World Ocean Weekend - Help Us Help the Gulf Coast

As we prepare at the Meadowmere to celebrate World Ocean Weekend June 11-13 in Ogunquit at our hotel, we can't help but think of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast Oil Spill. We know how important Ogunquit Beach is to us and how much our waters here in Southern Maine impact many, many lives. From family vacations to local surf spots tp lobstering, the ocean is important. We can only imagine how devastated communities, businesses, wildlife and families must be.

How can we do something? It does seem so very helpless - we can't return the fish to the sea, we have no idea how boom works and we certainly do not know how to plug what seems like an endless flow of oil from the bottom of the sea. But we can help make a difference by sending something needed to the cause. And the countless images of oil covered birds and wildlife got us thinking - let's put this year's World Ocean Pub Party to use.

Join us from 4pm-6pm on Friday June 11th in the West Meadow Pub at the Meadowmere Resort in Ogunquit. Join us for a moment, join us for the evening. And bring whatever size bottle of Original (Blue) Dawn Soap that you can. We're going to ship it to the Gulf Coast. All of it. Whatever we can collect. Every ounce will go the National Aududon Society. It may not be the solution, but it is help. And sometimes that brings hope.

Yes, we will show you our solar panels, ozone laundry or any other part of our green hotel program. But what we really want this year for World Ocean Weekend is to help the Gulf Coast. Even if you just stop in to drop off a bottle, we thank you.

Meadowmere & Ogunquit Fan Hopes to Win A Wedding

One of the great things about being a hotel is you get spend time with so many people. After all, they come live with you for a little bit, right?

So all of us at the Meadowmere have had a lot of fun being on Facebook and Twitter to connect with fans and friends. We learned about Martin and Marginal Way, our hotel has help many through ice storms and power outages, and - we just found out about Nancy and her quest for the Ultimate Wedding.

If any of you are familiar with wedding contests from our Green Wedding Giveaway sponsorship, you know that a little bit of online help goes a long way. Debi and Sean, this year's winners, connected with people all over the world. Who knows? After all, Nancy is a Red Sox fan and an Ogunquit fan - both good reasons to help her!

Here's Nancy plea:

I’m in search of about 500 more votes lol, reaching out anywhere I can . It's one vote per email address, so if you have more than one, just click "logout" and vote again! Could you please forward to co-workers, friends, family, pets, neighbors, etc... lol Also, if you have ever ordered anything from Crate and Barrel.com, all you have to do is log into your account!
 
http://www.ultimateweddingcontest.com/entries/28315
 
Here’s my little story in addition to the one there…
 
In April 2009, we got engaged and we were on top of the world, everything was looking up. But then in mid October my father's health took a turn for the worse and he passed away on October 31st. With all the grieving, holidays, moving and turns of events leading up to now, this has left us little time to plan and finance our wedding. But we're doing it, step by step, but could use a total boost to help us back on our way to a happy future.
 
Thanks for any help you can give to me!

Online Reservations are BACK!

Thank you everyone for being so patient! Welcome to our hotel's new online reservations!

With our online system you will now be able to make reservations for any package of your choice. You will be able to see more online, choose your location by building, by in room amentity. You can make your Ogunquit vacation yours.

Please visit us online at meadowmere.com and check out our specials at the packages page

Top 12 New England Wedding Photographers

The Meadowmere is part of Madeleine's Event Central - a by-invitation-only group of professional wedding vendors. Madeleine's carefully chooses who to recommend, based on years of experience and excellent results. They want to share the best with their brides.

That's why our hotel was thrilled to see Madeleine's Event Central's 2010
Top 12 New England Wedding Photographers.

This impressive group of fine professionals have been invited to appear in the upcoming Open House Tour, Madeleine's by Moonlight. It is a wedding event designed around you, the bride, having a chance to have real conversations with the resources you what to know about - cakes, invitations, and of course, photographers.

We wanted to take a moment to send you the link to each of their sites. Often, brides and grooms like to visit their websites prior to meeting them in person. It's a great way to see the style a photographer may specialize in.

So drum roll please...we encourage you to entrust one of these outstanding photographers for your big day:

Patrick McNamara Photography

Focus Photography

MAC Photography

Fine Day Photography

Leah Kelly Photography

Tara Photography

Riley Photographic

Felix Rust Photography

NH Images

Photography by Jane Lydick Staid

Drinker Images

Carl D. Walsh Wedding Photojournalist

Kate Parker Weddings - A Great Resource

Planning a wedding is exciting . . . and overwhelming. Suddenly there are so many options and so many businesses that offer all sorts of ways to personalize your special day. Or stress you out. It depends how you look at it.

Kate Parker and her team have been making sure that brides are excited and not overwhelmed for years. We at the Meadowmere have had the pleasure of working with Kate several times and we think the best way to know if a wedding planner is working is how much the bride smiles the day before, day of and day after. Kate and team are responsible for a lot of smiles.

So when we were asked to join my Kate Parker wedding and provide a resource for couples in need of wedding accommodations in Southern Maine, our Ogunquit hotel said yes! One of the best parts to the site is real advice from real vendors that Kate and her team know personally. They are helping you, the bride-to-be, with a great personal resource. And our Ogunquit hotel was thrilled to be a part of this forum.

As anyone who has used any online wedding checklist will tell you, the list of things to do when planning a wedding can be a bit much (who really needs a twice a day email about latest colors and how much you should remember to smile? who wants to see a check list of 396 things you have to do?). This site is designed to be your resource. Set reminders on what you want.

