Client Information Archives

August 19, 2019August 9, 2019

FAQ: Do We Have to Clean Up After Our Stay?

French's Point - Client Information - Cleaning Up After Stay

French’s Point is a family vacation home rental property. We ask that you remove all trash, recycling and redeemables to the designated receptacles in the dumpster enclosure, remove your personal effects & food, return furnishings to their original locations and leave the property in the condition in which you received it at check in.

Housekeeping Services

If you would like daily house keeping services during your stay, these services can be arranged in advance with our office. These services are billed at $100/hour. This service requires advanced reservation with our office.

August 12, 2019August 9, 2019

FAQ: What Role Does French’s Point’s Team Play During Our Stay?

French’s Point‘s team provides support related to the venue, in advance of your stay, during your stay, during your events, and during your departure. Our Property Manager, Nicole Lesher, will be your primary point of contact with us once you reserve your stay.

In Advance Of Your Stay

Nicole will offer recommendations on how to make the most of your stay with us and your time at the estate, suggestions on how to best meet your specific goals for your event, offer educational resources through periodic emails, our blog and website to prepare you for your reservation, answer questions that arise from you, your planner, and your vendors.

At Check In

Nicole will greet you and your House Captains, get you oriented to the facilities and amenities, and address questions before you get settled and you begin welcoming the rest of your guests to the estate.

During Your Reservation

We will address facility/utility related issues that may arise, be the facilities point of contact with your planner & vendors, provide traffic direction and security during events larger than 50 guests, set fire pits before use, turn on and off gas lights to set the ambiance for your events. With direction from your planner, we can shuttle elderly and mobility limited guests for photos or the rest room in our golf cart. During your stay, we will keep normal office hours from 9am-4pm daily. We will also be present for your events of more than 50 guests to ensure their safety.

At Departure

We will be sure you know where everything is to help you collect your personal effects before we bid you fair well.

June 10, 2019August 8, 2019

How To Plan an Event or Ceremony on The Farm Beach

Farm Beach - Plan an event or ceremony - How to plan a beach event - French's Point - Rachael Anderson Photography

The Private Farm Beach is an idyllic seaside setting for a rehearsal dinner celebration or ceremony. It has become increasingly popular over the last couple of years since we installed a new sea wall and regraded the lawn area abutting the beach to allow for tenting of the area. If you are looking into the possibility of hosting a Rehearsal Dinner, celebration or ceremony on the Private Farm Beach, please keep in mind the details we have listed below. We want to ensure our couples & their vendor team are aware of the details that go into planning any event on the Beach.

Key Details:

Maximum Guest Capacity: 100

Event End Time: 9:00PM including vendor & guest departure

Beach Area is in shade from afternoon on
There is no parking available on the beach & vehicles must remain clear of the roadway at all times so as not to block access to the neighboring cottages
There is no power supply on the beach, so a generator is needed if power is required

Rental Needs:

Porta Potties or a Bathroom Trailer

Restroom rentals are required for meal events because of very long uphill walk to the public restrooms at the Retreat House.

Golf Cart

A golf cart to shuttle guests from/to the houses & parking is required to transport your guests down to the Farm Beach. During your event, your planner should provide staff to drive the golf carts to shuttle guests to and from the parking area as guests are not permitted to drive themselves once alcohol service has commenced.

Event Tent & Service Tent

You will need to rent a tent in order to have proper weather/rain shelter in the case of inclement weather for an event planned in this area. The size of your event tent should be no larger than 30’ x 60’. Your caterer will need a dry, enclosed & covered space to meal-prep. The service tent for the cater should be no larger than 20’ x 30’. Please contact Wallace Events for your tent rental needs because they know where the tent is permitted in this area due to the 15’ fire pit on the beach & underground water lines.

Generator

A generator is required if power service is required for music, lighting or catering needs. Please contact Wallace Events about placing a generator on your rental order. It will need to be large enough to cover your full needs for catering, lighting, and musician or DJ.

Lighting

There is no source of walkway lighting on the path down to the Beach or on the Beach itself other than some tiki torches and a fire pit. Please please plan to light the walkways for your guests safety. You will also need lighting in the tent for events that take place after dark.

