Wedding / weather in Bar Harbor

Hi all,

I, too, am hoping to be married in Bar Harbor in 2008 (still looking for the right venue)... does anyone have any recommendations about the best season for an outdoor affair? I%26#39;m not wild about the cold, but at the same time, i%26#39;m pretty allergic to insect bites. I understand that this limits my options pretty severely, but there must be a month or two in there that it%26#39;s not too cold but the flies/mosquitos aren%26#39;t in full force?

Also, if anyone has any suggestions about places we can hold the reception with lodging close-by (we don%26#39;t want anyone to have to drive after the party), it would be MOST appreciated.

Thanks a lot!

Wedding / weather in Bar Harbor

What time of the season were you looking to be married? I was married last November and had my reception at the Bar Harbor Inn. Dede in group sales made sure everything was perfect, right down to the last little detail. We also booked a block of rooms here for our out of town guests. Although I didn%26#39;t have my ceremony here, I know that they do them there, both inside and outside on their lawn overlooking the ocean. Mosquitos would not be a problem there or anywhere you will be right on the water...the ocean breeze keeps them away.

Wedding / weather in Bar Harbor

congratulations on your wedding! and thanks for your response.

we are actually very flexible - we haven%26#39;t announced a date yet. i think ideally may or early june - but again, it%26#39;s more important that we have great weather.

you had a good experience at the inn? maybe we%26#39;ll look into that option. we were also thinking of having the reception at a restaurant... but the first thing we need to do is make the trip up there and get to know the town better.

thanks again! (and, if you have some more, any other tips you have for wedding stuff would be sooo appreciated.)

I%26#39;m meeting with the Bar Harbor Inn in a few weeks, I%26#39;ll let you know how it goes and such. They seem real nice there! I%26#39;m also meeting with the Atlantic Oakes.

High season is definitely mid summer there, so things may be crowded. That%26#39;s why we%26#39;re going with early May (i don%26#39;t mind the cold so much) If our time allowed it, Mid-May to Mid-June would be perfect...beautiful there that time of year. Unfortunately my fiance%26#39;s schedule doesn%26#39;t allow it.

Hi, Rugby 1212 -

I noticed that our schedules and locations are sort of similar. I would definitely appreciate hearing about your experience with your venues, and I will pass on any good vendors that I come across as well. It%26#39;s so nice to know someone out there is parallel-planning...

Good luck, and congratulations!

Step Two: I would love to help you out with any info you need!

I had my reception at the Bar Harbor Inn in the Porcupine Room (it is a function room located above the main dining room). It was the perfect size for us (I had about 40 or so people at the reception). I also had booked a hotel room right beside the Porcupine Room and arranged for a babysitter for about 6 small children to stay in to play games and watch movies while we had a formal sit down dinner. It worked out perfectly. Another plus was there is a large deck right outside the Porcupine Room, so whenever anyone need some air, they just stepped outside to a beautiful view.

I know the Bar Harbor Inn also has receptions in the Reading Room Restaurant (the main dinning room). I decided against this option for one reason...size. It is a large dining room that can sit up to 150 people I believe. With just the 40 of us in it, I think it just would have been too much empty space. If you are planning on having a larger wedding, I would suggest this room...it also has a beautiful wood dance floor in the center.

I also just want to put my two cents in about flowers...I searched and searched before I found a florist that had exactly what I wanted. Laurie at Cottage Flowers helped me decided on exactly what flowers and colors that would best suit my wedding. I highly recommend anyone to go and set up an appointment with her...you will not be disappointed!

Thank you, mdigirl! The kids%26#39; room is a great idea - and I definitely appreciate the florist rec. It can be hard to tell the good vendors from the not-so-good ones from one or two meetings...

We%26#39;re debating between a few towns/venues still, but once we get that nailed down, I%26#39;m sure I%26#39;ll have plenty of questions for you!

The Bar Harbor Inn is a gorgeous venue for the wedding. Either of the two rooms mentioned look right out over the water. Both have balconies so guests can stroll outside if the weather allows.

Other popular wedding venues in Bar Harbor include the Bar Harbor Regency Holiday Inn and the Bar Harbor Club. These two are both operated and owned by the same folks. I think they even share the same wedding coordinator. Their reception rooms are much larger, and as such would be appropriate for 100+ guests. If you have fewer than 100 guests you might even feel lost in these huge rooms.

Don%26#39;t limit yourself to the Town of Bar Harbor. There are other good sites on the island.

In the quieter town of Northeast Harbor is the Asticou Inn, which is an old style classic Maine shingled hotel. It%26#39;s got small and large rooms, and a lovely view of northeast Harbor.

And, in Southwest Harbor the Claremont Hotel has an incredible location on Somes Sound. There is a dock your guest can walk out onto and get a lovely view of the water. The one drawback of the Claremont (over the rest of the venues mentioned) is that it%26#39;s dining room is fairly small, maybe 70 guests max, so if you want to invite more guests, you%26#39;l need to rent a tent and take your chances of rain, which I wouldn%26#39;t advise in May or June, as both can be rainy or cold. And, buggy. In fact, if you are allergic, you really should avoid the early summer as there is no tellng when it will warm up and the bugs appear.

In fact, I%26#39;m going to break with the others and suggest you look at early September. Or even October, but not the early summer.Once Labor Day rolls around and kids go back to school, the number of tourists in town drops noticeably. As do the rates on lodgings. September is a very enjoyable month and the chance of bugs much lower than in May or June.

Oh, if you want to research typical weather, go to the Trip Planner functin at Weather Underground. That URL is www.wunderground.com/tripplanner/index.asp

Hi LovingMaine,

Thanks so much for the suggestions - the idea of having the wedding in a slightly smaller / less touristy town really appeals to both me and my FH. We just didn%26#39;t know where to start! These look like some really good leads, though, and I will definitely look into them.

As for the time of year, we%26#39;ve been getting a lot of feedback in favor of a late summer / early fall timeline, and that%26#39;s the way we%26#39;re leaning. September sounds just lovely.

Thanks again, to everyone really, for the great advice!

i know this thread is a little old, but i just got back from visiting Bar Harbor so I thought I%26#39;d leave another comment.

I had a very nice experience with all of the places I met with. The views from the Bar Harbor Inn were spectacular and they were very friendly there. We also had a wonderful experience at the Bluenose Inn, but the decor is not quite what we would like, a little overwhelmingly floral. But a very very nice visit with the woman there. The Kebo Valley golf course was a great experience as well. The Atlantic Oakes was alright, but for the same price as some other places it didn%26#39;t have the view we were interested in.

Laurie at Cottage Flowers was definitely wonderful! If you end up in that area for your wedding I highly recommend her. She was just great.

Good luck and I hope you find what you and your fiance desire and will remember forever!

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