Join us in looking at one of the more interesting venues we've found in the state, the Cliffside Lodge in Poland Spring, Maine.
Even though we hadn't been able to reach anyone from the Cliffside Lodge prior to arriving at the venue, a wedding party from the day before was working on cleaning the venue up after their own ceremony and celebration. We were able to get a quick tour from one of the lodge's caretakers, which was quite convenient given the distance we traveled from Blue Hill.
One of the first things that was apparent upon arrival at the venue was that it's wooded location meant that mosquitoes and other outdoor nuisances were still around. Since this time of year is typically bug free, it was very strange to go back to a place where we had to worry about these things. Part of the advantage of an October wedding is not having to deal with the heat of summer and the bugs associated with the season, so having to run into this gave me a bit of a sour taste from the beginning.
That said, obviously the exterior and interior of the venue are remarkable to look at and hold good architectural interest. The venue is affordable considering that you get some rooms to put people up in (although the lodgings are camp-like and quite spartan), and the exclusive contract that Cliffside Lodge has with Belle Fête catering makes it a lot easier to get things set in place because there's no need to worry about a catering search.
Much like with Maple Hill Bed & Breakfast, however, the preferred ceremony site could be considered less-than-ideal. The ceremony site sits off the back of the lodge, overlooking a drop down to the rest of Camp North Star. The problem with the site is that it is very small; there isn't much space for the ceremony people to be and there's even less space on each side of the walking path (used as the aisle) for chairs to be set up, which is not good considering the amount of people we have on our guest list. The caretaker also told us today that we would be pushing their capacity at our estimated number of guests, which is difficult.
The picture of the ceremony site and path above is taken from one cool facet of the venue; an observation desk on top of the lodge to look out above the trees at the surrounding area. Unfortunately, the surrounding area wasn't very colorful in terms of foliage and there was no real sense of interesting geography; indeed, one of the only sights to see from the deck is a small gas plant off in the distance.
The Cliffside Lodge is obviously a very photogenic place and would look good in wedding pictures, but my main concerns come from the things that wouldn't be readily apparent in photographs. The venue would be pushed to capacity by our wedding party, the wedding ceremony site doesn't wow me and presents a lot of logistical questions, and the presence of mosquitoes and other bugs in October doesn't bode well for people all dressed up for a wedding.
There are some good aspects to the place, and Katelyn liked it more than I did, but neither of us (again) were particularly wowed by the venue. Nevertheless, like in so many other cases, it is on our list of possible venues to use.
More information and photographs of Cliffside Lodge can be found at the venue's website, http://www.cliffsidemaine.com/index.php?menuid=12. Cliffside Lodge is located about fifty minutes from Portland, twenty minutes from Lewiston, and two hours from Bangor.
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