General Rental Equipment

Items you will need to rent for an event on the beach include:

Chairs
Bar
Dishware
Glassware
Linens

Recommendations:

Event Time

We recommend starting the event earlier in the day or hosting an early dinner. This way the event end time of 9:00PM does not seem early to you or your guests and the cost of the necessary lighting is not an issue.

Temperature

We recommend providing blankets at the fire pits, patio heaters & tent heaters(May-June & September & October) as it can get chilly on the water once the sun goes down!

Games

Providing an assortment of lawn games for your guests to enjoy during their time on the Beach is also a great way to keep them entertained and feel at home.

We hope you find this information helpful & enjoy this space to really relax and get a true Maine beachside experience.

Photography by Rachael Anderson

June 3, 2019August 8, 2019

FAQ: How is the Lodging Block Fee Paid?

French's Point Lodging - Farm House - Retreat House - Seaside Estate Vacation Home in Maine - Greta Tucker Photography

Typically, your guests cover the expense for their lodging in the guest suites. As the host, you assign your guests to the suites. By reserving French’s Point, you are guaranteeing the lodging block payment just as you would a room block at a hotel. You have two options as to how payments are made for lodging:

Option A

You assign your guests to the suites and collect the lodging rates and applicable Maine State Lodging Tax from your guests using the Venmo app or collecting check payments and then pay the balance due on lodging and lodging tax to French’s Point 100 days prior to check in.

Option B

You assign your guests to the suites and provide the names of the guests you wish to stay at French’s Point and the room assignments to our office. For a $1,500 Administrative Fee, we will collect lodging payments from your guests directly and apply the payments to the balance due on lodging and lodging tax. With this option, the balance due on lodging and lodging tax to French’s Point is due 160 days prior to check in. Credit Card payments are subject to a convenience fee.

May 20, 2019August 8, 2019

FAQ: Do We Have to Clean Up After Our Stay?

French's Point Textile Parter Feature: Molly Hutchins of On Board Fabrics - Maine Vacation Home Rental Property

We ask that you remove all trash, recycling and redeemables to the designated receptacles, remove your personal effects & food, return furnishings to their original locations and leave the property in the condition in which you received it at check in. If you would like daily housekeeping services during your stay, these services can be arranged in advance with our office. These services are billed at $100/hour.

March 25, 2019August 8, 2019

How to Make Coffee & Coffee Station Supplies

At French’s Point, we have 3 guest coffee stations: one in the Farm House residential kitchen, another in the Retreat House residential kitchen, and one located on the Second Level of the Retreat House. We get asked frequently how to use the coffee makers in our homes and what supplies need to be provided in order to create a successful station. Here is some helpful information on how to make coffee and the supplies you need in the coffee stations at French’s Point. We hope you find this information helpful as you make your wedding weekend plans!

How To Make Coffee:

Place a paper filter in the basket in the top of the coffee maker
Choose your coffee grounds
Measure 1 Tablespoon of coffee grounds per 6 oz cup and place in the paper filter in the top of the coffee maker
Pour 6 oz of water in the reservoir per serving
Close the lid
Turn on the brewer
Savor the rich aroma as the coffee brews
Pour the coffee into your selected coffee mug and enjoy!
When you are done, please rinse the coffee out from the carafe and turn off the coffee maker

Supplies You Need:

We provide the appropriate coffee filters for the maker, located in the nearest cabinet to the coffee maker
We also provide press-pots located in both of our homes’ residential kitchens
Coffee Grounds – Regular & Decaf
Coffee Cups
Coffee Lids
Coffee Stirrers
Straws
Coffee Cup Sleeves
Variety of Sugars & Sweeteners
Milk & Creamer
Milk Frother
Cinnamon & Cocoa
Whipped Cream Topping

Tea & Hot Cocoa:

There is also a hot-water-maker at each coffee station at French’s Point. Therefore, we have included some other supplies to consider adding to your Coffee Station:

Hot Chocolate Station:

Hot Cocoa Boxes
Mini Marshmallows
Fluff
Chocolate Dipped Spoons
Cinnamon Shaker
Cocoa Shaker

Hot Tea Station:

Tea Sachets – Assortment of Flavors, Regular & Decaf
Honey
Sugar Packets

March 19, 2019August 8, 2019

How Many Chairs Do I Order For My Wedding Ceremony?

