Claire Tinsley and Eric Firnhaber

August 27th, 2016
Southport, ME

Claire and Eric met playing recreational ultimate frisbee in Washington, DC. Ironically, says Claire, when she told the league organizer that she wasn’t good at the sport, he told her, “It’s all about heart, not skills.” And that’s what piqued Eric’s interest in her when he met Claire after their first game together.

The couple got engaged on a bluff overlooking Half Moon Bay in California, near where Eric grew up. Claire knew immediately that their wedding ceremony would be in Maine. Her family, all from Texas, spent many happy summers in Tenants Harbor; her oldest sister and her family live in Portland; and, as a graduate of Colby College, Claire briefly lived in the Pine Tree state. “I was adamant about being married somewhere on the Maine coast,” Claire says. “I thought the Newagen Seaside Inn was beautiful.”

To help ease wedding-day nerves, the couple planned a two-mile run the morning of the wedding (everyone was invited but not pressured to participate) which ended with a leap into the ocean. “After that, I felt like I’d gotten rid of my nervous energy,” says Eric.

The couple also insisted on a break after their wedding ceremony to spend time alone before the reception. Accompanied by their photographer, the couple settled down for an impromptu picnic on the rocks overlooking the ocean while their guests enjoyed cocktails at the reception. “It was perfect,” says Claire. “We had a moment to ourselves to say ‘Wow, we’re married and isn’t that great?’ It was perfect.”

-Written by Debbie Kane