This Mountainside Wedding at Sugarloaf Includes a Stunning First Look Backdrop

October, 2020

Location: Bar Harbor

This Mountainside Wedding at Sugarloaf Includes a Stunning First Look Backdrop

Maine natives Brooke and Chris eschew standard wedding traditions for a laid-back day at a place they love.

by Emma Simard
Photography by Breezy Photography

Issue: November 2020

Seasons of Love

Brooke and Chris met through a mutual friend after attending two different high schools in Maine. “He wore a shirt of a rival football team from where I was going to college,” says Brooke. In an admittedly rough start, Brooke told Chris that he should “probably burn his shirt,” but it got his attention. Life soon pulled the pair in different directions, but they reconnected eight years later in Colorado. Brooke was visiting her college roommate in Denver, and Chris was living nearby in Colorado Springs. “We spent months talking back and forth while I was living in Georgia,” says Brooke. After a year of making long distance work, Brooke and Chris both moved back to Maine.

One Memorial Day weekend, the couple had just arrived home from a weekend at camp with family. Chris disappeared upstairs almost immediately, and Brooke assumed he was just unpacking for a while. When it was time for bed, the couple made their way upstairs. Chris walked into the room while it was dark and accidentally ran into the corner of his dresser. “I started laughing and wondering what was going on with him,” Brooke says. When she turned on the light, a ring box was sitting on the bedside table. She was absolutely shocked. Chris got on one knee. “I have absolutely no idea what he said,” Brooke says. “I stuck my hand out, and he said, ‘So, is that a yes?’”

When it came to the wedding day, August 31, 2019, Brooke and Chris wanted a relaxing day that they could share with the people that mean the most to them. They ditched the standard wedding traditions and spent most of the day together. Having the wedding at Sugarloaf in Carrabassett Valley made the weekend extra special—almost everyone stayed on-site, so there was a ton of extra time for friends and family. It was especially rewarding to see everyone having fun and exploring the place the couple loves so much.

The First Look

The couple shared their first look at the Outdoor Center. Brooke walked up behind Chris and whispered that she was in her PJs. The photographer immediately shouted that Brooke was actually in a T-Rex suit. “At every ‘big’ moment in our relationship, one of us has done something weird, silly, or embarrassing,” says Brooke. “That’s just our brand of love.” Afterward, they went to the clubhouse to share a drink and relax before the ceremony.