Brendan Bullock Photography - French's Point - Family Vacation Home Rental - Maine Wedding Venue

When you select a blank canvas wedding venue, like French’s Point, you will need to work alongside a rental provider to streamline all your wedding weekend rentals. One of the rental items you will need to place on your order form is your ceremony chairs.

Select Your Chair Style

First, you will need to select the kind of chair that best fits the aesthetic of your venue and style of your wedding. We have found that 90% of our couples rent the White Resin Folding Garden Chairs from Wallace Events.

Choose Your Ceremony Location

Second, you will need to know which location you wish to get married at. French’s Point offers 8 different ceremony settings for you to tie the knot! Choose from the below:

The Retreat Gazebo – Seating Capacity 200+

The Retreat Oceanfront Lawn – Seating Capacity 200+

The Retreat Cobblestone Terrace – Seating Capacity 200+

The Retreat Conservatory – Seating Capacity 180

The Farm Gazebo – Seating Capacity 40

The Farm East Terrace – Seating Capacity 80

The Farm Private Beach – Seating Capacity 200+

Add Extra Chairs

Once you have chosen your ideal ceremony setting for your celebration, and chosen the chairs that best fit your space, you will want to consider the number of guests attending your celebration. If you are estimating 100 guests, you will want to reserve around 20 extra chairs on your rental order. This way you have those chairs reserved to your name in case your guest count skyrockets. You don’t want anyone to be chair-less!

Count Your RSVPs

As the wedding day draws near, and you have all your RSVPs returned to you, you will want to round up an extra 10 chairs and round to the nearest even number. When your planner sets up your ceremony chairs, you will want both sides of the isle to have an even number of chairs. We also tell you to round up, because believe it or not, your guests never want to fill in every seat in the row! Some families have an uneven number attending.

A Helpful Tip:

To better fill every seat, we recommend assigning an usher to direct guests to the nearest open seat available when they arrive at the ceremony location.

Don’t Forget Your Ceremony Participants!

Now, if you have an officiant, singer, speaker, musician, or any special ceremonial tradition in your service, you will want to ask those who are participating if they will want a chair to sit in. Maybe you will need to sit during the reading or song, then you will want to add two or more chairs to your order, depending on the response from your ceremony personnel.

If You Chose the Gazebo at French’s Point

Lastly, if you have chosen to get married at the Gazebo at French’s Point, you not only want an even number of chairs, but you will want to keep in mind that the promenade on the right-hand side of the Gazebo can only fit 6 chairs across, and the promenade on the left-hand side of the Gazebo can fit anywhere from 6 to 10 comfortably. If you have a small guest count, we recommend 6 across on each side, if you have more than 120 guests attending, we recommend 8-10 chairs on the left-hand side of the promenade, and 6 on the right-hand side to move guests closer to the Gazebo for visual and sound reasons.

March 15, 2019August 8, 2019

Food Trucks at French’s Point

Couples are always looking for ways to make their wedding weekend experience fun, memorable and unique. Because weddings are so trend influenced, the food truck movement has made it’s way into the wedding weekend at French’s Point too. We often get the question “Can we use a food truck for our wedding weekend at French’s Point”. Our answer is, sure you can. But here are some things to consider first:

Food Truck Logistics

First, food trucks are not caterers in most instances. They do not handle setup or breakdown during events, they do not buss tables, clean up waste, manage rentals, or communicate with the rest of the event team like a caterer would. Therefore, the responsibility of these tasks will then fall to your planner. For this reason, a food truck should certainly be discussed with your planner first before they are hired.

How Many Food Trucks Do I Need?

