Jan/Feb Editor's Note
Jan/Feb 2010
Photograph Jonathan Levitt
Chelsea Holden Baker met with us for less than 10 minutes when we knew she was the one. We knew what Maine magazine deserved: a Mainer who had also spent time in the rest of the world, someone as comfortable in jeans and work boots as in a little black dress, someone with big credentials but without arrogance. Chelsea is all of this and more. Our first meeting ended with hugs: Chelsea was already part of our family. We look forward to watching how her energy and perspective continue to shape Maine magazine. And now, as if our new managing editor isn’t perfect enough for her job—she’s planning a perfect Maine wedding this summer with her fiance, Noah DeLorme.
—Susan Grisanti Kelley, Editor-in-Chief
Noah and I were both born and raised here. One of my favorite things about Maine is that it’s a state of makers. Starting with flowers grown at home in Freeport, we began to gather our resources and found we didn’t have to look beyond the border to plan our big day.
Venue:
Our first kiss was on a Casco Bay Lines ferry as it was passing House Island in the fog. It’s a wild and wooly place, even though it’s just a few minutes from Portland. Fort Scammell, on the south side of the island, fired on a British ship in 1813, giving it the distinction of being the only fort in Casco Bay to ever see “action.” It was also used as an “Ellis Island of the North” for thirty years. Now, the entire 52-acre off-the-grid island is privately owned by a family that has preserved the fort. The guests will take a tour of it while we take our pictures.
cascobaylines.com
houseislandmaine.com
Food + Drink:
My fiance, Noah DeLorme, and his three business partners are the farmers behind the organic greens label Locally Known, so we’ll have an endless salad bowl along with the lobster bake.
I prefer whoopie pies to wedding cake; plus they’re appropriately dressed in black and white! Two Fat Cats makes them the Maine way withmarshmallow filling.
twofatcatsbakery.com
Jacques DeVillier, the owner and ever-present showman at Old Port Wine Merchants & Cigar Shoppe, got us a fantastic deal on cases of wine and Maine Meade. We’ll also have a keg of Gritty’s Pub Style Ale and an unmentionable Canadian beer.
oldportwine.com
mainemeadeworks.com
grittys.com
From the elegant bottle design to the romantic aroma of elderflowers, St. Germain is the ideal wedding liquor for a Francophile. At The Corner Room in Portland John Myers makes a heady St. Germain and champagne cocktail he calls “The Elder,” which we’ll try to replicate for the toast.
thefrontroomrestaurant.com
Design:
We’ve been saving our Smiling Hill Farm glass milk bottles to use as water carafes. When I think of exemplary Mainers, I think of Roger Knight, so it will be nice to have his spirit at the table.
My engagement ring was made in Freeport at Brown Goldsmiths, which was founded in 1971 by newlyweds who are still married today. For wedding bands, we’re turning to the young couple in Topsham, Brent and Jessica Williams, who create custom rings with fingerprints of both the bride and groom engraved on the inside.
browngoldsmiths.com
brentwilliamsdesigns.com
I’m lucky to have a creative family. My brother, Zane Davis Baker, is a ceramicist, and he’s already spent hours at his wheel, making finger bowls and vases for the tables. Noah’s sister, Brook DeLorme, is the designer behind Brook There. She and I are creating a custom wedding dress, which I’m thrilled about.
zanedavisbaker.com
brookthere.com
The only items we haven’t sourced in Maine are balloons—the big round kind like the boy’s in The Red Balloon. If you know of any, please write!
—Chelsea Holden Baker, Managing Editor
