The romance of the sea is timeless, and what better place for a couple in love to celebrate their romance than in a seaside wedding.

The lure of the sea is so strong, in fact, that not only those with ties to the region but more and more couples who have never even set eyes on the harbor or the rocky shore are booking weddings here based on photos, literature and descriptive websites.

The Internet is a powerful new marketing tool for coastal inns and wedding planners, responsible for significant growth recently in local wedding functions, a multifaceted business and extension of tourism now infusing millions of dollars into the region's economy each year.

"We've doubled the number of weddings we do since 1999," says Susan Clough, catering director at the Spruce Point Inn.

"There's no question, the demand in the last two or three years has gone through the roof," agrees Tony Krason of the Ocean Point Inn.

The season now winding down, the sunny, dry summer of 2001, has seen scores of picture-perfect weddings staged on local shores, from simple elopements and small civil ceremonies at the water's edge to lavish wedding productions on oceanfront lawns with a full weekend of related activities for hundreds of guests.

The variety of settings offered in the region is appealing -- from traditional churches and quaint seasonal chapels to outdoor decks, docks, gazebos, or simply on the rocks at Ocean Point or Newagen.

Couples may also choose nautical nuptials with a shipboard marriage on a cruise boat or schooner, or a remote and romantic island wedding.

The sea is the big draw, so it follows that boats and seafood figure prominently in weddings here. Bridal parties are transported by launches or the newlyweds sail off into the sunset. An authentic downeast lobsterbake is popular for rehearsal dinners, served al fresco at rustic picnic tables or under a tent with fine china and crystal.

"Destination weddings are a growing trend," says Susan Clough, who will have coordinated over 50 weddings at the Spruce Point Inn just this season, including eight one week in July and four over Labor Day weekend.

"Most couples we have are a little older, their friends and family are spread out all over the country, and if they all have to travel to come to the wedding anyway, they might as well tie it in with a vacation and make it somewhere great," she says.

For couples who want, and can afford, a picturesque seaside wedding, shorefront inns are becoming not only popular sites for the weddings and receptions but also for extended reunions of family and friends. Couples are choosing, and some inns are requiring, booking facilities for a whole weekend, starting with Friday night's rehearsal dinner through Saturday's wedding, reception, and sometimes a casual after-party, and then ending with a Sunday brunch for all, including the bride and groom who delay leaving on their honeymoon to spend time with those who have traveled to see them.

"Weddings are becoming a real total experience now," says Lisa Kristoff of the Boothbay Harbor Chamber, "not necessarily taking place in the parents' hometowns anymore."

A recent wedding at the Spruce Point Inn took place on the lawn amid colorful gardens overlooking the sparkling, boat-filled harbor. A bevy of bridesmaids in cranberry-red gowns proceeded across the lawn on a white carpet, leading the way for the radiant bride in exquisite flowing white dress -- a fairytale setting under a cloudless sky.

The bride and groom, Larisa Pennington and Christian Whipple, had both attended Bowdoin College.

"We were eager to find a place in Maine that reflected our happiness," says Larisa, who found the Inn's website, was attracted to it and flew all the way from San Francisco to check it out.

"We instantly fell in love with both the area and the Spruce Point Inn. Boothbay Harbor in all of its natural beauty was the perfect spot for us," she says. "Chris and I feel so lucky to have shared our wedding day with our friends and family in the most beautiful place we could imagine. The day was truly magical for both of us."

The Inn has been written up in such publications as this fall's Elegant Bride magazine, in Maine's bridal magazine Event, and in a special wedding issue of Martha Stewart Living. If those aren't enough to recommend the place, the Inn's website, with colorful photos of idyllic seaside weddings, has drawn people from all over the country who make their wedding plans long-distance by e-mail, FAX and phone.