Check out the Meadowmere and many other wedding resources for Southern Maine and the seacoast area. We'll look for you to be smiling the day before, the day of and the day after!

Just a few dates left at the Barn

Planning a wedding in Maine is a great thing - there are so many wonderful venues to choose. One of our local favorites is the Red Barn at Outlook Farm in South Berwick, Maine. The setting overlooks the golf course and Mt. Agamenticus and the Barn is really a gorgeous post and beam venue.

We've just learned that the Barn is almost sold out for 2009 - just a few in season dates remain:

Fri. July 3, Sat. July 4th , Sat. Sept. 5, Holiday Mon. Sept 6

We've also heard that 2010 bookings have begun. That's not to make anyone feel rush - We just know that the date and the place are extremely important. If you are thinking about the Barn, give Jeff and his team a call or stop by on May 3rd for a meet and greet - the Meadowmere team will be there too!

Congratulations Joelle & Jonathan - 2009 Green Wedding Winners!

The tension was thick, the anticipation was building and everyone was holding their breathe. It went from 5 to 4 to 3 until there was just 2 couples left.

And then there was one - Joelle and Jonathan from Portsmouth, NH were annouced at 230pm this afternoon as the 2009 Green Wedding Giveaway Winners!

Congratulations and huge thank yous go out to all the finalists - they are amazing couples. We hope each will stay in touch and share the big day with us.

Check out the website for more and check out our pics of the big annoucement on our Flickr site.

There's always time for chocolate!

Say you were to drop off a giant bag of chocolate to our front desk at the Meadowmere and stay a night or two. Odds are that giant bag would be short lived - perhaps even gone before you left! This has actually been tested - we have a guest who visits us regularly and arrives baring the gift of chocolate candy. Bags of it.

And since this upcoming weekend is a big one for chocolate - we thought a few recommendations would be nice . . .

Top Spots Near Ogunquit for Chocolate

1. Harbor Candy Shop -Delicious, homemade chocolate and 5 minutes from the Resort (distance can be important, we're talking the cure for a chocolate fix). An old fashioned shop with incredible fudge and even vegan treats - Right on Main Street in Ogunquit.

2. Cacao - Unique gourmet tuffles in Kittery Maine. They have actually truffles with eatable gold for very reasonable amount. A neat way to give a little something special, a little something extra.

3. Yummies Candy & Nuts - Everything under the sun. Remember when you were a kid and filled a baggie with candies such as peanut butter bars, bit o honey and bullseyes? Yep - all there. They even have Wonka Bar - now that's the ticket! Visit Yummy's on Route 1 in Kittery, just before the outlets.

4. Lindt - Well now, this is nothing new, you say. Yes, we know - but really, you can't beat a store of truffles by the 19oz bag. And of course, that offer samples. There's one in the Kittery Outlets on Route 1 - about 15 minutes from us.

5. Divine Chocolates - A smaller shop than most, but hand dipped belgium chocolate is worth a trip. Located on Route 1 in Cape Neddick - in a very Maine way, next to the Bait & Tackle shop. Also - their website has a section on how chocolate is health food. We knew it all along.

6. Byrne & Carlson - This shop just had a write up on boston.com and much like Harbor Candy, it is a shop not to miss.  Pick your dark chocolate out for by the country and the percentage. Check out the chocolate bars with flowers in them (eatible of course) - or bars with chocolate in chocolate!

So there's a quick tour of local chocolate and candy shops in the Ogunquit area. Should help with sweets for the sweetie!

Here come the brides! York Wedding Expo is Feb 15

Before you get visions of Bridezillas or screaming masses of brides or shiver at the thought of attending yet another wedding show - We are happy to say that York Wedding & Event Expo is nothing like that.

Really. Yep. Nothing at all.

So take a deep breath, relax. It is a show that is actually fun. You enjoy limo rides between the venues, everything is spaced out, there isn't a loud speaker screaming about raffles or a radio station DJ running around chasing you for 'an interview with a real bride - live!'. No 'fashion' show hype - dresses, tuxes or otherwise. The day is relaxed - the vendors have time to spend with you and really listen.

Which is really important to us in group sales at our Ogunquit hotel. After all, we have to listen to figure out the best way to help you. Weddings are special because they are so unique - everyone may get a dress, but ony you got your dress for your day to go with your colors to fit your (hopefully by you we mean you two) vision.

If you are just beginning (congratulations newly engaged!),  the show is a good place for ideas to start to see what's most important. If you are far along and just have a few last things, it's a good place to network and get great recommendations (and congratulations on acing wedding planning with flying colors!).

Weddings are a speciality here at the Meadowmere - we enjoy working with our couples and being a part of the big day, but also a part of the planning. So stop by, say hellp and tell us what you've always wanted since you were a little girl (or since you had to start to think about planning this whole thing and started losing sleep - we've seen and helped every type of bride!)  - the York Wedding Show is a great chance for us to listen! (Oh alright - and sneak cake too - yummy . . .)

Congratulations to Lauren & Tom!

On May 17th, Tom, Lauren and their friends and family visited Ogunquit and the Meadowmere to celebrate their wedding vows. Set at beautiful Arrows Restaurant, the happy couple live in Boston and we are happy to send our congratulations to them both!

Check out their official annoucement online at http://www.seacoastonline.com/articles/20080928-LIFE-809280303