Maine Squeeze: We raise the tent!

Thursday dawned as bright and clear as the rest of the week, and we rose bright and early, too — it was time to meet the rental peeps! Kate and my Dad rode the ferry over to greet them on the mainland while the rest of the hauling crew stayed behind on the Island.

Side note: we very specifically told the rental company multiple times that there was NO bridge to the Island and NO barge, and that everything would have to fit on a renovated lobster boat. They said that was A-OK multiple times. Yet when they arrived on Thursday, their first question was still, “Where’s the barge?” Ay-yay-yay. In the end, we did get everything over successfully, barge or no barge.

As the ferry slid up to the dock, we assembled into a bonafide bucket brigade, carting chairs, tables, glassware, flatware, linens, and a disassembled tent up the ramp and into the truck.

We then followed the truck’s bumpy progress around the corner of the Island, from the main float to the West Shore, where the reception would be held two days later. After that we pretty much just did some heavy looking-on as the rental company impressively did their thing. In no time, we had a tent!

Side note: do you see how sweaty that tent guy is?!

But what is a tent without bunting?! Not much, in this family! As the fog rolled in, we hung strands of colored flags for the cake display backdrop, across where the food buffet would sit, and between two trees behind the soon-to-be bar. We even had some leftover to string between two Adirondack chairs facing out to the ocean. Let’s all pause for a round of applause for Kate — she made all the bunting you see, and did such a great job!

After the tent people headed back to the mainland, we set up all the tables and chairs in roughly the arrangement we wanted them in on Friday. We also tied long navy, yellow, and white ribbons into the branches of the trees next to the shore, and scoured the beach for smooth rocks (which would later become part of the centerpieces!).

After all our West Shore prep, we took the roundabout way back to the cottages so we could hammer in directional signs as we went.

Let me tell you, it was harder than it looked, as New England islands are pretty much solid rock covered with a thin layer of moss. But we persevered, and I think they looked pretty good in the end!

By the time Thursday evening rolled around, we were all starting to get so, so excited — the weather report looked great, guests would be arriving the next morning, and preparations were progressing as planned. What could go wrong? …until next time!

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Previously:
It begins
More preparations