PAULA CANO
Creative Director + Owner
Hello! I am so happy you found us. I'm thrilled to be in this vocation, working with couples and families from all over the world and all walks of life. I have been planning and designing weddings and events for more than 22 years, and started A Family Affair of Maine 13 years ago out of abundant gratitude and love of my own family. Celebrating life has become my mantra and passion; every day that I'm alive there is reason to celebrate, and this has been our mission that we share not only with our Clients, but with our team and my growing daughters as well. When couples and families work with us, I am beyond proud to say that the experience is one of collaboration and teamwork, a little coaching and a lot of love. We are your wedding planning family and we'll be there every step of the way with you.
We've planned everything from intimate library ceremonies to 300 person weddings, celebrity weddings and 500 person galas. We assist in all family celebrations and have planned and designed bar/bat mitzvahs, anniversaries, birthday parties and children's events. We work with many Maine based corporate clients such as Idexx, WEX, Hyde School and we are proud to provide philanthropic support to Full Plates Full Potential, Hitched Heros, Cancer Community Center and The Portland Museum of Art each year.
I owe every success to God, my incredibly supportive and loving husband (see 'About Pete' below) and my beautiful family and staff. We are encouraged and inspired by the people who hire us, and thus become part of our family for years to come.
Virgo:analytical, reliable, perfectionist.
JORDAN CROWLEY
Wedding Planner + Designer
Jordan joined the AFA team in March of 2020 as the Event Design Assistant. About a year and a half later, She transitioned into the wedding planning side of the business! Jordan graduated from Keene State College with a bachelor of arts in journalism and public relations, with a minor in multimedia marketing. She has worked in the marketing field for many years helping small businesses share their message, in a beautiful and thoughtfully designed way. But that's not the only design Jordan loves! Interior and event design has always been a passion of hers, so with that - she has become a great asset to our Clients and to the team, developing gorgeous rental plans and onsite styling services.
In Jordan's words: "I believe that in order to live your happiest life doing what you love, you must be exactly who you are. There's only ONE of you in the world - so live that truth out to the fullest!"
Cancer: loyal, intuitive, creative.
SYDNEE THOMPSON
Rental Coordinator + Marketing Assistant
Sydnee joined the AFA team as the core management assistant in 2022, after graduating from the University of Maine in Mass Communications and Marketing. She has since been traveling, started her own little business, and operated a fly fishing lodge for a few years in northern Maine.
One of the things Sydnee loves to do is to go on adventures with her boyfriend and their dog, whether it's fishing on rivers, rides on the boat, or travelling across the country; she's always on the hunt for a new spot to explore. Syd has been an incredibly important addition to our team, and we're thrilled to have her talents and passion for the industry on board.
Libra: social, friendly, idealistic
KIMBERLY FINCH
Wedding + Event Manager
Kimberly joined the AFA team at the start of 2022 with more than 20 years of event planning and management experience in social, corporate and non-profit settings. After nearly five years as the sales and marketing manager for the Westin (formerly the Eastland Park Hotel) and over ten years as a freelance wedding planner, Kim brought her incredible organizational talents to our team and hasn't looked back. She's a wonder-mom to her two boys, and resides in Cumberland with her husband and pup Echo.
Taurus: dependable, hardworking and dedicated.
COURTNEY
MEGAN
PETE
KEEP READING
While Court loves sharing our weddings and latest trends with the world, she's also a full time senior digital project manager and living the big city life with her boyfriend Hunter and fur baby Ryder.
Courtney's Advice
Blog Journalist
Courtney began working with us in early 2015 as an intern while attending University of Maine in Farmington, and soon became AFA's amazing wedding planning assistant. In 2017 she moved to Washington, DC to acquire her masters in Marketing while continuing to work with us in a PR and journalism capacity, creating dreamy and helpful content for our Clients and fans. Courtney's passion for all things weddings is evident in her writing style; she is encouraging, witty, and possesses a keen knowledge of the industry. "I chose wedding planning for my love of details and all things pretty, and for the feeling of making an impact on someone’s life. It’s a small impact, but playing a role in such an emotional and memorable event is the most rewarding feeling in the world."
Hand Lettering Artist + Calligrapher
I met this charming and uber talented lady during the planning of her wedding in 2013 (also featured in Style Me Pretty here). Her incredible style and meticulously creative hand lettering on our chalkboards had us begging for more. She's been designing gorgeous signage for our wedding Clients ever since and we couldn't be more ecstatic to have her on the team. Among her many talents, Megan is an archeologist (dream job!) with the Maine Historic Preservation Commission and spends much of her free time re-habbing her 1770 home in New Gloucester. We love you, Meg!
Project Manager + Craftsman
I was so fortunate to have met this handsome creature ten years ago, and although I had a hand in my search (online dating is a wonderful thing) I can't imagine where I would be today had I not had faith in that process. Pete is my very best friend, and an amazing father to our girls. He is also incredibly inventive, and works hard at perfecting many of our custom wood creations for our Clients. He manages and maintains our inventory, handles deliveries and best of all, is a super Dad while Mom works. I love him to pieces and I know you will too.