Image via Evantine Design Blog, where you can see more pictures of this gorgeous wedding)
Okay, I’ll admit it. I haven’t paid a lot of attention to trends in destination weddings over the past few years. They slipped through the cracks for me.
And so it was with great surprise that I read this article in the friday New York Times about the current popularity of rending summer camps for destination weddings.
That’s right, couples getting ready to tie the knot are renting out summer camps at times when camp is not in session. Weddings held this way usually involve an entire weekend of activities making use of the camp facilities for things like canoeing, hiking, and holding campfire sing along/s’mores making marathons.
A wedding like this is more often handmade with loving hands from home than designed by teams of professionals, though the photo session from the couple illustrated up top does prove the latter happens, too.
While I have to admit that destination weddings have never really been my thing, I have to say I kind of like this idea. Asking friends and family to come up with the cash to fly to Tahiti or Maui and stay in a hotel there has always seemed something of an imposition to me. Asking them to drive to summer camp, well, that’s a much more reasonable distance to go. And while you can ask people to stay on the grounds, if it’s a problem for someone to sleep in a cabin there are still going to be hotels and quaint little inns and RV parking nearby enough that they can go there and just show up for the big events.
Keep your plans reasonable, warn your guests not to wear stiletto heels, make sure there’s plenty of sunscreen and mosquito repellent to go around, consider wearing a tea length or shorter gown, stay flexible because Mother Nature doesn’t always consult you when making her plans, and fit the style of your wedding to the site.
Oh, but before you consider having an archery contest at the reception, do make certain everyone understands basic safety when dealing with missile weapons.
And don’t invite my brothers. They built a catapult and laid siege to the mess hall one summer at Boy Scout camp.