A Fish River Lodge Wedding

It seems like just as we start to enjoy summer and all its beautiful weather then it is time to shift gears. We started baiting bears on the 1st – hunting season is right around the corner. Summers are brief in the north which makes us treasure those long, warm days all the more. I also moved in to my new office and I love it! I spent the evening relaxing and enjoying the view of my new space. It is like having a quiet haven when I close the door…

After work on the 3rd I drove over to Rocking S Ranch in Fort Fairfield to meet up with horse friend Mary Heald, Dan and Ian Pinette, and Deb. Mary let me ride her Quarter Horse mare, Quincy that night. I rode up along the ridge through the potato fields as the sun was setting, all alone, just me and the horse. For a moment it was heaven! After a barbecue dinner and visits I unrolled my sleeping bag and slept in the teepee made of ivy. I returned to work the next morning with a whole new outlook on life. Gloria Lebrecque has been at Fish River Lodge since early July, her vacation is winding to an end. She comes every year to get away from it all, recharge her batteries, and return to Connecticut with renewed energy and a new outlook on life too. It’s amazing how Aroostook County does that to people. The Ann Crosby family, Plourdes, and Vanakens were here the week of the 8th.

We moved in to our new bathroom on the 9th after running bear baits. All 20 of our baits cleaned right out! I also found my first colored leaf on the ground today, and orange maple. Every year I save the first colored leaf I find and press it in my journal.

Miranda and her fiancé Tyler arrived on the 11th. Wedding preparations began immediately as we wrote a very long grocery list, planned logistics, and unpacked boxes of lights and decorations that will go up in the coming days. We went on our shopping expedition in Presque Isle on the 12th as the guys tidied the grounds and started installing the hundreds of white lights around the property. Other guests and the wedding party began arriving on the 12th. We began celebrating on the beach that night.

The lodge was a hot-bed of activity on the 13th with food prep in the kitchen, decorating in the lodge dining room and deck, tiki torches installed, hay bales gathered. By nightfall we were ready for the wedding. Grant took the wedding party on a booze cruise – we lit all the lights and tiki torches so Miranda and Tyler could see them from the water. It was so festive! We prayed the long run of sun would continue in to Saturday, the 14th, their wedding day.

We woke to another lovely summer day on the 14th. I picked up the brides bouquet, attendant bouquets, and boutonnières at Corriveau’s Hilltop Blossoms in Wallagrass. They were gorgeous! In the mean time Miranda and her bridesmaids were doing hair and make up in cabin 6, Tyler and his groomsmen were dressing in cabin 7. The girls hung a bedspread across the deck of their cabin so no one could see them. As the hour approached I changed in to my fancy “Annie Oakley” dress and then Cindy (mother of the groom), and I gathered at the girl’s cabin for mimosas until it was time…

At 11:00 a.m. our church was the beach with hay bale pews covered in country calico, creating an aisle to the dock altar. Guests took their seats while “Big Blue” (Rich and family) provided music. It was a "country" theme and many wore cowboy boots and hats. The bridal party stared their procession from cabin 6, in front of the lodge, to the beach, followed by Acadia and the babies in a wagon, and then the bride, Miranda escorted by her proud father. Rich performed the ceremony and as Tyler and Miranda were pronounced husband and wife, Cindy and I fired two rounds each from our trusty over-and-under shotguns! The celebration began with champagne flowing. I presented Tyler and Miranda with my grandfather’s compass to symbolize their navigation through life together. Best Man Jason Carter made an inspirational toast with a fishing theme. Wayne, with help from Blaine Carter and Anne Paquete, fired off the lobster bake plate and started grilling for the luncheon – guests gathered on the lodge deck and in the lodge dining room as the festivities were just getting underway. There was much laughter and celebration throughout the day. The kids, young and old, replaced dresses and suits with swimming attire as the party continued in to the evening. Later that night Tony Dube served his famous roast pig for dinner and Big Blue played for us again. The wedding of Miranda and Tyler had been all we planned and hoped for, and more! Fish River Lodge was the perfect setting for a gathering of family and friends for Miranda and Tyler’s wedding.

Slowly our guests started to depart Sunday morning. The real work – clean up – began. We did a little on Sunday but mostly we enjoyed our guests who stayed. Mom and Dad, Ron and Mim Webber, and Acadia and I enjoyed a relaxing afternoon and later dined on left overs. Miranda and Tyler spent a romantic afternoon and night at Four Seasons Inn at Soldier Pond.

Back to work on the 16th through the 20th. We ran baits and eventually returned the lodge and grounds back to “normal”. Ron Lebrecque and his family arrived for their end-of-the-summer vacation on the 22nd.

Bear season began on the 30th, but that is another chapter all together…