Local Spotlight: Emily and Ray O'Brien

When Emily and Ray O’Brien got married, they skipped the wedding cake and went straight for the ice cream.

That got married on Jan. 11 at The Saco Scoop, an ice cream shop in downtown Saco.

The two got engaged at Trillium boutique in downtown Biddeford just before Christmas. They are planning a large “happily ever after celebration” in June at local venue Highlanders Garden, but in the meantime wanted to make their marriage official.

They have a friend who is a wedding officiant who offered to conduct the ceremony, and they needed a place to have the ceremony. They chose a place that was indoors that they both loved – The Saco Scoop.

It was a small ceremony, with family members and a few close friends.

“We kept it simple, because we wanted to do it soon after we got engaged,” said Emily.

The ceremony set them back about $80 in ice cream, said Ray.

“Cheapest wedding ever,” he said.

Ray and Emily met in the summer of 2023, and became fast friends. They started dating the end of November 2023.

“We pretty quickly knew that our souls were meant to be together,” said Emily.

Both brought children into the relationship, and their blended family settled together nicely.

Ray’s youngest child and Emily’s oldest child are a week apart in age.

“They were just best friends instantly,” said Ray.

Ray is a plumber and Emily is a nurse, and both are part of the local recovery community.

“Our values and goals in life align,” said Ray. “Living a soulful, spiritual life is important to both of us.”

The two are very friendly and engaging, and their Saco home is warm and inviting. As they sit in their living room during an interview, Muffin and Biscuit, two of their four cats, enter the room to check out what’s going on.

“We both love people and animals,” said Emily.

They also like to support local businesses, and the Saco Scoop is one of their favorite local places to visit. They enjoy chatting with owner Melissa Colley and of course, eating ice cream.

His favorite flavor is Graham Central, graham cracker ice cream with a graham cracker swirl and chocolate covered crunch candies. Her favorite is cotton candy, with cotton candy topping, in a gluten-free waffle cones. Emily is on a gluten-free diet, and she said while there are other places that have gluten-free standard cones, gluten-free waffle cones are hard to find.

The couple plans to celebrate their union with a family trip to Walt Disney World in Florida next year.

Publisher Liz Gotthelf can be reached at newsdesk@sacobaynews.com.