Taylor Goodell and David Benedum
August 1, 2009, South Berwick, ME

by Cheryl Kimball

After pouring rain the night before, the skies cleared helping make Taylor Goodell and Dave Benedum’s August wedding the perfect event they had so carefully planned. Lots of personal touches made the couple’s 200-guest celebration feel to them like an intimate gathering.

They knew they wanted a country setting with a barn and chose The Red Barn at Outlook Farm in South Berwick, Maine, on a tip from a friend.

“My vendors were absolutely amazing,” says Taylor. “Kate [Kate Parker Flowers] is so inventive and creative. She knows her stuff.” For example, Kate took the couple’s rooster theme a step further from their invitations and centerpiece weathervanes and included feathers in the centerpieces, the bouquets, and in Taylor’s hair.

Taylor’s gown, a strapless fitted bodice with a flowing skirt and lace overlay, was purchased at Allegria Bridal in Watertown, Massachusetts. “I chose the dress because it was the only dress I had found that was comfy enough to walk around and sit in.” Her bridesmaids wore little stripey silk numbers found serendipitously on the Anthropologie website. They all wore red jewelry handmade by Jennifer Candon, a Boston jewelry designer. Taylor wore bold red Kate Spade high heels.

The guys wore black suits with Dave in a red tie to match the bride’s red accents. Dave also insisted that if his lovely bride got to wear fun shoes, so did he—Converse sneakers peaked out from the cuffs of his black trousers.

Photographs were taken before the ceremony off site at the Hackmatack Playhouse, a summer theatre company located in a barn a few miles from the Outlook. “I drove by there,” Taylor said, “and knew that was where I wanted our photos taken.” Their 5 p.m. ceremony was performed by Dave’s dad, who is a Lutheran Pastor. Taylor’s brother and his friend Marcus Eaton provided guitar music during the ceremony. The ring bearer, Dave’s nephew Ray, carried their rings on a piece of birch from Taylor’s aunt’s house in upstate New York.

Taylor’s matron of honor’s mother, a talented pastry chef, made their square-tiered cake—chocolate inside with vanilla frosting sprinkled with coconut flakes. “It tasted like a big Mounds bar,” Taylor says, adding “mmm.”

The ceremony was followed by an outdoor cocktail hour. The party atmosphere had begun. Taylor remembers a huge conga line got going even before the sit-down, served dinner.