#migis lodge

A lovely phone call to Migis: thoughts from the mother of the bride. 

I asked Claire, “Do you have any constructive criticism about the wedding?”  “No.  Everything was perfect.”

So Scott approached me and Ed on Thanksgiving 2018 after we had had a great family meal.  “Can we talk?”  Benny had spirited Claire and the dog away for a walk.  “I want you to know I plan to propose on December 24.  I’m letting you know and hope I have your blessing.”

On Monday I contacted Migis and asked are there any 2019 dates available?  Mind you, no proposal yet.  Someone had not firmed up the last October date yet, so within a week we had it.  October 26 wedding at Migis Lodge, before the proposal!  It made our lives so much easier; no looking around!

We were all together for the proposal day and she said yes!  Claire and Scott were leaving for a Vancouver trip for a week so I told her “Claire!  I called Migis!”  She took me into the kitchen; “Mom, what about Scott?”  So in the taxi on the way to the airport she asked him about Migis and he said Yes!

(Claire has been a Migis guest since the year she was born.  Every year.  So it was a foregone conclusion that this was her desire.)

I have to say; the wedding planning with Claire and with myself was really sort of organic.  It just sort of evolved.  There was no panic, no drama.  We met at Migis in April, saw Maddy and John and Justin and Jed and of course it was a big advantage that we already knew and loved Migis so well.  And we wanted it to shine.

Maddy had sent us menus, and Chef John said if you want something you don’t see, please ask.  It was so liberating not to be restricted to a predetermined menu.  They told the Sandlers, Scott’s parents, the same thing about Friday night, and they hosted a lobster bake.  That’s another beauty of Migis; you sort of own it for the weekend.  The planning felt so individualized, and there was plenty of opportunity for customization.  We asked if others had done anything particularly cool or unique and the idea of the food truck, with a cocoa bar and s’mores for the after party bonfire was introduced.  Scott knew some people around that and that was a big hit!

I was so conscious of our families and friends, about being a guest here, and I had so much confidence in Migis that we could relax and pay attention to the personal details.  The Tykona lake cruises, morning yoga with the bride, disc golf with the groom, our polar dip (and woodfired sauna), the not-to-be-missed blueberry pancakes at breakfast, just everyone mixing together….and Mother Nature blessed us so on Saturday afternoon.  It was magical.  As beautiful as it is in the summer; maybe more so.  And better than September!

Honestly, there was so much intimacy and fun and love and a sense of connection, in a place of such meaning for us.  Everything we did and said was involved, and the people “got it”.  And Claire was so relaxed.  Her thinking was Mom, you really have an opinion on this and I don’t, so you decide.  They cared very much about the music and we had a great band!  (Groove You.)  And Hillary (Claire’s sister) cared a great deal about the printed material so we had Lauren (@DempseyandCarroll stationers) create the wedding invitation suite; we particularly loved the antique Sebago Lake map liner for the envelope, with the tiny heart added.

I really keep going back to what Claire said.  It’s so completely true.  “I’m marrying the man I love, in the place I love, with the people I love.  What more could I ask?”

It was magical.

Please visit Migis’ December 11 Facebook page for a link to Claire and Scott’s @Flax Studios wedding photos.  Stunning!

(Josie) “Oh, the veil!  Yes.  It was Sam’s mom’s, and we reworked it a bit.  The way she wore it the appliqués were at the bottom.  We reversed it so they were at the top, on my head.  Your picture, of the backlighting, was perfect.  It was such a beautiful day.

(Sam) We did eat!  People still talk about the sunset! We did the drinks and the hors’doeuvres outside, then everyone was trickling inside for dinner….then the sunset hit and they all came running back outside, and people kept saying it was the most stunning sunset they’d ever seen.  And this place is so magical we’re not surprised the sun did this….

(Josie) My mom has a camp on Belgrade Lakes so we’ve been coming to Maine all my life.  We looked at a number of venues on the coast, on the ocean, but realized we were missing that special lake feel.  Our coordinator suggested I visit here and I called Sam “Do you trust me?” and he did so we booked before he even saw it.

(Sam) We took a weekend trip with both our mothers in spring, a couple of months after we got engaged, looking at venues.  We knew we wanted a lake, that Friday to Sunday situation, with a space that allowed for a lot of camraderie.  We saw some we liked, nothing we loved.  We were looking for this magical dream, and didn’t quite find it.  So I flew back to New York with a college classmate, and we shared a cab back to our neighborhood and she mentioned Migis, and it turned out she was the second person to mention Migis. So then we were on to it.

Our day was September 22, and that is my parents’ wedding day, too, and their whole wedding party was here so it was extra special.  It was the perfect day.

Our friends, their spouses, our families….the boats, the sunset, the ceremony, the food, the cabins.  The pancakes that my friend still talks about. Everyone seems to have the global “we loved that weekend” followed by “and I especially loved this…”.  It’s all positives.

(Josie)  We had a lobster bake welcome dinner.  Being back here, walking around, little things are coming back to us, that maybe didn’t quite register then, but now here we are.  “Remember this?  Remember that?  Every little nook has a special memory for us.  We stayed in Moose Point first, then went to Sunset.  We took a motorboat out to the island on the wedding morning and exchanged little gifts.

The pastry chef was wonderful; she did an amazing job with gluten free choices for me.  We have the cake top and after here we are going to Boston to share it with Sam’s parents for our anniversary.

(Sam) Josie’s brother officiated, both of our mothers signed the marriage certificate in front of everyone, various in-laws and friends had readings, Josie’s nephews carried the veil, two little ones were flower girls, so we had a very meaningful ceremony and celebration.

And, a little glimpse of the morning after!

Thank you for visiting us for your first anniversary, Sam and Josie.  May you have many warm and dry years together!