All the way From Indiana, Payton & Maxwell Elope with Just Banded in a Private, Coastal Maine Ceremony
PHOTOGRAPHY: @SARACARONPHOTOGRAPHY; OFFICIANT: @MARIANNESEVENTYR; FLORALS: ELDBERYFLORAL.COM; VENUE: @JUST-BANDED;
We were thrilled when Payton and Maxwell first called inquiring about eloping with us. They were so sweet and curious about the experience, and ultimately wanted to elope together in private, away from family and friends where the experience and memory could be just theirs. They wanted upgraded florals for their backdrop and chose yellow and blue for their color palette. To this day it has been one of my favorites!
Getting married on a lobster boat, was Payton's idea and Maxwell did not hesitate for a second to go along with it when they found Just Banded online! How lucky were we!! In addition to eloping out with us, they hired a photographer, Sara Caron, out of Bath, our nearby town. She did an incredible job, climbing all over the boat to get the perfect shot. If you have or are thinking of booking with us, definitely consider her as her photos, as you can see, are beautiful.
Our couples are always adventurous at heart, how could they not be? Often the first part of the adventure when they meet us at Fort Popham is the ladder. Yep. The ladder needs to be climbed down in order to get on the boat and given our tide situation, which can be a 12 foot vertical difference from high to low tide, it can be quite a climb! We do have alternative options for those than can’t climb the ladder, but we need to plan around the tide to make sure we can get into a dock that is available.
All the couples that choose to celebrate with Just Banded get a catered charcuterie board, as seen above, and a sparkling toast. While we are not able to provide alcohol due to licensing, we are able to serve it so you are welcome to bring your own! We are happy to work with different diets so please don’t hesitate to share with us any specific allergies or needs you might have.
We have a friend named Freddy, who joined us for the ceremony. When he wasn’t on the boat, he was floating in the water right next to us! When you come out to elope with us you sign up for celebrating with nature, its the best part of the charter. We see lots of different kinds of sea birds, sea life that sometimes even includes whales who pop up in the cove at Seguin.
Above is an image of Long Island just next to Bay Point which is in Georgetown, Maine. We pass by on our way to Seguin for the ceremony. Summer in Maine is so picturesque with all the coastal spruce trees and rocky ledge, we are so lucky to live here.
After the ceremony in the cove at Seguin it was time to go hauling! We needed to catch Payton and Maxwell lobsters for their elopement dinner, and they were excited to see how we do that. Captain Ethan loves to show people how to haul traps, which lobsters can be kept and which need to be tossed back as part of Maine’s fishing conservation laws, which we take great pride in. We have a Grundéns apron for both bride and groom, one white and one orange. It is only fitting that the eloping couple gets to wear what the real lobstermen wear! It is also a highlight for both pictures and memories!
There is a thrill to fishing that people cannot help but feel. It is so exciting hauling up the traps and waiting to see how many lobsters are in them. Sometimes they are empty, but sometimes, if set in the right spot and its the right time of year there could be over 10. You need to quickly remove them from the trap too because once the trap is pulled out of the water they start to grab each other by the claws and they can crush each other very quickly. Captain Ethan loves to get our couples right in there, hands first, to do the exciting part of opening the traps and pulling the lobsters out! Sometimes we even find things other than lobsters, like crabs, fish and we’ve even pulled out a seahorse!
Some of our adventurous elopement couples choose to have a cake which they usually indulge in after hauling and on the way back to Popham. We have some local vendors that we love working with, two of whom include Stacey at Cake & Company who is right here in Phippsburg, and the other is Wild Oats in Brunswick, Maine. Please reach out to use if you’d like to explore some cake options!
At the end of the charter our adventurous now married couples are welcome to take with them whatever flowers they’d like, so here is Payton selecting her favorites. How many people take usually depends on how far they are driving after and how much space they have in their car. Some people choose to stay local at places like Sebasco Harbor Resort or at Bed and Breakfasts in Bath, however others that live within driving distance like Massachusettes, New Hampshire, Connecticut, New York or New Jersey even, will sometimes drive home and don’t think the flowers will make it all the way. It is always up to you!
Here are Payton and Maxwell on the pier at Fort Popham. We are so grateful they chose to elope with us and hope you’ll reach out too! Congratulations to Payton and Maxwell!!