such wonderful taste and a plethora of
knowledge," Laura says. "We discussed my
wedding colors, what type of jewelry would
look best with my dress, and after several
conversations, Annette came up with the
perfect custom made earrings."
the invitations. "Thank goodness that Marcy,
at Hullabaloo Studios, is a wedding literature
goddess," Laura says. "I had such a hard time
trying to figure out the right wording, paper,
and designs for the wedding invitations,
programs, menu, and thank you notes!"
Marcy handmade every single invitation for
Laura and Nolan's wedding. "Marcy also
designed a beautiful seating chart for us that
is a true piece of art. It's currently framed
and hanging on our wall."
like the dress, invitations, menu choices, and
floral design couldn't wait for him to come
home. Laura admits that it was difficult for her
to make wedding related decisions while
Nolan was overseas. She wanted him to feel
involved, and wanted him to like the decisions
she had to make without him. "When Nolan
and I got the chance to talk, I could ask him
some questions, but I didn't want to over-
whelm him," Laura says. "All I really wanted
Luckily for Laura, Nolan's go-to planning
advice was, "Whatever you want, sweetheart.
I just want to show up and have fun."
to do without Nolan. She had the option to
sit down with Chef Eric Flynn and design
any sort of menu she wanted. Nolan isn't a
fan of seafood, but Laura wanted to offer her
guests the best--filet mignon with a lobster
tail--and worried Nolan wouldn't love it.
"Nolan is a man's man--he likes meat and
potatoes," Laura says. In brainstorming what
would make Nolan happy, Chef Eric came up
with the idea of creating an entire hors
d'oeuvres station featuring Nolan's favorite
foods. "This table had chicken wings, spring
rolls, tortilla chips and guacamole, and
more," Laura says. "It was a huge hit with
many of our guests!"
Bean's Topside Tavern played host to Nolan's
welcome home party as well as Laura and
Nolan's rehearsal dinner. "Linda Bean's
Topside Tavern holds a special place in our
hearts," Laura says. "Linda's generosity is
tremendous. Her restaurant was the perfect
place for us to celebrate Nolan's homecoming
and our rehearsal. The atmosphere is warm
and inviting, the food is great, and you can't
Bean! Our out-of-town guests loved it." Ship-
yard Brewery pitched in and offered free
Shipyard beer for both of the occasions,
which Nolan and his groomsmen greatly
appreciated.
party. They scooped two seasonal flavors of
gelato for the guests and even set up a gelato
bar at Laura and Nolan's reception at the
Harraseeket Inn. "I'm still receiving comments
on how awesome the gelato bar was at our
wedding," Laura says. "It was the best idea
ever! Our guests loved it!"
making their wedding bands at Brown
Goldsmith.
of the options were premade rings and the
third option was for the couple to make their
rings themselves with the help of Deane
Frank at Brown Goldsmiths in Freeport.
band workshop and created the most beau-
tiful rings and the most beautiful memories,"
Laura says. "Their wonderful staff photo-
graphed the whole day for us, gave us bride
and groom aprons, and took the time to help