Last Friday, just before leaving the office, I read Jennifer Miranda’s article, “Beachy Keen” on the The Bride’s Guide — the blog at MarthaStewart.com. She writes,

I’m very particular about where I dip my toes; the temperature of the water, the feel of the sand, the vibe of the place-everything has to be just perfect.

Although my favorite beach will not make any big publication’s top 50 list, there are many reasons why it’s just perfect for me and my fiancée and why we chose it as the location for our engagement party. By the way, the party happened over the weekend and was a beautiful and simple event with about 20 of us.

My parents introduced me to many different New England beaches from Maine to Rhode Island. While we lived in Reading, not far from Massachusetts’ north shore, we frequented Good Harbor beach in Gloucester. I have great memories of that beach including walking the sandbar at low tide to Salt Island, jumping from the bridge into the stream and floating into the ocean, and savoring the Lik-M-Aid powdered sugar candy I’d buy at the snack shack. After my family moved to the south shore, we’d frequent other beaches and Good Harbor became more of an occasional day trip.

In my adulthood, reacquainting myself with Good Harbor has been one of those life-enhancing decisions. Not only do I bodysurf there like I did as a kid, but I’ve picked up skimboarding, another great exercise and a lot of fun that I can do on my own.

One evening, I snapped a photo of the cutest little dog. He was wet and his fur looked like dreadlocks. On another visit, I saw him again and had a formal introduction to little Smokey and his owners, John and Amy. John shares a similar story in that he’s returned to Good Harbor after visiting often as a boy. We both make the long trip because the beach is dear to our hearts. Now, more often than not, I see John, Amy, and Smokey the dog at the beach and we at least talk, if not sit together. All three were able to join me and our other friends and family at our engagement party Saturday night.

Planning the party was easy. We targeted our closest friends and family local to the area, but also included people that we weren’t able to invite to our wedding (which will be limited to 50 total people). After making introductions, I noticed that people felt comfortable enough to get to know each other without prompting. Some came ready to swim. Others couldn’t resist the water and made their own makeshift swim suits. We shared watermelon and pineapple and took photos. It was casual, but the warmth from the friendships was catchy. After the sun set, a group of us made our way to Woodman’s of Essex, a local institution (and the supposed inventor of the fried clam) and indulged in fried clams and other fried foods. We finished the night with ice cream.

My fiancée and our families were so pleased with how it all went. We shared our engagement with people that gave up a summer weekend night to be with us at a beach we love. They ended up having a great time. Some even rediscovered Good Harbor and Woodman’s for themselves!

Would you plan a special event at your favorite beach? Please reply with a comment and tell us about it!

Joshua Birch
josh@lcipaper.com