. The café is all vegetarian, with vegan and gluten-free options. The food was fine, but next time I’d love to explore more of what the university town has to offer.
It was a wonderful weekend. I love going to weddings because seeing people proclaim their love for each other- and their family and friends- is a really beautiful thing. A silly way to put it, I know, but I just love… love! Congratulations, Jen and Carlos!!!