Secondly, food trucks can put out a large volume of food in a short period of time, but not in the volume needed in the time allowed at a wedding celebration. In our experience, we feel you will need one truck for every fifty guests you are serving, in order to put out the correct volume of food in less than one hour of service time. If you have 150 guests to serve, then three food trucks should be hired. Each food truck is different and some have more wedding event experience than others, so you should discuss this and your timing expectations with the food truck directly.

Our Stand-out Food Truck Providers

Third, not all food trucks have experience in providing service for wedding weekend events, or have experience here at French’s Point. Here is our list of stand-out food truck providers:

Urban Sugar

Donuts!
Great for Breakfast catering or afternoon snacks

Uproot Pie Co.

Wood Fired Pizza & Farm Fresh Salad
Lunch or Dinner

Saltbox Cafe

Gourmet Breakfast Sandwiches & Wraps, and lots of other options for Lunch & Dinner
Breakfast, Lunch or Dinner

Fishin Ships

Delicious Fish & Chips, Fish Sandwiches & Fries
Lunch or Dinner

Food Truck Locations at French’s Point

Fourth, when you decide to work with a food truck, you need to consider which location at French’s Point you wish to utilize and your poor weather plan for your events:

The Farm House Private Beach

The Farm House West Slope Lawn(next to the Farm House Gazebo)

The Retreat House Portico (direct access to the Main Entrance)

The Retreat House West Side Porch (direct access to the Lounge)

The Retreat House East Side Porch (direct access to the Dining Room)

The Retreat House Sail Cloth Tent

When Should I Have a Food Truck During My Wedding Weekend?

Lastly, food trucks are a great accent to the celebration, but we have found that it is best if they are not the primary caterer for your wedding day. Here are some examples of where and when a food trucks has created a successful & memorable moment at French’s Point:

Urban Sugar Donut Truck & Espresso Dave’s parked out near the Retreat House West Side Porch on Saturday morning
Uproot Pie Co parked near the gazebo at the Farm House West slope Lawn serving up their delicious pizza for a casual Thursday night welcome dinner after a rousing afternoon of games on the neighboring Farm House Recreation Lawn.
Saltbox Café parked out near the Retreat House Portico serving up their amazing breakfast sandwiches & burritos for a Sunday morning farewell Brunch.
Fishin Ships parked down near the Retreat House Sail Cloth Tent for an casual rehearsal dinner on Friday night.

We hope that these details are helpful when you are considering a food truck as part of your wedding festivities.

February 11, 2019August 16, 2019

Wi-Fi At French’s Point

For your convenience, there is guest Wi-Fi at French’s Point that extends throughout all four levels of the Retreat House and all three Levels of the Farm House. The Wi-Fi extends outside on the Retreat House Cocktail Terrace and halfway to the Gazebo and is spotty down towards the Tent. Wi-Fi does not extend down to the beaches or Recreation Lawn. Please do not rely on Wi-Fi for your reception music or sound in the tent or ceremony at the Gazebo or Oceanfront Lawn. We suggest you request a system from Wallace Events, your band, or DJ.

February 4, 2019August 8, 2019

What Size Table Linen Should I Order?

How to order table linens for a wedding or event - French's Point Wedding Venue - Wedding Planning Advice - Greta Tucker Photography

For your wedding, we always recommend ordering table linens that flow all the way to the ground. This way the tables appear more formal and elegant, the legs of the folding tables are not showing, and the linens have a lesser chance of blowing away in the sea-breeze.

Here is a quick reference guide to help find the right size linen for each of your tables:

8’ Table (96” x 30” Folding Table) = 156” x 90” Linen
5’ Round Table (60” Round Folding Table) = 120” Round Linen
Bar Height Table (36” Round Folding Table) = 120” Round Linen
4’ Round Table ( 48” Round Folding Table) = 108” Round Linen
5.5″ Round Table (66″ Round Folding Table) = 132″ Round Linen
6′ Table (30″ x 72″ Folding Table) = 90″ x 132″ Linen
4′ Table (30″ x 48″ Folding Table) = 90″ x 108″ Linen

These are the tables that are on inventory at French’s Point. Please confirm our table inventory two weeks before you finalize your rentals to ensure you don’t need to add tables to your rental order.