One of Maine’s most famous homes is for sale after the owners unsuccessfully sought permission for it to become a wedding venue.
The “Wedding Cake House” at 104 Summer St. in Kennebunk is a yellow, two-story home frosted with an ornate, Gothic-style white trim. It was built in 1825 by George Bourne, a fourth-generation shipbuilder, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
It is popularly known as the most photographed home in Maine, and has inspired a number of books, articles and art pieces. Now, it is on the market for $2.7 million.
The homeowners, Hunt and Katie Edwards, have lived in the house seasonally since 2014. Hunt Edwards wrote in a 2023 column that the famous house has structural deficiencies in its foundation, walls and chimney. The famous hand-carved trim, he wrote, was rotting.
“The wood has outlived its lifetime,” Edwards wrote in the column.
To bring in some extra money for needed repairs, the Edwards applied last year to be able to host weddings and events in the home and potentially use it as an inn, too. But the proposal was shot down earlier this year by the town’s select board.
Members cited, among other reasons, that a business of that magnitude was out of character for the historic Summer Street, which is lined with stately homes. Neighbors were worried about the excessive noise that a wedding venue would bring to the area, though the Edwards’ application would have limited guests to 150 and required events to end before 10 p.m.
The home was first listed Friday. The listing makes no mention of any of the home’s foundational problems the Edwards disclosed to the select board, and the home’s listing agent was not immediately available for comment.
The property is a short walk to downtown Kennebunk, but sits on a quiet 2.2-acre lot with over 300 feet of access to the Kennebunk River. The house is over 6,000 square feet and has five bedrooms, four bathrooms and two half-bathrooms.
It comes with a private 2-bedroom apartment, a barn and a carriage house that the listing calls a “stunning entertaining space with surround sound speakers.” The new owners will just have to make use of them privately.
