The Way We Get Married

By now, you've heard all about "The Way We Get By," the documentary by Old Town native Aron Gaudet and Gita Pullapilly. People call it "the troop-greeter movie," because on the surface, the film is about a trio of senior citizens who greet American soldiers with a warm welcome, food, free cell phones and a giant "thank-you" during refueling stops at Bangor International Airport. The troop greeters — and there are way more than three of them — are famous in these parts. What makes the story so compelling, however, is what happens when the greeters leave the airport. Their day-to-day lives are at once hope-filled and heartbreaking — and Gaudet and Pullapilly tell their stories masterfully.

But there's another story to tell. One that is heartwarming. And one that you may not have heard about. It's about work and love and getting by. Gaudet and Pullapilly aren't just creative collaborators. They're engaged. And when you're putting everything you have into promoting your film and the people who made it possible (the couple often bring the film's three stars along to the premieres) you don't have much left over for a wedding.

After the Orono premiere of "The Way We Get By," wedding planner Amber Small of Sweetest Thing Weddings and her colleague Jessika Brooks of The Retreat at French's Point decided to change all that. They are a part of Real Weddings Maine, a group of high-end wedding vendors from throughout New England who have come together to give Aron and Gita a wedding, free of charge, during the weekend of Oct. 15-17. There are far too many to list here, but to see the full list, which reads like a Who's Who of the New England wedding scene, click here.

Many of the details are a surprise for the couple, but Gita's family will come from India and stay for a week at the retreat, and the festivities include a lobster bake and a trip to Bar Harbor.

It promises to be as big of a production as "The Way We Get By." And the lead actors, Gita and Aron, are as deserving of attention as their big-screen counterparts. As Small says, they gave everything they have to make the film and to get the troop greeters' story out there. So why not give back? It's the Maine way — the way we get by.

For more information, visit Real Weddings Maine.

Photo courtesy of Real Weddings Maine.

Continue Reading

Love and National Parks

Here at The Maven, we're eagerly preparing for The Maven's little sister's wedding this weekend — (and, yes, she picked out absolutely lovely bridesmaid dresses). So forgive us if this week's posts are a little shorter than usual — toward the end of the week they may disappear entirely. We'll be thinking of you and back in full force next week.

That being said, if we could only do one thing that isn't wedding-related this week, it would be this: Go hear Ken Burns speak in Maine. Acadia has a key role in Burns' new documentary, "The National Parks: America's Best Idea," and he will give a sneak preview of the film Wednesday in Bar Harbor and Thursday in Portland. Writer/producer Dayton Duncan will accompany Burns.

Wednesday's talk is slated for 7:30 p.m. at The Criterion Theater in Bar Harbor. It is sold out, but tickets are still a 9:30 sneak preview, for which Burns and Duncan will not be present. For information on both, click here.

On Monday morning, tickets were still available for Thursday's talk at Merrill Auditorium, also scheduled for 7:30 p.m. For tickets, click here. To read Ray Routhier's great article on Burns and the documentary in the Maine Sunday Telegram, click here. If you have to miss it, don't worry — the documentary will be aired on PBS in September. For information on that, click here.

Even better? Go to Acadia and see this "best idea" for yourself.

Continue Reading

Camden On The Cheap?

Sure, our license plates call Maine Vacationland. But author and journalist W. Hodding Carter has added another word to the Maine mix: Frugaland.

Yesterday, while trolling Gourmet's Web site for inspiration, we discovered Carter's Extreme Frugality series, a life experiment that makes for compelling reading and watching. Our eyes popped out of our heads for three reasons: 1) we recognized Carter's byline immediately; 2) we don't know how we missed this, since he's been writing it since February (although we're willing to bet it has something to do with our aversion to the word "frugal"); and 3) we're quite sure it's impossible for a family of five to live on $41,000 a year in Camden, even if they choose to eat roadkill.

But that's not our call. Anyone who has read his books — his most recent, "Off the Deep End," chronicles his quest to qualify for the Olympic swimming team at 45 — knows the man can write. His curiosity is insatiable. And his honesty makes the reading even better. The premise of Extreme Frugality calls for the Carters to live within their means, instead of way beyond their means as they had been for the better part of a decade. After hearing that he and his family spent nearly $2,000 a month on food, most of that at restaurants, we didn't feel nearly as bad about our own predilection for fine dining.

In some ways, the column reads like a contemporary back-to-the-lander's journal. So far, the Carters have built a chicken coop, boiled their own sap for maple syrup, tried their hand at homemade mead and plotted out one heck of a veggie garden. Hodding's wife, Lisa, meticulously hangs all their laundry out to dry. And one of our favorite posts involves Carter's obsession with Caswell's in Waterville, which is apparently the grocery equivalent to Marden's.

What will he do next? Who knows. But one thing's for sure. We'll be reading.

For more information, visit www.Gourmet.com.

Continue Reading