Mary & Adham’s Emotional Bar Harbor Club Wedding

Our introduction to Mary and Adham came, adorably, from Adham’s mom.

Karen reached out while they were planning their August wedding at the Bar Harbor Club, and a couple of weeks later, Adham appeared in our inbox himself. By the time their wedding rolled around, we knew how much they were looking forward to celebrating with everyone they loved, but especially to one quiet part of the day they had planned just for themselves.

Before any of the guests gathered at the Bar Harbor Club, before the ceremony and cocktail hour and dancing, Mary and Adham headed into Acadia National Park for their first look, and almost immediately, everyone was crying.

They had decided to exchange their vows privately, with just the two of them tucked away together in Acadia. Mary and Adham stood facing each other at Otter Cliff and read the words they had written, and whatever chance the rest of us had of keeping it together disappeared pretty quickly.

It was emotional in that wonderful, unguarded way that happens when there isn’t a room full of people. They could pause to collect themselves, give the other an encouraging hug, and cry without feeling like they had to rush to continue. They could take their time to really communicate how important they are to each other, which is the most important part.

After the vows, Adham revealed that he had a surprise for Mary. He pulled out a stunning necklace, which shocked Mary, and led to more tears.

There was something really lovely about beginning their wedding day this way. For a little while, it was quiet. They got to see each other, say the things they wanted to say, and just be together before heading back to Bar Harbor, where their family and friends were waiting to celebrate them. And there really were a whole lot of people ready to love on these two.

By the time everyone came together at the Bar Harbor Club, that quiet little world in Acadia gave way to a completely different kind of joy. Mary and Adham’s families were incredibly warm, their friends were excited, and the whole day seemed to be filled with people reaching for each other as two cultures came together. It was exactly what Mary and Adham had hoped to remember. Before the wedding, Mary had written on their questionnaire that candids mattered most to them because “the day will fly by.”

There were the moments everyone expected, of course. The ceremony. The portraits. The toasts. The dancing. But around all of those were a hundred smaller things. Mary’s mom watching her as she looked in the mirror. Adham’s dad crying during the ceremony. Friends dissolving into laughter. People constantly pulling them into hugs.

Even some of the smallest details carried pieces of Mary and Adham’s story. They had brought a handmade mother-of-pearl jewelry box from Cairo, with a pebble inside tied to a Celtic tradition of throwing a stone into the water for good luck. It was a beautiful way of bringing pieces of their families and backgrounds together, quietly tucked into a day already full of them.

And Mary had one particularly important person beside her through all of it. Her best friend, Mara, also happened to be her wedding planner. Mara works for Ohana Events, so throughout the day she moved seamlessly between keeping everything running and simply being Mary’s best friend. I was amazed at how she was able to switch between the roles so easily.

There are always certain memories that stick with us after a wedding, like Mary and Adham crying through their private vows in Acadia, and the look on Mary’s face when Adham gave her the necklace. Or, witnessing Mara watch her best friend get married after all of the hard work they’d put in. There was also the unexpected hilarity of Karen’s speech, which had everyone crying with laughter.

Mary was right when she said the day would fly by. It did. But it’s so wonderful that we can all be transported back through these images. Here are some favorites from Mary and Adham’s Bar Harbor Club wedding. Cheers!