Today on the blog I’m excited to feature one of the most stunning Maine wedding venues, French’s Point. It’s a year-round, oceanfront, vacation rental estate, offered exclusively to one group of guests for the weekend to ensure complete privacy and an abundance of time with loved ones. A weekend at French’s Point feels like a reunion and a vacation, with a wedding at the heart of it all.

Earlier this season I interviewed Nicole Dearing, the property manager of French’s Point, to learn more about this luxury Maine wedding venue. Read on below!

Q1: DESCRIBE YOUR BUSINESS

Vacation Rental Estate

French’s Point is a “blank canvas venue“. We provide the outstanding venue with 8 possible ceremony settings, our sail cloth tent &14 gathering spaces, for our couples to choose how they wish to use these amenities during their weekend here. Our goal for our couples is for them to have a wedding that is unique to them & one that suits their vision of their celebration & their budget.

Time

French’s Point is offered by the weekend which allows more opportunities to make memories and share quality time with loved ones. Here couples will make memories that will last a lifetime. Here, they will be provided with unparalleled privacy for their entire stay, without the intrusion of strangers. As a result, a weekend at French’s Point feels like a reunion and a vacation, with a wedding at the heart of it all.

Team

Here, couples select their own wedding planner, caterer and vendors that suit their desired preferences and budget, giving them ultimate control over their wedding experience. This allows couples to benefit from the incredible talent of the wedding professionals in Maine.  This rental estate is a beautiful canvas to cast their vision for their festivities, on their terms. Here, there are no cookie-cutter schedules to follow or minimum food and beverage spends to meet.

 Q2: HOW DID YOU GET STARTED AND WHAT INSPIRED YOU?

French’s Point was a summer camp and retreat for a church based in Bangor for 100 years.  My great uncle was a member of the church and purchased land and built a cottage just down the road from the estate so he could be near the property and a part of the church activity. Four generations of our family summed in in that cottage and grew up playing in the fields and forest and along the beaches around the estate and attending camp there. In 2001, the church fully depleted the funds that supported operation of the property and they were no longer meeting the initial intent for the bequest that started the camp. As a family, we decided we needed to intervene to preserve this magical place.  My parents purchased the farm property and I purchased the retreat property and started the business to operate it, and we set to work restoring the homes over the last 18 years. Family is really the most important thing to us. We are stewards of this place, where families come to celebrate milestone moments together, on the coast of Maine. Here’s a video that tells our story.

Q3: WHEN SHOULD COUPLES BOOK YOUR SERVICES?

12-24 months in advance of the wedding date. Since we only offer one wedding a weekend, our dates fill quickly. 

Q4: WHAT MAKES YOUR BUSINESS DIFFERENT AND WHAT TYPE OF CLIENTS DO YOU WORK WITH?

French’s Point offers 14 different gathering spaces at the estate to host events, large and small, rain, snow or shine! On our 14 acres, we have beautiful exterior and interior settings, with ocean views.  This allows our couples to host events over the course of the weekend in different locations so that each experience feels unique and new.  We have a gorgeous estate house with formal event spaces and we provide a beautiful sail cloth tent on a full stone floor, May-mid October as part of our offerings. Here are virtual tours of the Retreat House & Farm House. All videos were created by our friend Josh Swan from Media Northeast.