Allison and Ben were married at Black Point Inn in Maine, surrounded by both the forest and the beach. The venue is stunning on it’s own, but the couple wanted to bring more vintage romance to their big day with an explosion of lush florals, unique linens, and gorgeous surroundings. Their planner, Heidi, of SHE Luxe Weddings & Design paired them with Pretty Flowers Maine and the result is SPECTACULAR. Voluminous blooms in rich pinks, deep burgundy and dusty peach fill arrangements-galore and—most memorably—wrap the gorgeous birch Chuppah while a pastel sunset creates a magical ceremony backdrop. This wedding is one for the books and we’re thrilled to share these beautiful images by Jaimee Morse Photography.
What made the wedding special and unique?
Ben and I are both products of divorce, remarriage and a blending of families. Bringing our families together in a place where we wanted to establish roots as a couple is the main reason we chose to marry in Maine. We were lucky enough to be able to do a complete buyout of the Black Point Inn in Scarborough, Maine, which is about 20 minutes from downtown Portland. In true Markus-Poirier fashion, this meant both sides of the family had to blend. It was incredible to walk around the inn all weekend long and physically experience our families become one. It was also so special to have all of our friends from Los Angeles fly across the country to physically experience how special Maine is.
The building, which is surrounded by both the forest and the beach, is stunning on its own, but we wanted to bring more vintage romance to our wedding with an explosion of lush florals, unique linens, and gorgeous surroundings. Our planner, Heidi, of SHE Luxe Events paired us with Amy of Pretty Flowers Maine and she did not disappoint. We had California weather on the beautiful fall day we were married on, which sealed the deal for the most perfect and memorable day of our lives.
Tell us about the gown and where/how you found it!
My dress is made by Pronovias. My mom, my MOH and I set out to try on dresses at a few stores and happened to stumble across Panache in Pasadena, CA. We walked in without an appointment just to look around and they had a no-show and fit me in that day. Funny enough, one of Ben’s childhood friends wore the same dress on her wedding day a year before and when I saw it on her, I was bummed because I knew that was the dress I was supposed to wear on my wedding day. I actually never thought I would wear it because I could not have the same dress as one of our friends, but when I saw it in the store, I decided to try it on for fun. When I walked out of the fitting room, my mom and MOH gasped and simultaneously said, “that’s it!” I tried to rationalize away from it, but no matter how many dresses I put on, we always came back to this one. I added a vintage crystal belt I found in a store in Downtown LA, which made it different enough from our friend’s dress and she actually was excited and flattered when she saw me in it.
What were some touches added to make the wedding personal?
We used the same tapestry my mom and step-dad used in their Chuppah on their wedding day to line our Chuppah. The floral beading matched my dress and our theme perfectly. It was so special to have a piece of my parents’ love over us as we vowed to love each other forever. Having so many flowers at our wedding also made it special. I grew up with my grandmother throwing parties that revolved around the floral arrangements. I wanted to channel our shared love for that aspect of a party and make the florals a focal point. Ben and I also decided to read letters to one another during our ceremony that we had not shared with anyone except the Rabbi before that moment. It was important to bring a personal touch to our ceremony since our Rabbi had only met us a few months prior.
What was the most memorable part of the day?
The most memorable parts of the day were our first look and reading our letters to one another during the wedding ceremony. It was those moments that made our wedding feel real because they were just about us and nothing else mattered.
Tell us how you met and became engaged.
Ben and I met on a typical Saturday night out in Los Angeles. He was the only guy dancing in the bar and I went up behind him to make fun of him. He actually never gave me the chance to make fun of him because before I could move away without him noticing me, he turned around, grabbed my hand and said, “not so fast.” Needless to say, I was mortified and not interested. It wasn’t until much later in the night that I decided to give Ben a chance.
As a Los Angeles native, I had never met anyone from Maine before. When we first met, I (embarrassingly) admitted I did not even know where Maine was on the map! Over the past 6 years, I have grown to consider the state to be a second home. On one of our annual trips home to Maine, Ben woke me up early in the morning to go on a walk. Each time we are in Maine, we take the mile walk through Ben’s childhood neighborhood to Fort Williams, which is the home of Portland Headlight. We like to walk through the neighborhood and talk about everything Ben used to do in certain spots growing up. When we got into the park, the headlight was unusually crowded for that time of day. Rather than walking towards it, we ended up walking towards a house on a cliff and stopped to take a picture in front of it. At that point, Ben got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. I was completely shocked! Shortly thereafter, his mom, brother, and step-dad jumped out of the bushes yelling, “congratulations.” I called my parents to share the news, a little sad that they were not there to share the moment with us. Later that morning, we joined forces with Ben’s dad, step-mom and sister for breakfast. As we were walking into the restaurant, I heard someone yell at me from across the street. I looked up and my dad and his girlfriend were there! Ben had arranged for them to surprise me for the weekend. I immediately burst into tears and could not believe he had pulled this off. After breakfast, Ben and I planned to spend the rest of the morning in the Old Port together. We went into a bar to have a celebratory cocktail and I asked him why he was acting weird. Two minutes later, I turned around to see my mom and step-dad in the same bar, cue more tears. We spent the day showing my parents around downtown Portland before heading home to change for dinner with Ben’s dad. As we walked into the house, I was surprised for the fourth time that day by Ben’s extended family and closest friends at an engagement party his family had planned for us. Needless to say, the day of our engagement was one of the most exciting days of my life.
Photographer: Jaimee Morse Photography // Planning and Event Design: SHE Luxe Weddings & Design // Floral Design: Pretty Flowers Maine // Invitation designer: Rebecca Lieberman // Venue: Black Point Inn // Beauty: Uptown Curl // Film: ARA Films // Dress designer: Pronovias // Suit/Tux: Suit Supply // Shoes: Imagine by Vince Camuto // Band: KB3 // Lighting: Event Lighting Concepts // Rentals: One Stop Event Rentals // Linens: BBJ Linens & Nuage Designs