Bar Harbor Wedding in Maine: Dana & Cassie’s Love Story

Dana and Cassie’s Bar Harbor Wedding in Coastal Maine

Updated May 27, 2025

Dana is a dear friend of mine from college—Simmons in Boston, to be exact—so I was overjoyed when she asked me to photograph her wedding. Bar Harbor, a picturesque island off the coast of Maine, holds deep meaning for Dana and Cassie, who spent the first four months of their relationship living there. As Dana shared, “We associate this area in Maine with falling in love and growing together.”

Both Dana and Cassie worked on the 2009 Marriage Equality Campaign in Maine, which, though initially unsuccessful, laid the groundwork for the 2012 victory. They began planning their Bar Harbor wedding two years before marriage equality passed. Dana told me, “If it didn’t pass, we would’ve gotten legally hitched in New York or Massachusetts, but it worked out perfectly… and it’s surreal and special to be among the first wave of legal same-sex marriages in Maine.”

The celebration was intimate and full of heart. Cassie’s 91-year-old great-grandmother—dressed in a brilliant blue leisure suit she helped sew napkin rings in—stole everyone’s hearts. When they told me she’d be there, I couldn’t help but joke, “Does she know it’s a gay wedding?” The reply? “We think so.”

It rained that day, casting a foggy, ethereal mist over the coastline—classic New England. The weather only added to the magic. I felt so lucky to be there not just as a photographer, but as a friend.

I’ll leave you with a post Cassie shared on Facebook after the wedding:

“I am completely awe-struck and in an emotional fog with the overwhelming support, love, and kindness I felt not only that day but also all the days surrounding. As I scramble to recount every moment, to preserve it and bottle it up, one image that will never fade is standing next to my newly declared wife with nearly 200 beautiful faces looking back on us with hope, love, and united support.”

Venue: Causeway Club
Caterer: Bar Harbor Catering Company
Flowers: Chickadee Hill Flowers
Cake: Celebration Cakes by Janice Strout
DJ: Terry Frank
Hair + Makeup: Roberto Hostins Salon
Getting ready shirts: It’s Really the Little Things
Dana dress: Kleinfeld Bridal
Cassie dress: Avanti Bridal Salon

Photos by New York City Wedding Photographer Erica Camille. Follow me on Facebook.