Jennifer & Travis's Lakeside Wedding

"My family has been on Diamond Lake (on the Washington-Idaho border) for 3 generations. When Travis and I were looking at a place to get married, we knew we wanted a "non-traditional" wedding. Neither of us are the "large church wedding" and "princess-style reception" type people. I knew I wanted to be married outside and on a beach. After looking at the cost of a beach wedding in Hawaii, we decided not to spend that much money. The best venue was right under our noses: my parent's lake house. So, the planning began.

We went with a "tropical" theme with the colors of black and white accented with bright tropical accents. I think the DIY accent I'm most proud of is my table decorations. After living in Hawaii for a while, I have many bright sarongs with tropical prints, and those became my table runners. I then took various sizes of hurricane vases (from the dollar store) and put about 3 inches of sand in each one (from the beach). I then sprinkled shells around a pillar candle. Just about everything was DIY, but I have some very talented friends and family.

The flowers were mixed-color 2-dozen bunches from Costco. A friend of the family put them together to be bouquets. I made the programs that doubled-duty as fans, we rented tables and beach chairs which came with the table cloths.

We had a wonderful day, and our total cost, including my dress and Travis's tux rental was about $5800. Our big expense was the photography, followed by the catering (Texas-style Barbecue) and rental of the Bed and Breakfast across the lake. Of course, Travis and I put a lot of "sweat-equity" into the grounds and maintenance to help my parents out and to make it beautiful for the big day." (Nestie DocJen)