A December Marriage at Pemaquid Point Lighthouse

The following story was submitted by ALF’s Friends of Pemaquid Point Lighthouse…

On December 5, 2013, Wanda Martinez and Nick Verducci were married inside Maine’s Pemaquid Point Lighthouse. Bob Kline and Dana Small were the witnesses, while Janice McGuire presided over the ceremony. Musicians from Boothbay played in the base of the tower as the two exchanged vows, along with special loving words personally prepared by both the bride and groom for the occasion.

The afternoon may have been overcast and a bit breezy, but the soft daylight highlighted Wanda’s beautiful white gown, as well as Nick’s contrasting suit and the bright bouquet of red roses. The longstanding beacon of light at Pemaquid Point has been witness to many wedding ceremonies because of its breathtaking location, its special meaning to visitors and the traditional sense of hope it offers to all mariners.

The bride, Wanda Martinez, was born in New York City and raised in Greenwood Lake New York, while the groom, Nick Verducci, was born and raised in North Bergen New Jersey.

Nick and Wanda got to know each other during Hurricane Sandy. They spent countless hours talking on the phone while they endured 12 days without electricity, fresh food, hot water or any other place to go.

When the storm was over they felt like they had known each other forever. Their first date started on the water with a ferry ride across the Hudson River in NYC, and then they saw a show and had dinner. By the end of the night they knew they shared something special.  In the next few months that followed, they became inseparable.

Sailing was a dream they both had, so they decided to take sailing lessons. They enjoyed it so much they purchased “My Kite”, a 27 foot Catalina sailboat and spent the summer sailing along the Hudson River. Their love and appreciation for lighthouses inspired them to visit the lighthouses along the River. After getting engaged on July 13th 2013, they started planning a wedding.

Wanda had visited Maine and seen quite a few of the state’s lighthouses in the past, so she wanted to share Maine’s beautiful coastline with Nick. After exploring many of the beautiful lighthouses together on the Maine coast they fell in love with Pemaquid Point Lighthouse.

Visiting Maine to make their wedding arrangements, they looked for a photographer, florist, inn, etc. – all the amenities one looks for when planning a wedding.

From their first contact with Friends of Pemaquid Point Lighthouse’s Bob Kline – one of the modern day volunteer “lighthouse keepers,” to their first meeting with his friend Dana Small at the light house, they knew they had found the perfect place to get married. Everyone they met while planning their wedding was extremely helpful and willing to go above and beyond the call.

Once the preparations were all made, the day of their wedding finally came and they shared the ceremony in the company of their new found friends.

The tower at Pemaquid Point Lighthouse is open to the public from mid-May until mid-October.  Only five people can fit in the lantern at one time and there is a ladder at the top which requires children to be at least 46 inches tall to climb up, but the experience is so worth it! Many marriages also take place on the lawn at Pemaquid during the summer months, where the coastline views are astounding and the ocean is expansive and sparkling.

Over 30,000 visitors climb the tower each year to enjoy the majestic view of the Maine coast and learn about our rich lighthouse history. The tower is staffed by the Friends of Pemaquid Point Lighthouse, which is a chapter of the American Lighthouse Foundation. During the past six years, ALF and FPPL have invested over $200,000 in the restoration of Pemaquid Point Light.