The Spruce Point Inn is in such great demand it handles multiple events at once, choreographing parties with all their details on its broad deck with gazebo, in two dining rooms, on the lawn or by the oceanfront pool

The Newagen Seaside Inn on Southport, with its expansive lawns and dramatic ocean frontage, is another spectacularly romantic setting. Like Spruce Point Inn, it is highly sought for the full treatment, from rehearsal through ceremony and reception, and is already booked for next summer's weekends

While a majority of couples are from out of state, local brides are also determined to have the sea as the backdrop for their special day.

For native Meredith Roberts, whose church marriage to Justin Fowlie was celebrated last week in a reception at the Newagen Inn, the reason she chose that setting was, simply, "the ocean, the ocean, the ocean!" she said. "Since I was a little girl I wanted my wedding pictures with the ocean in the background.

"Getting married in my hometown was the only option -- this is perfect. There is no other place," says Meredith, who had photos taken on the deck overlooking Cape Harbor at the tip of Newagen.

"Brides want beautiful scenery," says Lisa Kristoff, "and some are very specific -- they want lighthouses and boats and lupines."

"This is a multi-million-dollar business per season for the region," says Clough, former president of the Boothbay Harbor Chamber of Commerce.

"It's an integral part of the economy and affects so many services and jobs -- restaurants, inns, hair salons, florists, photographers, musicians... And guests come here and do other things like play golf... They have a fabulous event and then everyone goes back home and tells others -- that's the best advertising you can have," says Clough.

The new Mrs. Whipple said she, her husband, and many of their guests plan to return to the region, "to visit the pristine views, amazing food and wonderful people."

The increasing number of inquiries the Boothbay Harbor Chamber was receiving from engaged couples prompted it to create a wedding information package three years ago. A thick packet, it contains brochures of all related businesses plus a complete rundown of member establishments and their capabilities for parts or all of a wedding event.

This information is also on the Chamber's website, so besides the 86 packets it has sent out over the last two years, an unknown number of interested couples have found out about the region on the Internet.

The wedding boom, in addition to increasing business volume, has spawned new businesses such as wedding planners, expanded others, and changed the way some advertise, targeting wedding parties and special events.

Wedding consultant Sally Bullard started A Maine Wedding in 1996, when she coordinated one wedding. This year she will have orchestrated about 35, from simple elopements to full-scale wedding productions.

"It's getting to be a full-time business," says Bullard, who compares her role to that of a theatrical director, coordinating props, choreographing entrances and exits, staging rehearsals and even playing a part as officiant in one of life's most enduring dramas.

One of the memorable weddings she planned and performed was that of Mr. and Mrs. Robby Hudson, a southern belle from Atlanta and a downeast lobsterman, who were married by water's edge on Cabbage Island, ate lobster at picnic tables in their wedding attire and cruised off in a boat flying a "Just Married" flag (pictured in three photos by Leisha Murray of Photographic Memories).

"Most of my clients are professional women from out of state; they find me on the Internet," says Bullard, who has also been found by readers of Downeast magazine which did an article on her. "What's nice about this area is it has a broad range of sites, a wide assortment of places to stay and activities to do, whether you're on a budget or the sky's the limit... You can get anything you want in the way of music or photography, in styles and prices."

Businesses which have expanded and diversified include Boothbay Region Greenhouses, which added tuxedo rentals to its florist business. It is the only local source for tuxedos, a service which saves time and miles of trips out of town.

The floral designers at the Greenhouse do the flowers for anywhere from two to ten weddings each week during the summer season, reaching a high of 15 one week in July.

Transportation services offered have broadened to include not just the traditional limousine but also classic Rolls Royce or antique autos from the Railway Museum, horse and buggy, trolley, Y bus, and all manner of boats, from row boats to yachts.

Other businesses have sprouted up catering to brides and grooms, such as massage and aromatherapy spas. Whatever a couple needs or wants is available here. One bride took her bridesmaids to tea at MacNab's while the groom and groomsmen went golfing.

For the new Mr. and Mrs. Whipple of New York, "We could not have asked for a more perfect experience... We will absolutely be back to visit."

(For more information visit www.boothbayharbor.com)