Getting married in The Maine Beaches

The southern coast is the most accessible corner of the state and the one most out-of-state guests picture when you say "Maine wedding": long sand beaches, clapboard resort towns, working harbours. It is also the most heavily booked. If you are marrying between late June and Labor Day here, you are sharing the region with the entire summer tourist economy of New England, and that shapes everything from hotel rates to whether your guests can get a dinner reservation the night before.

The trade-off is real, and it favours you on logistics: this is the one part of Maine where guests can fly into Boston, drive under two hours, and find a room in walking distance of the venue.

Getting here

Boston Logan (BOS) is roughly 1.5–2 hours to the Kittery–York end, more like 2 hours to Kennebunkport, and it has far more flights at far lower fares than anything in Maine. For this region it is usually the right answer rather than the compromise.

Portland (PWM) is 30–45 minutes north of most of the region and worth it for guests who would rather pay more than drive.

Traffic on I-95 and Route 1 in July and August is not a rumour. Tell guests to add an hour to any Friday-afternoon arrival, and think hard before scheduling a rehearsal dinner that depends on people arriving from Boston at 6pm on a summer Friday.

Where your guests stay

This region has more lodging per mile than anywhere else in Maine, which is the good news. The bad news is that it fills early and prices accordingly.

• Ogunquit and Wells — the densest concentration of motels, inns and small hotels, much of it walkable to the beach. The most reliable place to put a large block.
• The Kennebunks — inns and boutique hotels, higher end, walkable in Dock Square. Books furthest ahead.
• York and Kittery — closest to the New Hampshire line, good for guests driving up from Boston, more chain options around the outlets.
• Old Orchard Beach and Saco/Biddeford — the value end, plus a lot of vacation rentals.

Book blocks by the previous autumn for a summer wedding. That is not caution, it is the normal timeline here. A great many properties also impose two- and three-night minimums in peak season, so a Saturday wedding often means guests paying for a weekend whether they want one or not — worth saying out loud on your wedding website rather than letting them discover it.

The guidance above is ours and is about which towns to aim at. For actual rooms, prices and availability, use the booking map at the top of this page — it's live inventory rather than a list we'd have to keep current.

Things to do

Guests will make a holiday of it, so give them something to do:

• Marginal Way in Ogunquit — a paved mile-long clifftop path to Perkins Cove. The single easiest recommendation in the region and it suits every age.
• Nubble Light at Cape Neddick in York — arguably the most photographed lighthouse in the country, with parking and an ice cream stand across from it.
• Dock Square, Kennebunkport — shops and restaurants in a small walkable grid; also where your guests will end up whether you suggest it or not.
• Old Orchard Beach pier — a genuine seaside amusement pier, and the right answer if anyone brought children.
• The Kittery outlets — unglamorous, endlessly used by wedding guests with a free afternoon.

Beach parking is paid and limited almost everywhere in season. Guests staying inland should be warned to arrive early or walk.