It has long been a dream of mine to photograph a Colby College wedding up on the Waterville, Maine campus. Having gone there, the campus holds a special place in my heart. Over the years, I’ve photographed a lot of my Colby friends – their weddings, their babies, and even their businesses. Dan (one of my best friends) and Devon’s wedding was the first one to actually bring me up to Waterville. They eloped on Runnals Hill over Labor Day weekend. Runnals (which you’ll see later in the post) is the theater building. Dan was (is) a bit of a theater nerd and spent a lot of time in that building, in addition to living in the dorms across from it. Devon is a good sport who decided the side of a hill on a college campus is as good a place to get married as anyplace else. And it’s hard not to fall in love with Colby’s campus – it’s pretty beautiful.
Getting Ready
The day of the wedding began at the Westin Portland Harborview Hotel. The bride and groom got ready in separate rooms, but came together for a first look. We didn’t take too many hotel room first look portraits since we knew we’d be on the Colby campus and could grab some beautiful photos there.
Ceremony & Portraits
Dan & Devon only invited four guests, plus me, plus the officiant (another good friend from college), so we all took the limousine from Portland to Waterville. Dan & his friend Jesse are part of my Kenny Loggins crew, so we all definitely sang the “Danny’s Song” as loud as we possibly could on the ride. When we arrived on campus, one of Dan’s theater professors greeted us and unlocked the building for us so we could use it as a home base. It was also our rain plan, but as you can see from the photos, it was a bright sunny day!
We traipsed up the hill until we found a spot that looked pretty. Andy, the officiant, settled in and performed the ceremony. There were a lot of laughs, but I’m pretty sure we all cried, too. After the ceremony, we stayed on the hill for some portraits. The sun streamed through the trees and gave us some gorgeous light. We had to grab some photos on the steps of Runnals, too.
The Ride Back to Portland
When you travel up to Waterville, ME, there is one stop you *need* to make. You need to have Big G’s. The sandwiches are giant and they’re named after celebrities. On our way up to Colby, we agreed on a few sandwiches to order. While the ceremony was taking place, the limo driver went and picked them up. There is no better thing than to have your wedding “catered” by Big G’s! We shoveled those sandwiches into our faces (along with some whoopie pies) on our way back to Portland.
Photography by www.margaretbelanger.com
Did I sneak in to the photos? You bet I did! Don’t be surprised if you find me somewhere in a mirror in your wedding photos! It helps that I knew Dan & Devon wouldn’t mind discovering a sneaky photo of me among their wedding photos. I couldn’t be part of the portraits, so this is the next best thing! 
Nothing says “fashion accessory” on your wedding day like a clerical collar! Devon got a kick out of trying on Andy’s collar on our ride back to Portland. 
