Rooted at the River: Alyssa & Colby's Summer Wedding at the Sunday River Covered Bridge | Newry, Maine
The welcome sign inside the barn read Every family has a story, welcome to ours. Alyssa and Colby spent a warm June Saturday writing the next chapter of theirs in the middle of a covered bridge, with everyone they love filling the timber trusses on either side and a black doodle named Ryder handling ring delivery. In place of a unity candle they planted a tree, something that gets stronger and more rooted every year. It is a good way to describe the two of them.
Everyone got ready under one roof in Bethel, Alyssa and her crew upstairs, Colby and his in the basement, where the dartboard saw some action before the suits went on. Colby's dad handled tie duty. Alyssa's mom handled the veil, the shoes, and the first of the day's big hugs.
In the early afternoon, in the trees behind the house, Alyssa walked up behind Colby and could not resist the point-and-grin before the tap on the shoulder. Then, before the day belonged to everyone else, they traded private vows from matching books marked Her and His. Those words were just for the two of them.
Ryder took his responsibilities seriously. Tuxedo bandana, fresh trim, rings delivered to the best man right on cue. He also stood watch during the tree planting, because somebody had to supervise.
The covered bridge held everyone they love, seated inside a timber frame that has crossed the Sunday River for generations. Colby opened the processional walking Ryder down the aisle, Alyssa walked in on her dad's arm, and in place of a unity ritual with flame they planted a tree together beneath the arbor.
Right after the ceremony we took the two of them down the bank to the water. The bridge that held their wedding minutes earlier became the backdrop, and the Sunday River did the rest before we wandered back up into the trees.
The 1888 Barn in Bethel was draped, strung with lights, and ready. Their first dance was Sweet Symphony by Joy Oladokun featuring Chris Stapleton, and the parent dance came with a twist. It started as a father daughter dance, and partway through the song her dad passed her to her mom, the same hug from that morning found again on the dance floor.
While the party warmed up inside, we stole the newlyweds for one lap around the property as the sun fell behind the treeline. Garden path, split rail fence, and the 1888 Barn sign overhead. A few quiet minutes, and worth every one.
Ties became headbands. Sunglasses appeared from nowhere. Somebody went up on shoulders. Colby was in the middle of all of it, which is exactly where a groom should be, and Alyssa was right beside him.
A bridge full of the people they love, private vows in the trees, a dog in a tuxedo, and a small evergreen that will still be growing on their fiftieth anniversary. Congratulations, Alyssa and Colby. Ryder, the tux worked.
Planning a wedding in western Maine?
From the covered bridges of Newry to the barns of Bethel, we know this corner of the state, the light, the angles, and where to stand when the river is doing its thing. If that sounds like the day you’re planning, we’d love to hear about it.