Real New England Weddings: Belinda Wotherspoon & Jeff Desmond

Photos by Brea McDonald

Three days after Christmas in 2010, Jeff Desmond took his girlfriend, Belinda Wotherspoon, night snowshoeing near her parents’ home in New Gloucester, Maine. She’d been tired and had protested, but he persisted. He chuckled as he watched her stumble through the snow, until finally they called it quits and set down a blanket for stargazing. The pair playfully argued over which side of the sky sparkled more — and then Belinda noticed something quite sparkly on Jeff’s pinky.

“I got a glimpse of the ring — or at least I thought I did — and it took my breath away,” Belinda says. “I put my face in my hands, like, This is great. I’m hallucinating that he has an engagement ring on his finger.” Jeff convinced her that she was not seeing things, and asked Belinda to be his wife.

For the wedding, the couple decided to stay local, tying the knot not far from the spot where Jeff proposed. “We talked about getting married in the field where we got engaged, but we ended up loving the idea of an apple orchard,” Belinda says. “We wanted it to be really laid-back but with a rustic, vintage feel. You hear stories about how it goes by so fast, and you have to soak it all up — but I remember every moment of the ceremony. It was incredible. And then everything else flew by.”

(From left) The couple used old mason jars and vintage bottles from Jeff’s parents for the table décor.
The bouquets of hydrangeas and wildflowers came from Blais Flower and Garden Center in Lewiston, Maine.

The bride wanted something “garden-esque” for her ’maids, so she picked delicate dresses with matching pearl bracelets from H & M.

 (Clockwise from left) To complement the orchard setting, the couple served a spice cake with cream cheese–apple filling.
Tired of the ubiquitous wedding guest book, the couple asked attendees to sign a handmade beanbag-toss board.
Jeff made the welcome sign from wood scraps.

The “best boy” was Belinda’s son. “We asked him if he wanted to be the ring bearer, and he didn’t,” she says. “We let him find his own way, and he let us know how he wanted to participate.”

“Our guests were probably a little too intoxicated to be holding sparklers,” Belinda jokes. “It was a little scary. My hair almost caught on fire.”

The File: Gown, Allure, Andrea’s Bridal; menswear, Calvin Klein; bridesmaid dresses, H & M; catering, Blue Elephant; hair, Deneka Morissette, Magnolias; flowers, Blais Flower and Garden Center; tent, One Stop Party Shop; cake, European Bakery

Want more? Check out all of our featured Real New England Weddings for this season.