Our song is “A Kiss to Build a Dream On”. Very sweet, I know. But do you know why it’s our song? Top 4 reasons:
4. It’s performed by a legendary trumpet player
3. It has an awesome trumpet solo
2. It’s an adorable song
1. It was the introduction song for our most favoritest computer game. Fallout 2.
Fallout 2 – Intro Movie on Youtube
As you know, Eric and I share a mutual love of food. In fact, food played a major role in our decision to pick Maine as our destination wedding. It was Chef Anthony Bourdain’s visit to the state on his show “Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations” that first peaked our interest, and naturally, our stomachs followed suit. Portland, Maine was voted 2009′s Foodiest Small town. Here’s an article on Bon Appetit’s website highlighting “must try” locations. A new personal goal is to visit at least three of these places while we’re in the area. It’s all about setting SMART (A newly-learned acronym on goal-setting) goals– Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-framed. Great, now I’m drooling.
Maine Lobster Roll... Nom nom nom...
Its a floating lantern! Following the wedding ceremony on Sunday, you will be able to light up a floating Wishlantern which you can place into the pool. Each of the lanterns needs to be put together and then will be left for the night. There is a history of varied uses for floating lanterns stemming back from the 700AD China, many of which are to represent human life and love. We hope you enjoy the process of building and lighting the lanterns, make a wish when you set it into the water!
Good Day Wedding Guests!
Naturally, the first day of our ‘Final Countdown’ Series was thwarted by our internet going out… I’ll try to post TWICE today to make up for it.
September 3 – The Rehearsal Dinner – 7pm-? (All guests are invited)
Transportation: N/A – Please take care to leave a center column open if possible when parking at the house. I know I don’t have to tell you this, but they had problems with guests parking on neighbor’s lawns. Please don’t do that. =)
Dress Code: Casual, bring swimsuit and towel if you’d like to use the pool/jacuzzi
Food: Lobster Rolls, Pizza, Mac & Cheese, Salad
Activities: My bridesmaid and future sister-in-law Mary Schlange will be hosting a “Minute to Win it: Rehearsal Dinner Edition”, so make sure to wear clothing you can move around in freely if you want to participate.
September 4 – Wedding – 3pm-12am
Transportation: Shuttle - TO the Glen House, 2pm-3pm, FROM the Glen House 9pm-12am
Dress Code: Daytime Semi-Formal. Huh? Yeah, me too. Description: Short dress or suit (business attire OK for morning weddings) Jackets aren’t necessary for the guys. NOTE: The wedding ceremony/dinner will be on the back lawn, so wedges or flats will probably be easiest to maneuver around in.
Activities: Wedding Ceremony, Poolside Cocktails, Wedding Reception, Late Night Karaoke.
September 5 – Labor Day Picnic 5pm (All Guests Invited)
Transportation: N/A
Dress Code: Casual. Bring a swimsuit and a towel if you want to take a dip in the pool or jacuzzi
Food: Plenty
Activities: Games, picture exchange, Swimming, Jacuzzi-ing, etc.
In order to eat your lobster to its full potential here is a short guide:
Lobster meat is found within the large front and side claws, the tail, and within the body where the claws are joined to the body. The tail has the majority of the meat, but the knuckle meat tends to be sweeter. The green-gray substance inside the lobster’s head is called the tomalley. Some people consider this a delicacy. If you see a red substance in the body of the lobster, you are seeing roe. Following is a set of steps you can use to raise your lobster eating potential!
1. Twist off the claws, then separate the pieces of the front claws at the joints:
2. Crack the claws with a hammer or nutcracker and use a fork or pick as necessary:
3. Separate the tail from the body with a twisting motion:
4. Break the tail flippers from the tail:
5. Using a fork, force the tail meat up and out over the end. Beneath the outer top layer of meat is the digestive tract, this should not be eaten. Remove the meat covering from this vein-like tract and discard the tract. The outer meat may be eaten.
6. Unhinge the body shell from the body and remove the tomalley (the lobster’s liver.)
7. Remove the smaller claws from the body. The meat in the boy can be found where each claw was attached.
8. There is some delicate meat in the small claws, you can obtain this by breaking apart the claw sections and squeezing out the meat with one’s teeth.
This post was created thanks to content and images from LobsterAnywhere.
