John + Megan
Friday, September 29th, 2023 | 3pm
Portland, Maine | North Deering + Downtown
See you at the shuttle stop!
92 Portland Street, Portland ME 04101
See you at the shuttle stop!
See you at the shuttle stop!
We’re so excited to host our dinner potluck-style (details below) and in our own yard (!). We can’t wait to hear all about the deliciousness that ensues at each table! And we’ve scheduled the day to make this all possible; as we all come out of dinner and prepare for our golden hour ceremony, we know we’ll feel the warmth of our communities merging.
Food, words, and songs. Chatter, laughter, and dance moves. We cannot wait for all these moments. See you in September!
XOXO,
John & Megan
On Friday, September 29th, 2023, Megan Marsh and John North Radway are getting married in Portland, Maine.
Please come celebrate with us!
We want to open up our lives and backyard to you, we want everyone we love to share in a vibrant meal at a “crowded table,” we want things to be down-to-earth and also downright FAAABULOUS, and we want to enjoy a dance party so fantastic it can only be found on Friday nights at Bubba’s Sulky Lounge.
Schedule
3:00pm SHUTTLES
3:30pm PROSECCO
4:30 pm POTLUCK
5:30pm FIDDLES
6:15pm VOWS
7:00pm GUITARS
8:00pm SHUTTLES
8:15pm BUBBA’S SULKY LOUNGE
<11:00pm SHUTTLES
Additional Details
Where to Go
We feel so grateful everyday for our wacky beautiful home in Portland. While we are so enlivened by the opportunity to share it with you, it is very important to us that our neighborhood is not impacted by excess traffic or parking on our streets. We have arranged parking and shuttles for you and it is vital that you use these to join us that day. Thank you so much!
-
There is no event parking in our neighborhood! Parking is at the public Park-and-Ride lot at 274 Marginal Way, Portland, ME. We have chosen this Park-and-Ride for its convenience off the highway, its affordability (free!), and its proximity to Bubba’s Sulky Lounge, which is the venue of the second half of our wedding. Shuttles from this lot to our backyard will depart for all guests at 3:00 pm, Friday September 29th.
-
Two large school buses will shuttle all guests to our backyard; these shuttles will depart at 3:00 pm Friday from the Park-and-Ride at 274 Marginal Way.
We will all enjoy a potluck dinner and then ceremony (!), with low-key live music and some cocktails interspersed.
Around 8:00pm, following post-ceremony snacks and schmoozing, these two buses will shuttle all guests to Bubba’s Sulky Lounge for an evening of dancing, shenanigans, and dessert.
Once everyone has arrived at Bubba’s, one bus will remain in rotation until 11pm to shuttle guests between the dance club and the Park-and-Ride. After 11:00 pm, guests may walk or take a taxi.
-
We’re working on these details :) Oof! This has been one of the rainiest seasons in memory. For now, be prepared to pivot! If we are planning to make a major shift to the weekend schedule or logistics due to rain, that decision will be made Thursday, September 28th and we will announce by email.
What to Bring
Our wedding potluck dream is to bask in the warmth of all of you, our loved ones, getting acquainted while chatting about the meals you’ve contributed to your table—whether they’re homemade or store-bought!
-
Our potluck will be organized in a table-by-table fashion—that is, each table will enjoy the meals the guests at that table brought. So really, we’re hosting a bunch of mini-potlucks! As you arrive, you will receive your table assignments so that you can place your potluck item down on your table and come join everyone for arrival Prosecco (yay!).
—We are so excited to introduce you to people we love who we think you will love too! Be prepared to share dinner with 10 or so folks you don’t know (maybe the two of us will pop by the table during dinner to nibble a bit, too).
—We will be providing supplemental items according to dietary restrictions so never fear — no one will go hungry! If there are ways we can make dietary concerns easier/safer for you, please let us know in the RSVP notes.
—Our dear caterer-friends will be packing up leftovers into freezer meals for us. It makes sense to bring a container that can be recycled or rehomed. We will provide serving utensils —just tell us in the RSVP what kind you think you’ll need.
—We are just as excited about yummy local take-out meals as we are about beloved homemade family recipes. We understand many of you are traveling—please handle the logistics of this potluck in whatever way feels joyful for you.
—Late evening snacks will be provided after the ceremony and dessert will be provided at Bubba’s Sulky Lounge. (You will not be disappointed!)
-
We have a bountiful life together and do not plan on putting together a registry. Please consider your potluck contribution your gift to us!
(We’ve been asked about ways folks can contribute additionally and while, truly, your presence at our potluck is the only gift we need, we will be planning an extended honeymoon to the Shetland Islands next summer and welcome contributions to that adventure.)
What to Wear
We want you to feel FAAABULOUS! So wear whatever is going to allow you to feel like your favorite self. You can bet that we’re aiming to be dapper for dinner and downright razzle-dazzle for dancing.
-
We’ll be enjoying dinner, drinks, and the ceremony all the while the sun is setting behind the trees in our yard. Expect either scorching sun or a chilly breeze, and come with layers.
