Dream Day Memories

Cory’s story:
"My husband and I are both huge river rats; we’ve grown up the water and have a passion for it. So of course we wanted to be married on the water and make it part of our special day. Instead of driving away in a limousine after the wedding on the lake, we took a ride in a boat and went to the part of the river where we met. It gave us time to reflect and enjoy each other. When we came back, it was time for the reception."

Her tips:

Consider the complications. "We thought we’re just going to make it simple and have everything on the spot, but it’s more complicated that that. You need to think about all sorts of things, such as whether you need to bring out a portable kitchen if the home’s kitchen isn’t big enough for the caterers. You need to consider the bathroom situation—how many Porta-Potties you need. There really are more details than if you have the wedding in a church and the reception somewhere traditional."

Get help. "You really do need a wedding planner and several helpers if you’re doing a large outdoor wedding. Because of the outdoor location there were all sorts of last-minute things to do that we hadn’t thought about and didn’t have enough people to handle, from wiping off the chairs after it sprinkled, to lighting the tiki torches. And interview everybody and make sure they’ve done at-home or outdoor weddings. Our generator blew out our kitchen and sound system and if we hadn’t had pros, we would have been in trouble."

Thank the hosts. How do you pay back someone who has gone way out of their way to make your wedding a dream come true? "We wanted to give our friends, Mike and Pepper, who let us use their property for the wedding, something that would they would remember for ever, just like they’d given us a weekend to remember. Their daughter was our flower girl and we decided that our gift to them would be a portrait of her. We considered giving them a weekend away, but we really thought a wonderful memory that they’d have forever was the best gift."