For Ruth Barker and Phil Charmanski, Feb. 14 is a significant date. The couple lives in Newbury, Massachusetts, but Boothbay Harbor holds a special place in their hearts. Barker has been coming to the region since she was a child. Her parents, Edna and Jerry McGrath, have a brick engraved with their names in Whale Park, and on Valentine’s Day 2020 she and Charmanski got engaged while staying at Greenleaf Inn. With all that history, Ruth said, “getting married in Boothbay seemed right.”

And they did. Four years to the day after they got engaged, the couple came back to Boothbay Harbor on Valentine’s Day 2024 to tie the knot. Braving a strong wind and cold temps and before witnesses Boothbay Harbor Code Enforcement Officer Geoff Smith and Boothbay Harbor Town Manager Julia Latter, they were married on the Footbridge by Boothbay Harbor Town Clerk Michelle Farnham.