Only about 10 minutes South of the Glen House, you’ll find Bethel, Maine. Bethel was founded (granted as Sudbury-Canada) in 1774 when Nathaniel Segar started clearing the land. On June 10, 1796, Sudbury-Canada was incorporated as Bethel. By 1802 a trade route was completed from Portland to New Hampshire, which passed through Bethel. As more settlers arrived, more resources were found in the area and subsequently grew further while farmers found work logging, producing flour, leather, furniture, boots, marble and granite.
In 1851, the largest railroad company in the northeast opened to Bethel. It carried in freight and summer tourists eager to escape New York. Several large hotels were built facing the mountains; it was a famous area, known for its natural clinics. After the advent of automobiles, tourists where no longer bound to traveling to Bethel by rail. Many of the large hotels based around the tracks subsequently lost business and closed down.
To this day, many people still go to Bethel for the beautiful landscapes, and an escape from city life. There are some excellent restaurants, shops to peruse, fun activities to invest time in. Check out these videos for additional information about Bethel.
Most of our wedding invites went out last week. If we’ve had to contact you for your address, they’ll be out to you this week. Some information that we decided to add to the “non-line” invites were as follows:
Rehearsal Dinner
September 3, 2011, 7pm
We’re still working on the details, but a rehearsal dinner will be somewhere on or around the resort, and everyone is invited.
Appetizers
Beef Teriyaki Skewers
Select choices of beef marinated in ginger, soy and fruit juices, grilled, and served with teriyaki dipping sauce.
Spanikopita
Spinach layed with feta cheese wrapped in phyllo dough, baked until flaky brown.
Crab and Shrimp Puff Pastry
Sauteed baby shrimp blended with crabmeat mousse and fresh herbs, baked in flaky pastry.
Reception Dinner Menu
New England Clam Chowder
Steamed Clams with drawn butter & clam broth
and Steamed Mussels in garlic & wine
1¼ lb. Hot Boiled Lobster
and ¼ Rack Baby Back Ribs slow cooked
Sweet Corn on the Cob
Corn Muffins
Fresh Homemade Cole Slaw
Vegetarian Option:
Vegetable Lasagna
Sweet Corn on the Cob
Corn Muffins
Fresh Homemade Cole Slaw
There you have it. Please let us know if you have any dietary constraints/allergies.
Hello again! I’ve been talking to a lot of guests and family, and it looks like the best fare is to BOS (Boston) and driving 3-3.5 hours to Newry, ME. I checked today, and fares are as low as $250 R/T from Chicago. Not including car rental. PWM (Portland) is the closer airport at a 1.5-2 hr drive to the resort, but you’ll be paying more in airfare.
As for lodging, Sunday river has updated their “vacation packages” page. There are great deals for those looking to stay a full week or just a couple nights. Click below to find out more info:
Sunday River – Vacation Packages
Also, please note when booking your room that the Jordan Grand is closest (1 mi.) to the Glen House.
Once again, feel free to contact me if you have any questions!
I really can’t take all the credit for the content in this post, the owners of the Glen House have been a huge resource for me in the past months. In my first couple exchanges with them they had bombarded me with things to see and do in the area. Just click on the activity to get more information:
Summer Activity Details (Horseback riding, 4-wheeling, bird hunting, hiking, golf, moose safari)
Day Trip – Rangeley (Hike, lunch at waterfall, swimming, moose watching)
Day Trip – White Water Rafting
Day Trip – Portland (Lighthouses, good eats, sites)
Day Trip – Mt. Washington (Great views, shopping, site-seeing)
Half-Day Trip – Northern Waters Rafting & Fishing Trips
Eric and I would like to set up a few ‘group outings’ during the week for those who decide to stay and vacation with us awhile. Our top picks so far are a day trip to Portland (We’re looking into what it would cost to have a trolley drive us all out there and pick us up at the end of the day) and white water rafting (half-day trip).
This Sunday I witnessed the marriage of my future sister-in-law, Mary Schlange to her main squeeze, Dan Musa. Congrats you two! Eric and I are so happy for the both of you, and thank you again for including us in your wedding party. Here’s a pic of the happy couple just after they tied the knot…
Freshly married!
Our Haggerty family also got a preview of what it would look like for Eric and I to walk down the aisle together…
Coming soon!
Just 11 more months til Maine!