We really mean it when we say we want you to dress whatever way makes you feel FAAABULOUS, Wedding fashion expectations can be confusing, so here are several examples of acceptable attire:
Your favorite jeans and that nice cardigan
A tuxedo made of glitter
Victorian Goth cowboy
“Business” “casual”
What you think you remember your fourth grade teacher wearing
That down parka you worried was too much
Your least favorite jeans and that other cardigan
Colorblocked pencil skirts
Seafaring farmhouse regalia
Anything remotely fabulous
-
We’ll be having dinner, drinks, and our ceremony in the little clover patch that is our backyard. Heels or any other shoes that will be uncomfortable in potentially soggy grass may be less than ideal.
Later, we’ll be dancing at Bubba’s Sulky Lounge, so please consider bringing a change of footwear or wearing something you’d also enjoy dancing in!
-
The second half of the wedding is at the truly absurd, New York Times–famous dance club Bubba’s Sulky Lounge. Bubba’s is notorious for their epic Friday night ‘80s dance parties! Do with this information what you will.
Although we have reserved the back room which will have its own flashy dance floor and its own access to the bar, Bubba’s will be open to the public that night. As the boundary between the back room and the front two rooms is quite blurry (not to mention: eclectic), there will be significant intermixing between wedding guests and regular patrons of Bubba’s. (We like to think of it as the whole city of Portland crashing our wedding.) This means that it will make sense for your satchels/outerwear to be recognizable and that you keep track of where you set them down.
Your Bubba’s cover charge and first couple drinks are covered. Cash bar to follow.
-
Unless you hear otherwise, our outdoor event is on, so we advise you to check the forecast and dress accordingly! Having said that, September in Maine can be a frustrating mix of hot and cold, sometimes in the same day, so layers are always a good idea.
Greetings/Partings
-
Bier Cafe Drop-In
6–8pm Thursday — Novare Res Bier Cafe
Drop by and grab a beverage with us at our favorite local taste of Belgium. This bar has been important to both of us individually as it hosts John’s Pub Sing every month and back in the day knew Megan by name and treated her like family. See if you can spot her old second floor “princess tower” apartment from the courtyard! Novare is a great place for that rare import or the hot new local microbrew.
-
Ducklings with Ugly Duckling
10am–noon Saturday — Deering Oaks Park
Come by Deering Oaks Park for light breakfast nibbles from Ugly Duckling including a selection of their yummy English muffins — bring the kiddos! We’ll be gathering across the small stone bridge from the Farmers’ Market. The market is an inspiring wander on a Saturday morning so bring a tote for your goodies. If you have littles, bring an extra change of clothes—there’s a (chilly) water play station (with ducks!) in the creek under the bridge.
-
Casco Bay Island Ferry
2:30pm Saturday — Casco Bay Lines
Join us for a late afternoon mailboat run of the Casco Bay islands. A real delivery of the US mail, this 3pm ferry runs rain or shine and promises breathtaking views of the Portland skyline, the harbor, the bay, and sometimes, on a clear day, even the White Mountains. Dress in lots of layers, wear wool socks, and bring an instrument if you want!
Parking is usually available in the garage adjoining the pier or elsewhere downtown. Tickets are $17 and can be purchased at the Ferry Terminal before departure.
Next steps!
-
When we were in Dublin the day before Megan’s marathon last fall, we stumbled into this wonderful little cafe right in the heart of the hustle and bustle, around the corner from the start line of the race, and just down the street from the world’s most epic and longtime family-run tweed shop. The cafe was small and bright, the counter abundant with nutrient rich dishes—some seemingly Mediterranean, some seemingly south Asian, all flavorful and colorful and simple. Ordering a meal at this cafe meant asking for a scoop of this and a scoop of that all rounding out to a hodgepodge platter of drool-worthy supper. We went back twice.
We are both in our own ways and histories famous for hosting large come-as-you-want, bring-what-you-can celebratory meals. We want this potluck to be the same. There is no need to fret or know in advance what others might bring. If you are proud of your grandmother’s recipe for shish kebab, or you’ve been excited to try your hand at rolling tamales, or you figured out how to survive your twenties on secretly basic mac ‘n cheese, bring that. Or maybe you’re traveling and logistics are intense but you know you and most people you know love tofu pad thai or spicy chicken wings or veggie samosas, grab that take-out order.
Trust us. We trust serendipity!
*Plan for a moderate helping for approximately 10 people at your table; just be sure to save a bite or two for us. ;) Details above.*
-
Portland is a beautiful place to visit in the fall, but the secret is out, so it’s never too early to book lodging! There are many fine hotels, bed and breakfasts, and AirBnBs, but accommodations throughout the city get snatched up quickly as people plan their leaf-peeping New England getaways. Book as soon as you can!
-
Though we love your children and look forward to loving them for years to come, our venues unfortunately won’t be able to accommodate the younger generation. If we’ll be lucky enough to see you in September, now is a great time to consider in whose care you can leave the youngsters. See above for details about our Saturday morning gathering where we hope to see all the sweeties we’ll miss on our wedding day!
-
We won’t be offended if you’re as excited for a visit to Maine as you are for our wedding! 9/29/23 is a Friday, so if you can make a weekend of it, there are endless things to do in and around the city we’ve chosen to call home—including wedding-adjacent activities with us on Thursday and Saturday (see above)! From autumn hikes to windswept harbor cruises, from fine dining to casual late-season lobster rolls, from dusty book and record shops to haute couture with a Yankee twist, there is plenty in Portland to keep everyone exploring for days (or for a lifetime!).
