Real Maine Bride: Spring Smith on Finding a Wedding Venue Online

I’m getting married at French’s Point on July 20 and I am so excited. I grew up in Maine and a few years ago, because I work as a wedding photographer, I was wondering where people get married here. So I did some online digging. I found French’s Point and kept it in the back of my mind until I got engaged last year. And you too can do plenty of wedding venue research online to find a spot that feels perfect.

Some of my favorite websites to find Maine venues are www.realmaineweddings.com and www.maineweddingguide.com. You can also see what spots come up on regional wedding blogs – one of my favorites is the blog on the coastal New England wedding site Love and Lobster. I found a lot of incredible venues and vendors looking at local wedding blogs like this one.

I also Googled “Maine wedding coastal summer” – sort of an obvious tip – but maybe what’s not so obvious is how to use the results. A search like that will usually turn up a bunch of photographers’ sites right up at the top. Photographers are great resources for venue research because the sample photos on their sites will give you much more than the site for the venue itself. You’ll usually get to see not only the reception highlights but also the bride’s preparation suite, the ceremony site, and all kinds of other great angles on the venue you’re considering. Another way photographers can be excellent resources is as informal advisors. Just call them up and ask them which venues they think are the best and most gorgeous in their area. If you like their photos, you’ll probably agree with their aesthetic.

Call a few in the region you’re considering and see which venues get mentioned the most often. For me, that was French’s Point. I think French’s Point is beautiful and elegant but not fussy, key for my fiancé and me, and it’s one of those rare coastal wedding venues that are as beautiful inside as outside, so even if it rains the pictures will still be lovely. As a wedding photographer, that’s important to me!

The location of my dreams post on my blog.